I Am Not Ashamed

 

By Jared Green     In the introduction of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he explained his love and care for the church in Rome. Paul desired to spend time with them, and he was “eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome” (1:15). Immediately following his heartfelt introduction, Paul provided what I consider to be the thesis of his letter. He said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (1:15-16).      A study through Romans provides a clear answer as to why Paul began the body of his letter with a proclamation that he was not ashamed of the gospel. The gospel, as preached by Paul and the Apostles, was met with great opposition at times. Just in this letter, Paul dealt with things such as God’s coming wrath on the unrighteous (chapters 1-2), the sinfulness of all people (chapter 3), righteousness through faith in Christ apart from the Law (chapters 3-7), salvation for all people regardless of race or ancestral heritage (chapters 9-11), submission to governing authorities (chapter 13), and a call to neither pass judgement on one another’s choices nor cause a brother or sister to stumble (chapter 14).      Because of the difficult messages in each of the letter’s sections, there could be plenty of reasons to be ashamed. Who wants to call someone out on their sin? Who wants to tell someone about God’s coming wrath? Yet Paul made clear that he was not ashamed of the gospel. Why? Because he knew that the gospel of Jesus Christ provided the only path to salvation for the people he loved. Did that mean Paul had to have hard conversations? Of course, but he approached those difficult conversations with confidence in the truth, hope, and love of Christ’s gospel.      Most of us would stand in agreement with Paul that we are unashamed of the gospel, but do our lives support that stance? As it was in Paul’s day, our world meets the difficult message of the gospel with opposition. As a result, it is easier to turn a blind eye to the sins of those around me. It is easier to make myself believe that it is not my job to step in and have a difficult conversation with someone I care about. It is easier to tell myself that someone around me can hear the beautiful message of Christ’s gospel from someone else. It is easier to live as though I am ashamed of the gospel. I challenge each of us, however, to stand firm and unashamed in the gospel, “for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes” (1:16). God loves you, and so do I.

- Jared Green preaches the Calvert City Church of Christ in Calvert City, KY.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.calvertchurchofchrist.com