The gospel is "God's power for salvation" (Rom 1:16). But in what sense is this true? In the book of Romans we find three kinds of power in the gospel --the power to enlighten, the power to save, and the power to to establish.
The gospel has the power to enlighten
The opposite of enlightenment is darkened understanding. There are two things that contribute to a darkened mind:
You are in the dark when...
Someone tells you a lie, or
A secret is kept from you
Samson told Delilah several lies about what would deprive him of his supernatural strength. His lies misled the lords of the Philistines. Later, Samson told the truth, but not all the truth. He kept it a secret that his strength would return, and in his death he revealed the secret and destroyed the lords of the Philistines (Jdg 16).
The gospel serves to enlighten us by exposing Satan's lie, and by revealing God's secret. People's "foolish hearts were darkened" because they exchanged God's truth for Satan's lie (Rom 1:21,25,28). "There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Rom 3:18 Psalm 36:1). Satan's lies have blinded them to God's wrath, so they do not seek salvation from wrath. But "in God's light we see light" (Psa 36:9) and that light of God is the gospel.
The gospel also reveals "the mystery which was kept secret" (Rom 16:28). The gospel reveals God's righteousness from faith to faith (Rom 1:17). In the past, people's faith was shrouded in mystery. It was still a faith in Christ, and it was still a saving faith. But much was kept secret from those who had the faith. The gospel brings one from that shrouded faith to an enlightened faith, in which all the secret things are revealed.
The gospel has the power to save
The gospel, "God's power for salvation" (Rom 1:16), reveals all the essentials. The meaning, the means, and the method of salvation are provided in the gospel. If we follow the gospel carefully and faithfully, then salvation is the certain result. The following short study in Romans illustrates this...
How we are saved
Saved FROM God’s wrath (Rom 2:5)
Saved THROUGH redemption in Christ (Rom 3:24-25).
Saved BY the six steps (see below)
Six Steps in Romans
1. Hear the gospel of Christ
(Rom 10:11-17) 2. Have faith (belief) in Christ
(Rom 1:16-17, 8:34) 3. Confess faith in Christ
(Rom 10:8-10) 4. Repent of sin
(Rom 2:4-5, 6:1-2) 5. Be baptized into Christ
(Rom 6:3-4, 8:1) 6. Continue in his way
(Rom 12:1-2, 12:11-12)
The gospel has the power to establish
Paul said God "is able to establish you by my gospel" (Rom 16:25). Just as the gospel has the power to enlighten and to save, so it has the power to establish and to keep saved. That is why Paul wanted to preach the gospel to the church in Rome (Rom 1:7,15). The teachings of the gospel are spiritual gifts that establish the church (Rom 1:11).
Paul says, "Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed" (Rom 13:11). Here Paul has a future view of salvation. There is a future aspect of salvation that we are growing towards. However Paul is not implying that we have not yet been saved and that we were not saved "when we first believed". The Bible teaches three aspects of salvation...
Three aspects of salvation...
We have been saved
(Rom 6:3-4, 22 ) We were freed from sin at baptism through Christ's death.
We are being saved
(Rom 12:1-2 Rom 8:12-14) We are being transformed, growing and maturing in Christ.
We shall be saved
(Rom 5:9-10 Rom 8:15-25) We persevere in hope eagerly awaiting the glory to come.
Is the gospel God's power for salvation only when we first believe? Or is it still God's power for salvation when our faith has matured and our salvation is nearer than when we first believed? Indeed, it is God's power for salvation "from faith to faith" from our first faith to our established faith (Rom 1:16-17).
Some people think that the gospel is only for the lost, and having become a Christian, one leaves the gospel and enters a "covenant relationship". That expression is not found in scripture. Unscriptural terms often indicate unscriptural teachings. Note the following terms in Romans...
These are surely all ways of describing one and the same thing. The gospel is God's covenant-law today. Everyone, whether lost or saved, has a "covenant relationship" with God under the above. For some, it is a relationship of wrath (because they neglect and reject the gospel), and for others it is a relationship of grace (because they receive and believe the gospel). Whichever of these one chooses under the gospel of Christ, one becomes more and more entrenched in that choice --hardened in a relationship of wrath, or established in a relationship of grace. Which will you choose?