What Good Is The Gospel?

"And if Christ was not raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your trust in God is useless." 1 Corinthians 15:14

Have you ever watered down something hoping to make it stretch a little further but instead you so diluted it that it became worthless and unusable? Whether it's adding milk to ranch dressing or water to grape juice, some things just aren't the same when we try to spread them too thin.

The question that has been running around in my mind lately is "What Good is the Gospel?" Now don't get me wrong; I don't mean this in a disrespectful way at all. I guess what I am really asking is, "If we don't let the gospel stand alone and be exactly what it is intended to be then what good is it anyway?"

Let me put it this way; if the Gospel doesn't mean that Jesus still heals diseases, or that my God wants to set me free from fear, or that he wants to heal the hurts in my heart, or touch my finances, or direct my steps and give me His supernatural wisdom and power in prayer, then what good is it anyway? Why do I want or need to carry around a Gospel that has no power or that is so watered down that it doesn't even remotely mirror the original?

If Jesus really did rise from the dead, and if the Gospel really does mean "good news"--then let me have it! I want all of what I'm entitled to have! That's not selfish--it's just "cashing the check" that has my name on it for goodness sake!

Romans 8:11 tells us that if we know Christ as Savior, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is alive and at work in our physical bodies. Guess what--that's the GOSPEL!

Sign me up! You???