Romans 1:16 (ESV)
¹⁶ 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.

There is good reason for this being a favorite verse of many Christians. It sets forth the theme of one of the greatest books ever written, that is, the saving power of the gospel of Christ. Is there anything more comforting than to think about God’s saving power? We serve a God who is powerful in every way. Nothing, however, touches our lives and souls more than His power to save.

The gospel is the message about Jesus and His sacrifice for us. Paul wrote, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Yes, Jesus died for our sins. No statement could be more full of the grace of God than that. It took the grace of God for Him to send His only begotten Son to this world to be the propitiation for our sins. It took a matchless love on the part of Jesus to give up heaven, come to earth in the form of a servant, and die on an old rugged cross. And, it took nothing less than the power of God to raise Jesus from the dead for our justification. What a story! But, it is more than a story; it is a plan of salvation. It is God’s power to save us.

The power is in the blood. There is no doubt about the necessity of the other parts of the gospel story. Both the burial and resurrection were essential to the completion of the plan. But the power is in the blood. The blood of Christ is what separates the Old Law from the Law of Christ. The Hebrews writer affirmed that it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrew 10:4). That is why no flesh would be justified by the Law of Moses (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16). Man needed justifying blood and only the blood of Jesus qualified. Paul said, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans 5:9).

The power of the blood, and, therefore, the strength of the gospel, is in the fact that the blood, not only washed away our sins originally (Revelation 1:5), but it continues to cleanse us. John spoke of this in his first epistle.

1 John 1:7 (ESV)
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Notice, John is not telling us that the blood of Christ cleanses us automatically or unconditionally. We must continue to walk in the light, and if we sin, we must confess it to God (1 John 1:9). Still, it is the blood of Christ that gives the gospel its power, for because of it, we do not have to live a perfect, sinless life to be saved. Yes, living without sin everyday should be our aim (1 John 2:1), but if we fail to do that, we know that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

No wonder Paul said he was not ashamed of the gospel, and we should not be either. The world may think that it is foolish, but for those of us who have been saved by it, it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18).

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.