The Gospel Of Jesus Christ Series

Romans 1:16–17. 16 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. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (ESV)

Queen Victoria (who was born May 24th 1819 and lived until January 22nd 1901) was the ruler of the United Kingdom and the British Empire from June 20th 1837 until her death in 1901. This Victoria Day weekend celebrates her birth on May 24th, 1819. Her reign of 63 years and seven months was a period of industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire)

Yet throughout the history of time, there is one power even greater that the great British Empire. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. The Apostle Paul explained this power to the Church in Rome. In the book of Romans, after having gained the attention of his readers by explaining the purpose of his writing and then introducing himself (1:1–15), Paul now states the thesis of the epistle. Romans 1:16-17, express the theme of the book of Romans, and they contain the most life-transforming truth God has put into human hands. To understand and positively respond to this truth is to have one’s time and eternity completely altered. These words summarize the gospel of Jesus Christ, which Paul then proceeds to unfold and explain throughout the remainder of the epistle. The introductory phrase at the beginning of Romans 1:16 “for I am not ashamed of the gospel” adds a final mark of spiritual service to those presented in verses 8–15, the mark of unashamed boldness. Paul was imprisoned in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica, smuggled out of Damascus and Berea, laughed at in Athens, considered a fool in Corinth, and declared a blasphemer and lawbreaker in Jerusalem. He was stoned and left for dead at Lystra. Some pagans of Paul’s day branded Christianity as atheism because it believed in only one God and as being cannibalistic because of a misunderstanding of the Lord’s Supper. But the Jewish religious leaders of Jerusalem did not intimidate Paul, nor did the learned and influential pagans at Ephesus, Athens, and Corinth. The apostle was eager now to preach and teach the gospel in Rome, the capital of the pagan empire that ruled virtually all the known world. He was never deterred by opposition, never disheartened by criticism, and never ashamed, for any reason, of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We think of Paul as invincible, yet he was human. Jesus anticipated that his followers might one day be ashamed to identify with him (Mark 8:38), and Peter soon confirmed that prediction by denying him three times in one night (Matt. 26:75). Even Paul himself confessed to arriving in Corinth in “weakness and fear, and with much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3) so plainspoken did he see himself as compared to the eloquent and sophisticated Greeks. And yet Paul, in truth, was never ashamed of his Savior. He spoke before royalty, rabbis, rulers, and rabble—to him, it made no difference. As he is about to demonstrate to the Romans in subsequent chapters, all are in need of the gospel (Boa, K., & Kruidenier, W. (2000). Romans (Vol. 6, p. 30). Broadman & Holman Publishers.).

Although every true believer knows it is a serious sin to be ashamed of our Savior and Lord, we also know the difficulty of avoiding that sin. When we have opportunity to speak for Christ, we often do not. We know the gospel is unattractive, intimidating, and repulsive to the natural, unsaved person and to the ungodly spiritual system that now dominates the world. The gospel exposes sin, wickedness, depravity, and lostness, and it declares pride to be despicable and works righteousness to be worthless in God’s sight. To the sinful heart of unbelievers, the gospel does not appear to be good news but bad, and when they first hear it they often react with disdain against the one presenting it or throw out arguments and theories against it. For that reason, fear of people and of not being able to handle their arguments are the greatest snares in witnessing. The unpopularity of a crucified Christ has prompted many to present a message which is more palatable to the unbeliever, but the removal of the offense of the cross always renders the message ineffective. An inoffensive gospel is also an inoperative gospel. Thus, Christianity is wounded most in the house of its friends. (Geoffrey Wilson. Romans: A Digest of Reformed Comment [Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth, 1976], p. 24).