Gospel Power

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.” (2 Corinthians 10:3–4, ESV)

Misunderstanding the Gospel

“What about the gospel?” came from my wife who was sitting next to me. We sat in a training session, as someone told us about their ministry in various foreign countries. They spoke for over an hour about how they worked in villages to help men treat their wives better. Eventually my wife raised her hand and asked her question.

The speaker responded, “Our job isn’t to share the gospel with them or impose our religious beliefs on them. Our job is to help these men treat their wives better.” My wife raised her hand again: “Why would husbands treat their wives better if their hearts haven’t been changed by Jesus?” The speaker didn’t respond, changed the topic, moved on. 

Underestimating Gospel Power

The church misunderstands the power of the gospel. That’s why the church focuses on so many things that are not the gospel. They don’t really believe the gospel has power to change hearts and minds and actions. Christians have mistakenly believed the gospel is there at the beginning of our salvation to forgive our sins, but after that, there’s not much use. So, the church becomes focused on programs or politics to bring about these changes—with an unspoken assumption that the gospel doesn’t really change our actions; we do that work ourselves. 

Gospel Power

Yet scripture repeatedly speaks about the power of the gospel. Paul says, “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.” (Romans 1:16, ESV). In First Thessalonians he says that “our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power.” (1 Thessalonians 1:4–5, ESV).

The power of the gospel overcomes sin and death—sets us free from the tyranny of the devil. Prior to hearing the gospel, sin enslaved us and beat us regularly as a cruel master. Yet, the gospel came, locked that cruel master up, and set us free to walk in newness of live, overcoming the power of sin in our lives. And, since sin no longer has power over us, we are no longer controlled by that sin. That means we walk—live, act, speak—in newness of life. The gospel has the power to change lives, and when it changes many lives, it changes families, cultures, and nations. 

Gospel Warfare

The gospel is our primary weapon in this culture war. We do not wage war according to the flesh—using earthly power and tools. No, we wage war with the gospel that has “divine power to destroy strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:3–4, ESV). As the gospel destroys strongholds in people’s hearts, it destroys strongholds in people’s lives and then destroys strongholds in families, communities, states, and nations. Gospel power never stays contained, but spreads like leaven through a batch of dough. This is our primary weapon, and it carries divine power. So, let’s preach the gospel.