More than a Cliché

Paul made a radical statement in Romans 1:16. He said that the Gospel “is the power of God unto salvation.” That doesn’t sound as radical to us as it did to the people in Paul’s day because the term “Gospel” has become a religious cliché to us. Most people don’t know what it truly means. In Paul’s day, it was a radical way of referring to the grace of God as the means of obtaining right standing with Him.

The Nearly-Too-Good-to-Be-True News

The Greek word from which the English word Gospel was translated literally means “a good message,” or good news. This term was in use before the writing of the New Testament, but it was very obscure. One commentator noted that this word appeared only two times in all of Greek literature. This is because it meant more than just “good news.” It was more like “nearly-too-good-to-be-true news.” This superlative was so fantastic that it was seldom used. However, it perfectly described what Jesus did for us; therefore, it became a common term among New Testament believers.

Today, most Christians see “Gospel” as just a word that identifies religious things. They relate preaching on the wrath of God and impending judgment as the Gospel, but it’s not. While it’s true that those who don’t accept the sacrifice of Jesus will spend eternity in hell, that is not “good news.” And it’s certainly not “nearly-too-good-to-be-true news.”

The Gift of Complete Redemption

The Gospel is the “good news” that, despite our sins and the judgment we deserve, God has provided complete redemption for us. More specifically, the word Gospel describes the grace that enables us to receive this forgiveness.

If I told you that I had a gift of a million dollars for you, that would be good news—nearly-too-good-to-be-true. However, if I added difficult or impossible stipulations as things you must do to receive that money, it would cease to be a gift. Your performance would be required, so you would actually be earning the money. All your joy over the “gift” would fade away as you despaired of meeting the criteria, and you would probably be upset with me. It would be better never to have been offered the money than to have it dangled in front of you and then placed out of reach by impossible demands.

That’s the way it is with salvation. Just saying that Jesus provided salvation for us is not “nearly-too-good-to-be-true news” unless it’s emphasized that everything He offers is available to us by grace. The grace of God is the heart of the Gospel.

Paul’s Testimony: The Gospel of God’s Grace

In Acts 20:24, Paul said he was testifying of “the gospel of the grace of God.” He said the same thing in Galatians 1:6: “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.” Paul equated the grace of God with the Gospel. Any statements about God or the salvation He provided that do not highlight grace are not the true Gospel.

Telling people they are going to hell if they don’t repent is true, but it’s not the Gospel. Even telling people that Jesus provided an escape is not the Gospel if we tell them they have to live holy lives in order to obtain that salvation. Putting any stipulations on what we have to do to acquire God’s provision denies grace and, therefore, is not the Gospel.

Radical Power of the Gospel

These are radical statements! Most of the church world doesn’t define the Gospel this way, but that’s the way Paul defined it: “the gospel . . . is the power of God unto salvation.” The power needed to get saved and obtain everything that Jesus provided for us is found in the Gospel. If we seem powerless to receive, it’s because we don’t have a full revelation of the true Gospel.

I’ve heard people say, “No one in America should hear the Gospel twice until everyone in the world has heard it once.” The point they are trying to make is that we shouldn’t focus our evangelism efforts on countries where people have already heard the Gospel. We should be putting a higher priority on bringing the Gospel to those who have never heard it.

The Misunderstood Gospel

I say that America hasn’t heard the Gospel. Oh, they’ve heard that there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. They’ve heard that sin separates us from God and that we need to be forgiven of our sins. They’ve even heard that Jesus died to forgive their sins. However, America as a whole hasn’t heard that Jesus provided everything as a gift, accessible only by faith (Rom. 5:2). Instead, American “Christianity” has preached that we have to live holy lives to receive from God.

The religious system of Martin Luther’s day preached Jesus. They talked about the forgiveness of sins and the wrath that awaited all who rejected the sacrifice of Jesus. They placed such a burden of personal holiness on the individual to receive what Jesus provided that they perverted the true Gospel with their requirements. They were not preaching the Gospel. Martin Luther received the revelation that we are saved solely by grace (Rom. 3:28), and it changed his life and the course of history.

Returning to the Gospel of Grace

Mainstream Christianity has lost the understanding of grace just as surely as it was lacking prior to Martin Luther’s revelation. We need another reformation centered on the grace of God.

An amazing thing has happened in our presentation of the Gospel today. Evangelical Christianity preaches grace as the heart of the Gospel for the initial born-again experience, but then it reverts to personal performance to receive anything else from God. This is a perversion of the Gospel too. Paul said in Colossians 2:6, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.” This means that since we can only be born again by faith in God’s grace, everything else in the Christian life has to come the same way.

Saved by Grace, Living by Grace

If it was “just as I am without one plea” to get saved, then it has to be the same to receive healing, prosperity, or deliverance. Are we so foolish as to think that we were saved by grace but can now be perfected through our own efforts (Gal. 3:3)?

That’s why Paul wrote the book of Galatians. The Galatians had received the Gospel and were born again, but after being saved, they turned away from grace and went back to trying to earn God’s blessings through adherence to rules and regulations. This led to some of the harshest rebukes the Apostle Paul ever gave to anyone. He said in Galatians 3:1, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?” He also said in Galatians 5:4, “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”

Every great revival in history had the grace of God at its core. An awakening to the grace of God will release the power of the Gospel, and revival will be the result. Revival isn’t the result of holiness. Holiness is the result of revival.

Living Holy by Grace

You might ask, “Are you saying that we can live in sin because salvation is by God’s grace?” I’m glad you asked that question. Paul addressed that very question four times in the book of Romans. You could even say that if that question never comes up, then the true Gospel that Paul preached hasn’t been presented. Most Gospel messages being preached in the pulpits of America never raise that question because they aren’t preaching the true Gospel.

Of course, Paul didn’t advocate a life of sin, and neither do I. Holiness is a fruit and not a root of salvation (Rom. 6:22). Paul told Titus in Titus 2:11–12, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” Grace teaches us to live holy lives. Our holiness is a response to God’s grace, not something we do to earn it. Grace cannot be earned, or it wouldn’t be grace (Rom. 11:6). When we clearly see the grace God has extended to us, the love of God will abound in our lives and we will live more holy lives accidentally than we ever did on purpose.

Breaking Sin’s Dominion

Grace doesn’t give us a license to sin; it actually frees us from sin. In Romans 6:14, Paul said, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” Grace breaks sin’s dominion over us. The Law, or a performance-based message, gives sin dominion over us.

If these truths about the gospel of God’s grace as revealed through Paul in the book of Romans have not exploded in your heart, I plead with you to change that today. I promise you that these truths will transform your life just as they have mine. The Gospel is the power you need in your life to receive from the Lord whatever your needs are.

Dive Deeper

To help you grasp these important truths, I recommend my teaching, Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece on Grace. It’s a verse-by-verse study of the book of Romansthat reveals key insights often overlooked in the church but essential for living a life of faith. I believe it would be a great help to you as you seek to understand God’s grace.

I also have a teaching that summarizes much of the book of Romans, titled Grace: The Power of the Gospel. It explains these life-transforming truths in such a simple way, you’d need help to misunderstand them. I urge you to get these resources today to start enjoying a closer, more fulfilling walk with the Lord.