Let us not be ashamed of the gospel.

[Romans 1:15-17]

What are you earnestly praying to God for as you write a letter of your heart to God?  My earnest prayer topic is to be used by God.  In particular, I have been praying that the Lord would use me as His tool like five loaves and two fish according to the words of John 6:1-15 when He called me during the college retreat in May 1987.  As I kept praying, ‘Lord, may You accomplish Your work of five loaves and two fishes through me,’ I became convinced that the work of five loaves and two fishes could be accomplished even through my life or my death.  So, I am not discouraged.  But I am praying, expecting, and waiting today as well.  With a heart longing to be used by the Lord in this way, I am praying more specifically to God: ‘Lord, please use me as a burning evangelist and comforter of your love.’  The reason I pray like this is because I want a heart that cannot endure without preaching Jesus.  Also, as the one who has received the love of Jesus, I want to give glory to God by comforting my neighbors with His love like Barnabas the Encourager.  However, when I look back on my own life so far, I think that I am being used a little as the Lord's instrument of comfort when I think about whether I am living properly as a burning evangelist and comforter of the Lord's love.  I cannot help but confess that I am not able to live like that.  I have to not only pray with a heart that loves one soul, but also open my heart and lips to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to them.  But when I see myself living like a mute, I feel painful and ashamed.  When I think about what the problem is, I see that I am ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 In today's text, Romans 1:16, apostle Paul confesses, "I am not ashamed of the gospel."  Every time I read and think about this word, I wonder how Paul could have boldly proclaimed the gospel without being ashamed.  How can we boldly preach the gospel like Paul did?  Aren't you curious?  If you, like me, are ashamed of the gospel, I hope that as you meditate on today's text, you will have an opportunity to boldly proclaim the gospel without being ashamed like Paul.

If we are ashamed, we can think of one or two things: First, a person may be ashamed of what he possesses is worthless.  Second, a person may be shy because of his timidity (a shy personality) (Moo).  You and I may be ashamed because of our personalities.  But is there any reason why we are ashamed of what we possess because we think it is of little value?  For example, have you ever been ashamed of the faith you possess, the faith God has given you as a gift?  In other words, have you ever been ashamed in front of people for believing in Jesus?  Have you ever felt embarrassed by the fact that you are going to church?  Or have you ever been ashamed of your parents, family, or relatives who believe in Jesus?  Are we not ashamed of our life of faith because we lightly regard the value of faith, which is more precious than gold?  What would you do if you had the greatest good news for me and you?  Would you be ashamed of the best news or would you not be able to bear the good news?  The best good news is the gospel, the Bible says.  What is this best news, the gospel?  The gospel, as we have already meditated on in Romans 1:2-4, refers to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Jesus, “according to the flesh,” descended from David’s lineage and came in the form of a man (v. 3).  Jesus who was crucified and shed his blood to forgive our sins, and was resurrected from the tomb on the third day.  The core content of the gospel is the Jesus who justified us who believed in Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection (v. 4).

            Paul was not ashamed of this supreme good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ (v. 16).  How could Paul not be ashamed of this gospel?  It was because Paul had complete confidence in the gospel (Moo).  Complete trust in this gospel, as stated in verse 16, is “... This gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes ...” means that he absolutely believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ (v. 16).  In other words, Paul was not ashamed of the gospel because he fully trusted that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to all who believe. 

           Do we really believe in the power of this gospel?  Do we really believe that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes?  Many times, we want to share the gospel with people who do not know Jesus, hoping that they will believe in Jesus and be saved and receive eternal life.  This disbelief also prevents us from preaching Jesus Christ correctly.  In other words, rather than preaching the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ correctly, we often try to evangelize with the words of this or that person, relying on our wisdom, experience, or ability.  We just have to preach what Jesus did on the cross as it is written in the Bible.  But we avoid preaching the gospel, the word of God, because we do not believe that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.  Although if we simply preach the gospel wisely and boldly, God will someday give those who are chosen by God faith as a gift and open the door to their hearts so that they will receive the gospel we preach, we lack this simple faith.  Therefore, in our evangelism, man's artificial method is used more.  Also, even after evangelism, we see many cases where man's ability is revealed and we ourselves receive that glory when we experience God's power rather than giving glory to God.  Like the apostle Paul, we must trust completely that the gospel we preach is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (v. 16).  In other words, we must preach the gospel with complete faith in the power of the gospel and the power of God.  Then, the power of this gospel, the power of God that gives salvation, will appear “to all who believe” (v. 16).  It refers to all those who fully trust in God who justifies sinners by letting His own Son Jesus to die on the cross and to be resurrected from the grave to forgive sins (4:5).  When you and I boldly preach the gospel with faith in its power, God will give faith as a gift to all those whom He loves and are chosen by God before the foundation of the world so that they will receive the gospel of Jesus we preach.  And he will let you accept Jesus as your Savior.  Regardless of whether they are Jews or Greeks, from any country or from any nation, God will give His chosen people faith as a gift so they can receive the gospel.  Therefore, when we evangelize, we must preach the gospel while praying.  The reason is because, just as God opened Lydia's heart (Acts 16:14), God must open the hearts of those who we are preaching the gospel to.  In other words, it is because God must give faith as a gift so that they can accept the gospel with faith when we preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

            Then, how does this gospel of Jesus Christ become the power of God that gives salvation to all who believe?  The answer we can see in Romans 1:17 – “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”  The reason why the gospel that you and I preach is the power of God that gives salvation to all believers is because God's righteousness is revealed in the gospel.  What does “a righteousness from God” mean here?  The righteousness from God means that even though the righteous God [Justice (an attribute of God)] must judge us, weak sinners who have become enemies of God, but rather, He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to a sinless human body, to die on the cross and to resurrect him from the grave [an activity of God (the saving action of God)] to restore the right relationship with God (a status given by God) by justifying us who believe in Jesus (Moo).  Since this righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel, only when we believe in Jesus Christ, that righteousness of God is imputed to us who believe in Jesus.  Thus, we are no longer enemies of God, but we have a right relationship with God and become children of God.  And we can live a righteous life—doing what is right.  From the moment we believe in Jesus, we are no longer enmity with God, and all our sins have been forgiven by the precious blood shed on the cross of Jesus.  And we have now become children of God who can call God our Father.  Therefore, as children of God, we can live a righteous life, that is, do the right things.  In other words, now we are all righteous in Jesus Christ.  And we can live only by faith (v. 17).  We can only live by faith in God and His Word.  As righteous people who have been justified by the merits of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can live only by faith in Jesus.  I hope and pray that God's work of salvation will be more fully fulfilled through you and me as we boldly proclaim His gospel without being ashamed of it by faith in Jesus Christ.

Professor Elton Trublood, in his booklet ‘Prepared for Reconstruction’, said of the true enemies of the faith: ‘The true enemies of faith are not non-belief but dim faith and those who take an arrogant attitude toward the church while participating in the church without conviction of the gospel.  And he concluded that in order for the church to demonstrate its church-like power, it must become a gathering of people who are not ashamed (Internet).  That's right!  The church should truly be a gathering of people who are not ashamed.  It should be a gathering of those who are not ashamed to pray among unbelievers, those who are not ashamed to suffer for the truth, and those who are not ashamed to bear witness to Christ.

I hope and pray that we all become believers who are not ashamed of Jesus.  Also, I hope and pray that we, like the apostle Paul, preach the gospel boldly without being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.