"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." (Ro 1:16)
When we speak of "the gospel" we tend to think of an evangelistic message and surely the gospel is that. But it is not only a four or five point outline of salvation truths. The gospel - in the sense Paul and the apostles employed the word, includes all the truth about Christ (cf. Rom. 1:1-6). It does not stop at the point of conversion and justification by faith but embraces every other aspect of salvation, from sanctification to ultimate glorification. The gospel's significance therefore does not end the moment the new birth occurs; it applies to the entire Christian experience. And when Paul and the other New Testament writers spoke of "preaching the gospel," they were not talking about preaching only to unbelievers (cf. v. 15).
- MacArthur Study Bible
