"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."

So began Pastor Jon Fiddy on Sunday, taking his reading from the book of Romans chapter one starting at verse 16 and continuing to the end of the chapter. The good news of the finished work of Christ on the cross is the power of salvation (sozo in the greek: meaning wholeness; well being; health..) for all mankind and through faith in Him alone: there are no demands made for us to achieve a certain standard before we can be accepted. We are saved by faith (in Jesus Christ and His work), and then also we live by faith (in His word, the Bible), but what we put our faith in is all important. We put our faith in the God of the Bible, in the Word of God.

His Word is the Truth, yet Romans 1 goes on to say that men suppress it (the truth) in unrighteousness (v 18). For example, the truth that God is the Creator is suppressed in society for if there is a God who rules, then we are responsible for how we live before Him; yet the Bible says that men are without excuse, the evidence of God's presence is all around us. The complexity of a single cell in the human body; the trillions of stars in the sky; the ever expanding universe, these all testify to the work of a Creator, much as a beautiful painting testifies to the hand of an artist. Yet men have chosen foolishness, refusing to glorify God or keep a thankful heart, but resorting to idolatry instead, worshipping what is not God (verses 21-27). There is a desire in every one of us to worship: God should have that first place in our hearts but the Bible says that men have turned aside to worship other things, created things rather than the Creator and that God has had to give us up to the uncleanest of our own lusts and debased minds. Romans 1 v25 says that we have 'exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever.' God loves all people, but there is a right and a wrong, there is a moral standard. We are all born with a tendency to wrong and may feel powerless to change, but we are nevertheless required to acknowledge that what we do is wrong and look to God for deliverance. The church is never called to judge, condemn, or simply say that something is wrong without giving an answer, but is to declare the truth, that there is hope and deliverance through the power of the cross. it doesn't matter how low a person has gone, God is able to change anyone from the inside if he will turn to Him. That is why we are not ashamed of the Gospel, which means good news... God is still changing people today!

We meet every Sunday at 10.30 am in Emmanuel Gospel Church, Station Road, Manorbier. Our web address is emmanuelgospelministries.org and our 'phone is 871975.