The gospel according to Romans 1:16 is the power of God to salvation, to everyone that believes. Gbile Akanni aptly describes the gospel as God's comprehensive equipment for changing lives.

Most of the time, the gospel we preach and hear people preach and live, is quite simply the same gospel we - and they - have heard from others. In order words, we typically pass on what we have been given. Here's a crucial question you and I need to answer: is it possible that my and your perception of the message of the gospel is actually a caricature and not the real McCoy?

A caricature is typically an imitation of something or somebody which emphasizes and/or deemphasizes selected portions of the thing or person, usually with the intention or effect of presenting a grotesque or distorted impression. A caricature will always bear some resemblance with the actual object or person being imitated so as to be identifiable . However, it takes a comprehensive and accurate knowledge the real deal to detect the fraud of the caricature.

Jerry Bridges, in his book, the discipline of Grace made the following remark: " The gospel is not only the most important message in all of history; it is the only essential message in all of history. Yet we allow thousands of professing Christians to live their entire lives without clearly understanding it and experiencing the joy of living by it.

We tend to give an unbeliever just enough of the gospel to get him or her to pray a prayer to receive Christ. Then we immediately put the gospel on the shelf,so to speak, and go on to the duties of discipleship. As a result, Christians are not instructed in the gospel. And because they do not fully understand the riches and glory of the gospel, they cannot preach it to themselves or live by it in their daily lives".

To the glory of God and for our maximized benefit, we desperately need to cut ties with the caricatures of the gospel and learn what Gbile Akanni once described as the "basic, irreducible, irreplaceable content of the Gospel".