Author: Pastor Robin Tyner
Do you remember the first time you heard the gospel? I mean really heard it because it seemed like God was speaking directly to you? For me, it happened when I was a senior in high school and a friend named Betsy shared with me that Christ loved me, and he died for my sins.
My response when she finished was, “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m happy for you, because you seem to have found what you’re looking for. I’m not looking for that.” At the time, there were other things I deemed more important in my life than trusting Christ, and I didn’t want to do anything that might disrupt them.
And yet, for the next year I couldn’t get out of my head what Betsy so clearly shared with me, “Christ loved me, and died for my sins.” One year later, as a freshman in college I gave my life to Christ. The decision to follow him was a defining moment that reset the entire course of my life.
The natural question then is how does God change a person? What causes a life to be radically transformed? It’s this power to change that the Apostle Paul wrote about in Romans 1.16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Paul didn’t say the gospel has power; or brings power; or results in power; he said the gospel is the power of God. The gospel has the power, and the authority, to bring us to salvation. Paul knew firsthand the power of the gospel to change as he was transformed from a murderer to a missionary.
If you hang around Stonebridge, you’re going to hear us talk about the gospel a lot. We believe the gospel is the most central part of our faith, and it’s the central message of Scripture. When you share the gospel you are sharing God’s power to change a person’s life and eternity forever.
After I gave my life to Christ, one of the first people I wanted to tell was Betsy. When I shared with her my decision to follow Christ she was overjoyed, and told me she had been praying for me every day for a year! I’m so grateful Betsy shared and prayed for me, because my life has been changed by the power of the gospel.
I challenge you to begin praying for an opportunity to share the gospel with someone in your life this month. I would love to hear how God answers your prayer and how your conversation goes.
Photo Credit: Travis Emmett, Unsplash
