Preaching the Gospel to the Church

Sunday, during the third worship service, we had quite a discussion regarding what Romans 1 was asking of us. If you haven’t noticed, we have been hitting hard the simplistic depth of the gospel message in our latest sermon series (especially as it relates to the church). At the heart of these discussions is what I believe to be a faulty understanding of the theology of salvation. In other words, I believe we have missed a vital part of the salvation message.

What makes Romans 1 so interesting is what Paul says in verse 15. Paul says that he can’t wait to come to Rome to “preach the gospel to YOU who are in Rome.” You…being the people to whom he is writing, namely, the church. So why in the world would Paul preach the gospel to the church? Isn’t the gospel focused on unbelievers? Well…not exactly.

As we discussed on Sunday, the well known verses in Romans 1:16-17 extends farther than just the salvation experience we call conversion. Clearly Paul didn’t say in verse 16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to CONVERSION…” but “SALVATION.” At first glance it would seem that Paul is just speaking of that moment we placed faith in Christ. But this letter goes on to describe that salvation is not only the initial moment of faith…but faith that leads to the salvation of Christlikeness. So, while there was a moment years ago that I realized “I was a wicked sinner in need of redemption through the blood of Christ”…I still have a continual understanding of the gospel message that says, “I am still a wicked sinner being redeemed until I become like Christ.”

So Paul’s desire to preach the gospel to the church came from an accurate view of the theology of salvation. He came back to the truth that all aspects of life come back to how we respond (presently) to the gospel. Not just a past decision…but a continual understanding and surrender to that message we accepted.