Romans 1:16-17 “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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
Paul was no stranger to making bold statements, but his words in Romans 1:16-17 should be a foundation for every Christian. The righteousness of God is revealed to us in that even while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, he was buried, and he rose again on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Jesus Christ did this to be the propitiation for our sins! (1 John 4:10). He loves us and provides a way to eternal life.
This is the news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes! We have that power in our hands and in our hearts every second of every day. We have the cure for death and the gift of eternal life. We have the answers for the hope that lies within us (1 Peter 3:15), but what do we do with it? If we had the cure for cancer, would we keep it to ourselves? Would conversations come up around our friends who were struggling with cancer, or knew someone who was, and we not tell them that we have the cure? Certainly not! How many earthly friends do we have that we have not shared the gospel with? How many times has the topic of religion come up amongst other people, and we have shied away from that conversation because we don’t want any contention amongst friends?
My brothers and sisters, al of us have been ashamed of the gospel at times. We all have that cure for eternal death, yet we have shied away from sharing it with others for fear of confrontation or a loss of a relationship. Jesus told us that the gospel would disrupt relationships, but he warned us that we should not put those relationships ahead of Him, otherwise we are not worthy of Him (Matthew 10:34-39). We must overcome those fears and truly be unashamed of the gospel of Christ!
-Caleb Westbrook
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