Why We Should Not Be Ashamed

Romans 1:16b

We looked last time at the beginning of verse sixteen.  We looked at the popular Pauline statement “For I am not ashamed of the gospel” in depth and determined that we need to be ready and willing to share the gospel with those around us. Today we look at the second half of this verse.

The full 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 Jews first and also for the Greek.” The second half of this verse tell us why Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. We will answer this in the remainder of the article.

Paul tells the Romans that he is not ashamed of the gospel because of what it does. The gospel is the good news. The gospel produces salvation for everyone who believes. Faith and trust in what Jesus did on the cross for our sins changes our life. We are no longer slaves of sin but slaves of righteousness. We are no longer unable to overcome sin; we now have all we need to live a holy life.

That is why Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. He knows what it is and what it does for those who believe. He does not have any desire to be an enlightened man who keeps his mouth shut, he wants to be a man who proclaims the gospel and shares this good news with all who will listen.

Jesus never told his disciples to keep it quiet but to go and witness. God did not send His Son to die for our sins just for us to keep it to ourselves. Odds are we are all saved because we, or perhaps our parents or grandparents, were shared the gospel by someone who was not ashamed of the gospel. My dad’s roommate in college witnessed to him. When he got saved he witnessed to his family and some of them got saved. He then met my mom who was already believer and they got married. If he had not been saved then they would not have got married. I wouldn’t even exist if that man, who I have never met and likely never will, was ashamed of the gospel. That is sobering to think about.

The last part of this verse reminds us that the gospel is for all. The gospel is not only for the Jews, but for all. As we saw in verse fourteen, it is for the wise and the unwise. There is no prejudice against anyone. There is no criteria we need to meet to be saved. The gospel is good news for all.

The second half of this verse reminds us why it is important to be willing to witness. We are not called to keep it quiet. We are certainly not called to be ashamed of the greatest gift we have ever, and will ever, receive. Just like the title of the previous article says, let us not be ashamed of the gospel!

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