The Passion of the Christ

A Believer went to see Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ.” The Believer was so moved by it, that when he saw his Christian friend, he insisted that the Christian see it. The Christian’s response was, “If I have the opportunity, I’ll watch it.” Again the Believer persisted, “You have to watch it!” The Christian said, “Why? I know the story.” The Believer responded, “Because this movie will draw you closer to God—it will make you more spiritual.” The Christian said, “No, it won’t.” Astonished and frustrated, the Believer said, “How can you say that without having seen the movie?” The Christian answered, “You saw the movie and it didn’t transform your life.”

There are a lot of people who are moved emotionally when they hear the Gospel message and then they profess their belief in God and in His Son Jesus. But the Scriptures tell us that even the devils believe and tremble (James 2:19) and like the demons, our response is often not life changing.

According to Paul, the Gospel message has power (I Corinthians 2:1-4). The Greek word for power that Paul uses is dunamis, from which we get our word, dynamite. This definition is helpful in giving us a glimpse into what Paul is thinking.

First, the Gospel has drawing power. Jesus said, “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32). The Gospel stops people from the direction they aregoing and moves them into the direction of the cross.

The Gospel has convicting power. On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached the Gospel message. Those who were listening “were cut to the heart” and their response was, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37)

The Gospel has resurrection power. Paul says, “…just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection…” (Romans 6:4-5).

The Gospel has saving power. In I Corinthians 15:1-2, Paul says, “I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.” Finally, the Gospel has transforming power. Paul says, “In Christ all the fullness of the Diety lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men, but with the circumcision done by Christ…” (Colossians 2:9-11).

There is so much more that the Bible says about the Gospel. If all of Scripture revolves around the Gospel, but it doesn’t capture our minds and hearts, shouldn’t this compel us to dig deeper into Scripture to find out why it’s called, “Good News?”