For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16

The gospel is the greatest message of all time. It explains God’s great love for us and how He demonstrated it by sending His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to die for us (Rom 5:8, 1 Cor 15:3).  It also declares that He resurrected himself three days later (Joh 2:19, 10:18).  Following Stephen’s murder (a man who was a great gospel preacher, Acts 7), we see this message spreading from Jerusalem for the first time (Acts 8:1-25).  The record provides seven guiding principles for gospel testimony that are still very relevant today. Each of these principles reflects our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’s statements when He sacrificed himself on Calvary’s cross for our sins.

Principle 1: The gospel is the power of God

Almost immediately after Jesus ascended to Heaven, his disciples began spreading the gospel (Act 1:6-11, 2:21,38). Many people believed their teachings (Act 2:41,47), enraging religious leaders as it challenged their beliefs and threatened their standing within their communities.

One man in particular, Saul, was especially enraged. He persecuted anyone who believed that Jesus was the Son of God, dragging them from their homes, throwing them into prison, and even consenting to the execution of at least one believer (Acts 8:1,3). His subsequent salvation (Acts 9:4-6) proves that our Lord Jesus’s sacrifice is greater than any human opposition to Him – no exceptions! Further, it shows His love is more powerful than the hate and evil that can exist in our hearts (Psa 118:1, Rom 1:16). It also demonstrates that His mercy is great (Psa 103:8)!

God’s awesome power, love and mercy remind us how our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, nailed to a cross in deep and immense pain, declared “It is finished” (Joh 19:30).  Given His resurrection was guaranteed, we can conclude it was at Calvary that the perfect and only way of salvation was secured for you and me. The statement demonstrates the divine power He has by

1. Anticipating his resurrection, thereby displaying his power over life and death
2. Choosing the point at which he would die. The Lord Jesus Christ decided the time and place to take his last breath, many had tried to take His life before then, but they failed.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. John 3:17