I Am Not Ashamed

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” (Romans 1:16)

This is the third in a series of three “I am” statements of Paul in Romans 1:14-16. First, he said, “I am a debtor,” next he said, “I am ready,” and finally, in this last one he says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.”

Why would he be ashamed of the gospel? Well we ought to be ashamed of our sins, our disobedience, our prayerlessness and lust. But, we should never be ashamed of the gospel. In I Corinthians 15:1-4, he described the gospel as Christ dying for our sins, of being buried as proof of His death and that He arose again the third day.

In some circles Christians are accused of having a “slaughter house religion.” In their pseudo sophistication they have abandoned the blood of Christ for a religion of good works and of a salvation they can earn. But Paul was not ashamed of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. None of the world’s religions (Christianity is not a religion) can pay redemption’s price for salvation. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one who believes.

Dare we today be embarrassed to mention the suffering Christ and belittle the precious blood of the Son of God? You and I will never be disappointed by the gospel or its power to save from hell. As the song says, “We’ve a story to tell to the nations.” Let us not be ashamed to tell it.