The greatest promise of the Gospel is salvation. Every other promise and every other benefit derived from them pales in comparison to this one thing – that the Gospel is the power of God for salvation,16 and whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.17 According to I Peter 1:9, salvation is the very outcome
or goal of the believer’s faith. It is the end or purpose behind all that Christ has done. It is the true believer’s great longing, and the end toward which he strives. God can give no greater gift and the believer can have no greater hope or motivation than that of final salvation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The gift of salvation is even more greatly magnified when we realize what we were before Christ and what we deserved in that state. We were sinners by nature and deed and were corrupt to the point of depravity. We were lawbreakers and criminals without excuse or plea before the bar of God’s justice. We deserved nothing less than eternal condemnation, but now we are saved through the blood of God’s own Son. While we were helpless sinners and enemies of God, Christ died for the ungodly.18 Through Him, we who were far off have now been brought near.19 In Him, we have redemption through His blood, and the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.20
We have been saved from our sin, reconciled to God, and brought into fellowship with Him as sons! What more could we desire, or what more do we need? Is not the gift of salvation through the blood of God’s own Son enough to fill our hearts to overflowing for an eternity of eternities? Is it not enough to motivate us to live
for Him who died? What need do we have of other promises? Will we live for Him more because He promises us not only salvation, but also healing, ease of life, wealth, and honor? What are any of these things compared to the gift of salvation and of knowing Him? Away with those who would seek to coax us to devotion by
promising us things other than Jesus Christ. If everyone we have every loved was taken from us, and our body lay rotting on a dung heap, and our name was slandered by friend and enemy alike, we should still find all the devotion we need to love, praise, and serve Him in this one thing – He shed His own blood for our souls. Pure and undefiled religion is fueled by this one holy passion.
Why is it that the promise of eternal salvation alone no longer seems to have as much power to attract men to Christ? Why is modern man more interested in how the Gospel can help him in this present life? First, it is because preachers are no longer preaching about the certainty of judgment and the dangers of hell. When
these things are preached biblically and clearly, men begin to see that their greatest need is to be saved from eternal condemnation, and the “more practical” needs of this present age become trivial in comparison. Secondly, we must understand that the great majority of men, on the street and in the pew, are carnal, and carnally
minded men cherish this world above the next. They have little interest in the things of God and eternity.21 Most would sooner attend a conference on self-esteem and self-improvement than listen to one sermon on sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord.22
Although it is true that the Gospel can and often does improve one’s station and condition in life, as stewards of the Gospel, we must shun the temptation to attract hearers and congregants with any promise or prop other than Jesus Christ and eternal life. Although it would be beyond radical in this modern age of evangelism, we would do well to cry out to the masses, “Jesus Christ, promises you two things: an eternal salvation in which to hope and a cross on which to die. The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come’.”
The above is an excerpt of an article entitled "Gospel 101" by Paul Washer. Read the entire article here... Paul Washer is Director of "HeartCry Missionary Society", which supports indigenous missionaries throughout the world. Read more here...
