In Romans 1:16-17 Paul introduces his topic. It is the ‘gospel’, that is, the good news. He claims that there is power in his testimony about the good news. But how? How can there be power in a testimony? Isn’t a testimony just a sequence of words designed to impart information? Well, words can be so much more than just information. When I conduct a marriage as a celebrant, I say before the couple and the congregation, “By the power vested in me I now pronounce you man and wife”. When I say this I am not just stating information. No, my declaration is what actually constitutes the legal marriage. When I say it, I am also making it happen. How? It’s not because I am anything special. It is because of “the power vested in me” by the state as a marriage celebrant. When we share the gospel with people, likewise, we are doing more than just sharing information. God has vested us with his authority through Jesus Christ and, when we speak the truth about what God is doing, our very words become the very means by which God transforms lives. The good news is that God is reconciling people to himself through Jesus Christ and, by his Holy Spirit, is enabling us to be who we were made to be. When you share your testimony of this you are not just sharing information. Your testimony, no matter how ineloquent, may be the very means by which the seeds of God’s transforming power are planted in people’s hearts. So be bold and don’t keep the good news to yourself.
Think about where you need to share more about what God has done for you in Christ.
Read Romans 1:16-17 together with 1 Corinthians 1:18 to 2:5
