Responding to grace
Responding to grace
The gospel is "God's power for salvation" (Rom 1:16). The book of Romans tells of three kinds of power in the gospel —the power to enlighten, to save, and to establish.
The opposite of enlightenment is darkened understanding. Two things contribute to a darkened mind: You are in the dark when...
To trick the lords of the Philistines, Samson lied to Delilah about his supernatural strength. Later, Samson told the truth, but not all the truth. He kept secret that his strength would return and he'd destroy the lords (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, "God's power for salvation" (Rom 1:16), reveals all the essentials. If we follow the gospel carefully and faithfully, then salvation is the certain result.