In his great Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul introduces himself immediately as โa bondslave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle,โ to proclaim Godโs good news about Christ.
Paulโs โgospel of the grace of Godโ was essentially about the Lord Jesus Christ. He was always talking about Christ. His epistles are filled with Christ. Christ, in his message, was everything. This is in striking contrast to much of our modern preaching and evangelism, which is not Christ-centered, but man-centered.
The gospel Paul proclaimed was Godโs good news about Christ and His power and glory in defeating Satan, overcoming death, paying for sin and nailing the Law to His cross.
This is why the Apostle calls his message โthe good news of the glory of Christโ (II Cor. 4:4). To enter experientially into the truth of this good news is the greatest blessing one can possibly experience.
In Verse 4 of his introduction to the Roman Epistle, the Apostle declares that Christ was powerfully declared to be the Son of God โby the resurrection from the dead.โ
The resurrection of Christ had been both prophesied and proclaimed as a historical fact before Paul, but to Paul was committed a special message of good news concerning the resurrection. In his God-given message, Christ was raised from the dead to demonstrate that as God the Son He had paid the full penalty for sins that would have sunk a world to hell. Thus the Apostle writes to Timothy, his son in the faith:
โConsider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David [this is how Christ had formerly been known] was raised from the dead according to my gospel, wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even unto bondsโ (II Tim. 2:7-9).
Read the Epistles of Paul and see how salvation by grace through faith always hinges upon the finished work of Christ for our redemption. โBelieve on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.โ source
[…] it be our desire that we might โknow Christ,โ that is, more fully, and experience the power of His resurrection. There is still much to be done, but with your help, we can leave a legacy of grace that will be […]