Let Us Not Be Ashamed

Romans 1:16

We talked in the last article about Paul’s claim that with “as much as is in me” he would preach the truth. He wanted to do his job, yes, but it was not just a job to him. We saw that in verse one where we saw that he chose to be a bondservant. In verse nine he said that he served God with his spirit. This was his calling, but it was not just a calling.

Our next verse that we are diving into is Romans 1:16. This comes after stating that he was ready to preach the gospel to everyone and that there are no stipulations as to who could be saved. The verse says, “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.”

Romans 1:16 is a very common verse, and one that many of us have likely quoted and memorized. I can recall my mom listening to a song by the Brooklyn Tabernacle where they sang about this verse. In fact, the only part I remember is when they sang the beginning of this verse over and over. It was a little redundant, but I still remember thinking about this statement as a kid. “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” It is a powerful verse.

Paul stating that he is not ashamed of the gospel points to the fact that some are ashamed. Some of us prefer to keep it hidden. We don’t want those around us to know that we are saved. Or perhaps we don’t want to share it because we don’t want to push any buttons. We fear that we will be mocked or ridiculed. It is possible that we also just want to go along with our day and not take the time to talk to someone about the gospel. A lot of us would say that we would be willing to pay a certain sum to see people saved, but we don’t want to pay with our time.

Paul is stating that he is not embarrassed to share the gospel. He doesn’t care if people know he is a believer, in fact, he wants people to know he is a believer. Not for his own sake, but because he wants as many opportunities as possible to share the gospel. I think some of us may not want people to know we are believers because then we have to make sure we live right. People are always watching, but if they don’t know we are believers than we don’t have to deal with the pressure of being “on” every day.

We need to replicate Paul. We are all called to be holy. We are called to represent Christ. We are called to love others. How can we succeed in loving others when we are ashamed of the gospel? We know what can save them, and yet we are hesitant to let them know what will rescue them from hell.

I am not saying that we need to shout “repent” from the rooftops. We don’t need to stand up and preach to our coworkers on a daily basis. We won’t reach people that way. But what we do need to do is live for Him. We need to read our Bibles during our lunch break. We need to pray before meals. We need to avoid speaking negatively about others. We need to be humble when we get recognized. We need to avoid laughing at dirty jokes. We need to avoid using foul language. We need to look the other way when we are tempted and encouraged to lust.

We all have a calling, and if it is not in the ministry then odds are it will be in a secular work environment surrounded by a number of unbelievers. We have opportunities every day to be a light and a witness, to build relationships and stand out as having something different. Let us not be ashamed of the gospel!

We will look at the remainder of this verse next week, but I encourage you to think about heavenly things. It is easy for us to be caught up in the busyness of this life, but we have a higher purpose. We have a permanent home in heaven. We need to remember that the reason that we are put in the job that we are in is not to make good money so that we can have a comfortable retirement, it is to be a witness to those around us. There is a legitimate chance that we may be the only believer that our coworkers rub shoulders with. We may be the ones who are supposed to plant the seeds. Let us not waste our opportunity to be a light and a witness for Him!

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