This Sunday, we had a Holy Communion service. Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh continued preaching in the series called: ‘The Power of the Gospel’. Her main scripture was taken from the Book of Romans.  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness… because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful… being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 1:16-18, 1:21; 3:24).

Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh said that the Gospel of Christ Crucified and Resurrected is the POWER OF GOD unto salvation. The Gospel is not describing the power and it is not about the power. The Gospel itself IS the ‘Power of God unto salvation for anyone who believes’. The simplest definition of the Gospel is this: “Christ died and rose again, for me!” This sentence spoken in the anointing of the Holy Spirit, is like an injection. The sinner who hears it cannot sleep until he gives his life to Christ! That is power! In Greek, the word ‘power’ is ‘dunamis’ (from where the word ‘dynamite’ comes). This word means miraculous power. If you pray for miracles, pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal to you the Gospel of Christ crucified and resurrected. That is the first ‘miracle’ that you need.   

There are only two main concerns in the universe. Heaven wants that all creation should give glory to God and that men should be saved and go to heaven! Any other concerns on earth (politics, entertainment, ‘breaking news’…) cannot compare with the concerns of heaven. Standing before God, nothing else matters. No man can save you. No man can love you like Jesus. Think more of eternity. Seek God and all good things on earth shall be ‘added to you’. Run the race set (marked) before you, looking unto Jesus. Set your hearts of heavenly things (Colossians 3:1-4). If you seek the blessings, God will not be ‘added’ unto you. You must keep yourself in the center of God’s will. Master the habit to think of God and His eternity. God is your ‘Heavenly Father’!

Some Christians say that they do not need to hear the Gospel of Christ. They were told that it is only for evangelism. But that is a lie. We need the Gospel from beginning to the end. Salvation has three ‘levels’: The past salvation (your conversion, when you become born again); your present salvation (also called sanctification; when you learn to deny your flesh, take up your Cross and follow Jesus); and finally, your future salvation, your glorification (when you arrive in heaven). The first and the last ‘level’ are under the total control of the Holy Spirit. Nothing can go wrong there. But the middle one, the sanctification, can be a dangerous time because you need to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. The devil may tempt you to go astray from the marked race and you may backslide. Even then, you cannot lose your salvation, you remain a child of God, though you backslide. But you lose opportunities for ministry, you injure your testimony as a Christian and you lose rewards in heaven. God will discipline you and bring you back to the Cross. No true child of God is lost forever! Give thanks to God!

 Salvation is the deliverance of sinful man from the consequences of the fall and sin, from the wrath of God! The doctrine of ‘the wrath of God’: God is angry at sin and at sinners, when they suppress the truth and they detract from His Glory (Romans 1:18, 21). God is angry especially with the sins of lying and idolatry! As the justification of sin thru Christ is a revelation, so God’s wrath is a revelation of the Holy Spirit (Romans 1:17, 18). If an evil religious spirit tells you about God ‘being angry’ you will misunderstand God. It is only the Holy Spirit that can reveal the truth to you, how God is angry at sin. His wrath is a manifestation of His love and holiness. The anger of God manifests differently towards the sinners and towards His children. To the sinners, God manifests as a terror, a consuming fire. No sinner can stand before God. But to His children, God manifests His anger as discipline, so that they repent and share in His holiness.

Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh said that salvation is justification by faith in Jesus Christ! Justification is God’s declaration that a sinner is justified because of Christ who died for him. Justification does not immediately change us inwardly. There is still sin in the body. That is why we need sanctification. It is hard for a proud man to believe the gospel! Thru Adam’s fall, man has lost his freedom and authority. He became slave to sin. Because of Adam’ fall, all men are born sinners. They cannot come to the presence of God because God hates sin. They must die and go to hell. God has introduced a way to save men. This salvation is only thru Jesus Christ. At the Cross, there was an exchange: Men gave Christ their sins and He gave men His righteousness. This is new (the best) good news. It is not what men have done (not by works). It is what God has done! This Gospel is for everybody: for the Jew (who had the law) and for the Gentiles (who did not have the law). All need salvation thru faith in Christ alone! Nothing else can save you! Never forget the Trinity! The Father has designed the plan of Salvation. The Son executed it. The Holy Spirit applies it. Salvation is more than forgiveness of sins. Even if God forgives your sins, you still cannot enter heaven. You need to be properly ‘dressed in the garment of righteousness’ (imputed righteousness) provided by Jesus, at the Cross. Without the wedding garment, you are thrown away from the party of heaven (Matthew 22). Why do we need to know about God’s wrath? First, because it is in the Bible. God wants us to know the price paid for our salvation; the price paid to remove His wrath and accept us as His children. Then the fear of God comes to us, which is the beginning of wisdom!

What is this Righteousness of Christ imputed (credited, reckoned) to us? It is God’s free gift to the sinner paid with the Blood of Jesus! It is described as a Standing, a Garment, or a Credit!

*The Right Standing in God’s presence where there is freedom, authority, and fullness or joy!

*It is the Garment of Jesus that covers our sins, so that we stand before God without guilt or shame!

*It is the Heavenly Unlimited Credit paid from the account of Jesus to our spiritual empty account. It is the ‘alert’ of heaven saying that “Sinner is now Saint”, that “His grace abounds much more than any of your sins”! Amazing grace! Amazing Love!

Worship the Lord!