Not Ashamed Of The Gospel

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes; to the Jew first and then unto the Greek.

Paul was a powerful witness for Jesus. He was never at the mercy of the skeptics. They could argue theology all day with him, but he was undaunted by their arguments. The reason is that they got to him too late. He was a persecutor of the Christians and a hater of Jesus. That is until the day that he actually met Jesus on his way to Damascus to persecute the church there. (Acts 9) After that dramatic confrontation with Jesus, Paul became a mighty man of God. He knew Jesus by personal experience and a man with an experience is never at the mercy of those with arguments.

This verse became Paul’s battle cry as he witnessed and won others to Christ. Why was he not ashamed? First, he knew what a powerful message he was carrying. This message had the power to transform other peoples lives as it had his. He knew what he was before and what the gospel had made of him. He knew how he was before and how that the gospel had transformed his very thinking. Therefore he was not ashamed to witness of the Jesus who had made such a great difference in his life.

Secondly, Paul knew that the gospel meant “good news.” As it is today, we all need some good news. What exactly is that good news? It is that a sinful man can be forgiven of his sins. A man who is the enemy of God by birth can now become the child of God by rebirth. It means that all God is and all God has is available to mankind. No, Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel and if we look at it from this standpoint, we will not be either; for the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Let’s release that power today.