Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
In describing the apostle Paul, one has to use the phrase “UNASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL.” For a person who attacked the gospel as a believer, he became one of the greatest ANNOUNCERS and DEFENDERS of the gospel. While some were OFFENDED by the gospel and others who considered the gospel a FOOLISH fable Paul never backed down from proclaiming the life-saving message. While there are many verses that the Apostle Paul could have for his life verse, I tend to lean toward Acts 20:24 as it conveys his full dedication to sharing the gospel. Acts 20:24 says, “But none of these things move me; nor do I, (Paul) count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” He was never going to be ASHAMED of the gospel!
We might ask why. What could cause a person to be so dedicated and passionate to the level of being willing to die for this message? I think the rest of the verse gives some good answers.
The Apostle Paul said he was not ashamed of the gospel because it was the POWER OF GOD to bring salvation to everyone who believes. The word POWER comes from a Greek word that we get DYNAMITE. The gospel is the death burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and is powerful to CHANGE a person’s life on earth and change their eternal destination. It has the power to CLEANSE a filthy sinner of any and all sins, to cancel the penalty of sin, and the power to BREAK the BONDS of sin.
Furthermore, the Apostle Paul was unashamed of the gospel because of the PEOPLE it was available to as he wrote it was the power of God unto salvation to EVERYONE who believes. EVERYONE! While the message of the gospel is exclusive, it is also inclusive, as it is for anyone and everyone. It is exclusive in that it is the only message that when believed gets a person into heaven. As Acts 4:12 says, “There is no other name given under heaven whereby men may be saved.” Jesus made it abundantly clear that He was the way the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except by Him. (John 14:6) But it is also inclusive as it is a message for anyone and everyone anywhere. As John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son that WHOSOEVER believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Continue Strong sharing unashamedly the gospel,
And remember to DATE THE WORD