Week 2 - Friday

The Power of God

... for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16b)

The penalty for sin is death and eternal separation from God (Rom. 6:23; 2 Thes. 1:9). God didn't have to save any of us from the penalty that our sins deserve. Even if you are a Christian now, you were separated from God because of your sins at one time. If God had left you to continue the way you were going, you would have eventually died in your sins and have been separated from God forever. But thank God He didn't do that. Thank God that instead He chose to rescue you. Especially since you were unable to save yourself. Were it not for the power of God working to bring about our salvation, every single person would end up being condemned. The Bible says that no one, on their own, seeks to be reconciled to God (Rom. 3:10-11). God, by His power, must first draw a person into a saving relationship with Him. The way God does that is through the gospel. Because God is God, He could have chosen any method He wanted to provide our salvation. He could have decided that it would be received by drinking water from a certain stream on a particular mountainside. He could have chosen to package it in pills and sell it at the store. But He didn't. He chose to bring about salvation through the gospel message. But no matter what method God would have chosen to save us, it would still be the power of God that did the saving. If He had chosen to distribute it through a mountain stream, it would not be the water that saved. It would be the power that God gave the water. So it is with the gospel. If it were not for the power that God has given it, the gospel would be nothing more than mere words. But because the words of the gospel contain the power of God, its message works in the hearts of people to convict them of their sin and bring them to Christ to be saved. It is the power of God that actually does the saving, and the message of the gospel is simply the method that God chooses to make it happen.

Salvation was offered to the Jew first. They were first because they are God's specially chosen people. It was to the Jews that God first delivered His law. Christ's human ancestry is also through the Jews. When Paul traveled somewhere it was his practice to present the gospel first to the Jews, then to the rest of the people. This doesn't favor the Jews, anyone who believes will be saved whether they are Jew or not. Jesus Christ accepts everyone who comes to Him. Praise God for His love and mercy. Thank Him for providing salvation for us.

Readings for today: 1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18; Acts 13:42-46; Rom. 10:12-13; John 6:37