“I am not ashamed of the Gospel,” Paul said, “for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). The Gospel is the power of salvation. Not the Bible, not Scripture, but the Gospel.
On the Last Day, “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Paul again, citing Joel (Rom 10:13). The Gospel involves calling on the “Name of the Lord”. That’s something else than merely “believing in God”, or vaguely praying to whatever mysterious God, if any God at all, might be out there. Calling on God’s Name means calling on a God Who has made something about Himself known, something that gives the caller on God a reason to expect an answer. To put it another way, God’s Name is what is known about God, and the Gospel is the most important thing we can know about Him. It’s the reason a person might call upon Him for salvation, and might, having called upon Him, actually expect to be saved. Without the Gospel, a person might well enough cry out to God–why not? “Any port in a storm,” as they say. But just because a person asks for something from God, doesn’t mean they should expect anything from Him.
The Gospel is the Word of God about Christ (Rom. 10:17), and what He did, and what He does, for those who need saving. Through the ages God has spoken many, many words to humanity, and they are all, each and every one of them, infallibly true. Some of these words He caused to be written down as Scripture. They are just as infallibly true–and more lasting. But God’s words have no power to save just because they are true, or just because they come from the mouth of God Himself. They have power to save when they concern Christ, and what He did, and what He does, for those who need saving. God’s Word about Christ, that is, the Gospel, is alone the power of God to save. It is the reason we may expect–actually, that we may know–that God will save those who call upon Him.
First Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) 