“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”
Romans 1:16
July 30, 2025
Up to this point as Paul was writing the letter to the Romans, consider the following: He had been imprisoned in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica, smuggled out of Berea, laughed at in Athens, regarded as a fool in Corinth, and stoned in Galatia. The world is contemptuous of the gospel because it is a threat to its self-satisfaction. But Paul was no coward. He is a study it what it means to have courage for the sake of Jesus Christ. Rome was a place of intellectual snobbery. It was a place of powerful people, politicians, philosophers, emperor worship, and a multitude of religions. We face cultured despisers of the gospel in our day. But we are not to despise or distain those who reject the good news of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus looked shame in the face and refused to yield to it. He did not let it rule Him, nor should we. Am I allowing fears to overcome me and make me ashamed of the gospel? If you are believer in Jesus Christ, take heart, knowing the gospel is effective in changing hearts and lives. It produces the results God wants. Have you experienced the power of the gospel in your own life? Do you know what it means to be reconciled to God through Christ, to be forgiven of your sins, made a child of God, to be indwelt by the Spirit, to have new interests, new desires, a new direction in life, to be a part of the fellowship of believers?
H
“Dear God, grant me the courage to pass on to others the offer of the power of the gospel.”