And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. Acts 4:33
As we listened to the Gospel being preached in the tent in Hampton, we could not help but notice the contrasting styles of the two preachers. Although both very energetic and capable speakers, they used much different approaches to presenting their messages. and those two different approaches worked well to keep the audience attentive and to present the Gospel message clearly. Each preacher would have been very effective if working by himself, but by working together, their abilities were enhanced so that their combination was greater than the sum of the parts. We see the same in today’s text, as great power was combined with great grace during the early days of Christianity.
We are all witnesses of the great power of the Gospel. That the preaching of the cross is the dynamite of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16, 1 Cor. 1:18) we have no doubt, knowing what it has done in our own lives, and in the lives of other Christians. Even during meetings, and in a series, in which no one is saved, there is a deep sense of the power of God in His presence and His desire that all would be saved. We cannot deny that power, nor should be ignore or belittle it, because that power is the only hope for our loved ones to be save, for our neighbours, friends, enemies, and strangers to be delivered from their sins. The great power of the Gospel is the only hope for a perishing world.
Do you ever wonder why the preachers pitch a Gospel tent in a new area, or spend time visiting and passing out tracts and other literature? Do you ever wonder why we invite folks to Gospel meetings, and do what we can to be a good witness before people? It is the grace of God that we are seeking to show. The greater our appreciation of the grace of God to us, the greater our ability to display that grace to others. We are all 500 pence debtors and the great grace of God has forgiven us and made us willing and able to pass that same grace on to others.
Preaching the Gospel, even preaching with great power, is not enough to see results in salvation. The great power of the Gospel must be mingled with the great grace of the believers – and not just the preachers – to be effective in reaching sinners. This was true when the Gospel was first preached, and it is still true today. May God grant us not only the power and the grace, but the great power and the great grace that combine to effectively reach the lost. -Jim MacIntosh