www.usccb.org/nab.
"[T]he gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then the Greek."
St. Paul speaks seriously about the gospel and the consequences for human beings without it. This great preacher and teacher charges both paganism and Judaism with serious failure. It is in his eyes and heart a failure to provide for people the means to achieve more stature in the community. Paul was a convert himself to an understanding of this power: the true Jew would live in moral depravity when he/she did not have the gospel in life. Not having or knowing the gospel would allow the Jewish person to recognize the power of God. He/She would not live in an "uprightness in God's presence." Without the gospel, a person is estranged from God regardless of religious backgroud. Paul believed such a situation results in divine wrath being shown to both Jew and pagan. For the Damascus preacher sees this as the realistics human situation when the gospel is absent. For you and me, Paul is challenging how we live our lives: is the gospel truly a part of our daily contact with the Creator God? Is it possible to set aside just ten minutes each day reading through one of the gospels or other books of the bible?
