Not Ashamed Of The Gospel Series

Text: Romans 1:16-17

Theme: Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Greetings: The Lord is good and his love endures forever.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION:  The theme verse of the Epistle to Romans is “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” (Romans 1:16).

The whole epistle of Romans is divided based on this verse. In the first eight chapters Paul describes God's righteousness through faith (Romans 1–8), then from 9-11 chapters he says that all are treated equally by God irrespective of whether Jews and Greeks (Romans 9–11), and finally the potential life of the righteous is found in Romans 12–15.  This epistle might have been penned from Corinth in AD 55 or 56, during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero (Acts 20:1-3) (Romans 15:25).

The believers in the church at Rome were of both Gentile and Jewish descents.  For his missionary endeavours in Spain, Paul sought financial support from the believers at Rome (Romans 15:24, 28). The epistle of Romans is called the Gospel of Paul. Because he explains the link between salvation and good deeds.  

This month we will meditate passages related to mission and missionary activities.

Today, I would like to share from Romans 1:16-17 under the theme “not ashamed” that is “I am not ashamed of the Gospel.”

This passage talks about the

Pride of the Gospel, Power of the Gospel and the Person of the Gospel.

1. Pride of the Gospel - Not ashamed (Romans 1:16)

 “The Gospel shows people their wounds and bestows on them love. It shows them their bondage and supplies the hammer to knock away their chains. It shows them their nakedness and provides them the garments of purity. It shows them their poverty and pours into their lives the wealth of heaven. It shows them their sins and points them to the Savior.” ? Billy Graham

Some of the versions put different words or shame:

“For I am not the least bit embarrassed about the gospel. I won’t shy away from it.”(The Voice). “It’s news I’m most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God’s powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him” (The Message). “I want to preach it because I’m not ashamed of the good news.”(NIRV). “I am not ashamed to tell people the good news. God uses that good news to show his great power.” (EASY).

The word "ashamed" (Epaischunomai) refers to a state of fear, shame, and unwillingness to speak up or take action out of a fear of being embarrassed. Because I am a gospel preacher, I will never feel guilt, exposure, or shameful fear. (The Austin Precept). A believer's pride is the gospel because it provides salvation. For the sake of humanity, Jesus despised shame (Hebrews 12:2).  

Saying, "I am not ashamed of the gospel" (Euaggelion) implies that one is proud to be a Christian, proud to be an evangelist, and proud to be a believer in an environment of atheists, agnostics, and nominal believers. The gospel is both good and wonderful news.

Paul made this statement that he was unquestionably unashamed of the Gospel not from the palace, not from the comforts but after imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:23, 24), chased out of Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9), smuggled out of Berea (Acts 17:10-15), mocked at Athens (Acts 17:32), regarded as a fool in Corinth (1Corinthians 1:18 23), and stoned in Galatia (Acts 14:19). Neither ridicule, nor criticism, nor physical persecution could curtail his boldness. (2 Corinthians 4:5-18; 11:23-28; 12:9). After all this he thundered that nothing could separate him from Christ and His gospel of love (Romans 8:37-39).

The Puritan William Gurnall: “The Gospel is the chariot wherein the Spirit rides victoriously when He makes His entrance into the hearts of men.”

E. Stanley Jones said: “Religions are man’s search for God; the Gospel is God’s search for man. There are many religions, but one Gospel.”

Roy Gustafson “Religion is the story of what a sinful man tries to do for a holy God; the Gospel is the story of what a holy God has done for sinful men.”

Martin Luther, preached the true gospel of salvation by faith alone through grace alone in Christ alone—to unbelievers.

2. Power of the Gospel (Dunamis)– Everyone should be saved (Romans 1:16)

In the epistle of the Romans, the word "Soteria" -salvation - occurs five times. The gift of salvation is from God.

The power of the gospel is always provided to everyone rather than imposed upon anyone.  In Greek, the power is Dunamis. It is an innate force, exists within a thing. It’s dynamic, living, working, ongoing, and fruitful action or transformative power. It is the ability to achieve something in motion, capacity to generate a powerful impact, and triumphs over opposition. The words Dynamo, Dynamite comes from Dunamis. Example, a cycle dynamo. Power exists but produced when wheels rotate, pressure applied on the tyres.