My previous post has been about sin and how it leads to consequences. Well, this one's about the Gospel.
During my devotions in Acts, I was reading chapter 16 when I noticed that Paul was trying to make sure that the Gospel has not been tainted to a different path. What do I mean by this? One example is the incident of the slave girl telling people that Paul and Silas are servants of God who are telling people the way of salvation. Paul, after hearing her say that phrase over and over again, drove out the Spirit that was telling her these things. Paul may have done this to not have the demon Spirit of Divination as a partner of the Gospel (least that's one speculation of that passage). Another example is when Paul told the magistrates that they were to come out and release Paul and Silas directly. This was because of Paul's concern for the Gospel and how it would affect the spread of the Gospel if people were to see Paul as a troublemaker and lawbreaker and associate it with the church as well.
Paul knew the importance of the Gospel and how it should stay the way it is. There needs no sugar-coating or improvement of it. Gospel tells us that we are all sinners, damned to death. There's nothing that can save us from it. However, God, who is merciful and kind and loving and gracious, gave his Son to us to die for our sins. Christ rose from the grave as well and through this death and ressurection, we are righteous through the blood of Christ.
We all need to be reminded of God's mercy and grace. Mercy is when you withdraw the punishment that you are bound to receive. Grace is not only withdrawing punishment, but also giving something that the recipient does not deserve. This is what describes our God. We are made alive in Christ. We're not dead anymore for we know that through our faith in the Christ, we are saved and alive.
However, a question came about after knowing this: What makes the Gospel such a threat to some who hear?
