The Power of God

 

             The Power of God   by Guest Roy Lessin

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. Romans 1:16 (NKJV)

What reveals to us the greatest demonstration of God’s power?
His casting out of demons?His creation?His healings?His forgiveness of our sins?

When Jesus demonstrated God’s kingdom power to cast out demons, He referred to it as “the finger of God.” Luke 11:20

When we read about the demonstration of God’s power in creation we are told it was “His handiwork.” Psalm 19:1

Isaiah tells us that our salvation took more than the power of God’s finger, or God’s hand, but it took the full extension of God’s “holy arm.” Isaiah 52:10

When we compare the power of God to heal, with the power of God to forgive sins, Jesus tells us that the greatest demonstration of God’s power is found in forgiveness.

We see the mighty power of the Gospel revealed in the account of the healing of the paralytic. In this account, Jesus asks an amazing question, “Which is easier (takes less power), to say, ‘your sins are forgiven,’ or to say ‘arise and walk’? Matthew 9:2-6

Jesus did the hardest thing first by forgiving the man’s sins…in comparison, the man’s physical healing was the “easier” part.

Why is the Gospel called the “power of God?” When Jesus Christ triumphed over sin, God demonstrated the greatest power the world has ever known. The power of the Gospel is the only thing in all the universe that could confront, condemn, conquer, and cancel the debt of our personal sin.

As a young boy, I remember watching an adventure movie that took place in the jungle. In one of the scenes, a man unexpectedly stepped into a pit of quicksand. The poor man struggled and tried everything in his power to get out, but the more he fought, the deeper in he went. A co-worker, who was nearby, heard the man’s cries and ran to help. The co-worker threw the man a rope and began to pull, but no matter how hard he tried, he did not have the power to pull the man out of the pit. Moments later, I watched in horror as the man was swallowed alive by the quicksand and disappeared into the pit.

Personal sin is like being caught in a pit of quicksand. Sin is the world’s biggest problem and no one has the power to overcome it. Each life has its own struggle trying to free itself from its pull.

Even though others face the same dilemma of personal sin, they often try to free us from ours—

Educators throw us the rope of learning, but knowledge cannot pull us out;
 
Political leaders throw us the rope of legislation, but laws cannot pull us out;
Motivators throw us the rope of self-confidence, but positive thinking cannot pull us out;
 
Philosophers throw us the rope of ideals, but a new point of view cannot pull us out;
 
Achievers throw us the rope of success, but fame or finances cannot pull us out;
 
Religious leaders throw us the rope of good deeds, but noble efforts, or self-reform cannot pull us out from the downward grip of sin upon our lives.

What a mighty work and demonstration of God’s power was revealed to us through the Gospel! It was God, and God alone, who could come to us, extend His mighty arm, pull us out and rescue us from sin’s powerful grip.

No wonder the Psalmist could say “He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction]…and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings.” Psalm 40:2 (AMP)

The power of the Gospel is our salvation from the pit of sin. In Christ, we have been set free from the burden of sin, washed from the stain of sin, released from the chains of sin, renewed from the weariness of sin, redeemed from the enslavement of sin, healed from the pain of sin, and comforted from the sorrow of sin.

Would you be free from your burden of sin?
There’s power in the blood, power in the blood
Would you o’er evil the victory win?
There’s wonderful power in the blood.
-Lewis E. Jones
The blood that Jesus shed for me
Way back on Calvary
Oh the blood that gives me strengthFrom day to day
It will never lose its power.-Andraé Crouch

 Titus 2:14 (NLT) He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own…