For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith. Romans 1:16-17
I am not ashamed of the Gospel. None of us should be ashamed of the Gospel. I am however ashamed of how some Christians have used the Gospel more as a weapon than a healing balm for the people. Sometimes we forget that we are all sinners and in need of God’s grace and that our mission is to make disciples or lead people to Christ, and then get out of the way and let God do what God does.
But this passage is even more remarkable because when Paul was writing this, he had been imprisoned in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica, smuggled out of Beroea, laughed at in Athens and Corinth his message was foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews. With all of that in his past, it is surprising that he would declare that he was not ashamed of the Gospel. I don’t think anyone would blame him if he had said the opposite.
One thing we can learn from what Paul has written is that we cannot give up no matter how difficult things might get for us. Jesus never promised us that we would be loved by everyone and that our lives would be perfect if we followed him, in fact, he preached the very opposite. However, the one thing Jesus did promise, and the thing that Paul held on too as he was going through his trials, was that no matter what we are going through, not matter what desert we might be crossing, God will always be with us.
That is the promise I hold on too, and that is what allows me to proclaim in a loud voice that I am not ashamed of the Gospel.
