Not Ashamed of The Gospel

Romans 1:14-17 ESV

 

“I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’.”

 

As followers of Jesus Christ we are to be those who are proclaiming the excellencies of God who called us out of darkness (sin) into his wonderful light (truth, righteousness, salvation from sin, eternal life, Jesus Christ). We are to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth, and we are to be his witnesses, and we are to make disciples of Christ of people of all nations, teaching them to obey our Lord’s commandments (New Covenant), and baptizing them with water in the name of God (wherever that is possible).

 

See: [Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]

 

And what is the gospel that we are to be proclaiming to them? It is that Jesus Christ, who is God, and who is the Son of God, came to earth, was born as a human baby to a human mother, with God as his birth father, and that he grew to be a man. At around age 30 he selected 12 men to be his disciples who would travel and minister with him. And he healed the sick and afflicted, raised the dead, drove out demons, fed the hungry, and preached repentance and obedience to him for forgiveness of sins, for salvation from slavery to sin, and for eternal life with God.

 

But the Jews largely hated him and would not accept him as their Messiah, so they plotted and carried out his death on a cross. But it was the will of God the Father that his only begotten Son Jesus Christ would be our perfect lamb sacrifice on that cross to take away the sins of the world. For Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us on that cross so that when he died our sins died with him. And this was in order that we might now die with him to sin, not just once but daily, and live to his righteousness. For if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

And we should not be ashamed of this gospel of Christ taught in these noted Scriptures above. We should not be reluctant or unwilling to repent of our sins and to follow our Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant) and to live holy lives pleasing to God. And we should not be reluctant or unwilling to share the truth of the gospel of Christ with others so that they can be delivered from their slavery to sin and be raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God.

 

And the reason we should not be ashamed (reluctant, unwilling) of the gospel of Christ Jesus is because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes. But faith is not some intellectual assent to who Jesus was and is and to what he did for us, nor is it some emotional one-time decision made at an altar during an appeal to believe in Jesus Christ whereby all our sins are forgiven and now heaven is guaranteed us when we die, but regardless of how we live. Our faith, which is gifted to us by God involves us living by faith, forsaking our sins, and obeying our Lord.

 

[See noted Scriptures above on the subject of faith and salvation.]

 

Songs in the Night  

 

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

 

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

 

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

 

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

 

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

 

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

 

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

 

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

 

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