God is -- God.  Who are we to contest this?

I love Paul's epistle (letter/sermon/treatise) to the Romans.  When I first got saved, I immediately ran off and started to study Revelation.  After all, that was the "in thing," the end times.  And, this was before Left Behind! When I started my serious studies John became my favorite book, probably because it is so simply written, easy to understand, and, yet, it is packed full of theology.

As time has passed, however, I read, re-read, and return again and again to Romans.  This letter has it all. 

As I was reading a short devotional on Romans yesterday, a thought that occassionally occurs struck at my soul.  Did you ever stop to think that we work to hard at the Christianity stuff?  We spend too much time trying to be good, to do right, to evangelize the "proper way."  We miss out on the fact that God is God and does not need our help.  We are the ones who were / are / will be in trouble and in need of His help.

Paul's purpose statement in Romans is really simple and straight-forward.

Romans 1:16-17 (KJV) ¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. ¹⁷ For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

There are four simple stateements in verse 16 that tells me we are all working too hard --

• Paul is not ashamed of the Gospel
• The Gospel is of Christ
• The Gospel is the power of God to salvation
• Salvation comes to everyone who believes

 The key here are the second and third statements -- the Gospel is of Christ and God.  God is the ultimate power in the universe.  The Trinity is at work in the Gospel.  Indeed, one could suggest that the Gospel is the Trinity.  No one can compete with God.  No one can overcome God.  No one!

God is God -- we are not!  It is the Gospel that saves, not the amount of energy or work we put into it.  God in Christ reaches out to offer salvation.  The Holy Spirit operates on the hearts of men.  All we do is tell the story -- His story as it has been played out in our life.  Faith comes by hearing (Rom 10:17).  A person needs to hear the story -- from you or some believer like you.  God then uses this story, His Gospel, as the power to save. God's power at work.

Paul was not ashamed, because he knew that salvation rested in the power of God -- and Paul's God was good and kind and caring and would save anyone who listened to the story and believed it.  All Paul was obligated to do is tell the story. 

In fact, that is all you and I are obligated to accomplish -- just be witnesses (Acts 1:8).  Tell the story.

Are you ashamed of God's power and the Gospel?  Or, do you tell the story?

Jim A