We have all been in situations where we could have told people about Jesus but didn’t because we feared the consequences. Perhaps it might lead to awkward questions we don’t know how to answer about Christianity. Perhaps we would be seen as strange. Perhaps sometimes we are not convinced of the relevance of Jesus in today’s society. On Sunday morning we looked at Romans 1:16-17:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Paul was eager to share the gospel (v15) because he was not ashamed. Why? He knew the gospel message to be powerful. Even though the gospel message seems to be foolish to so many, it is the gospel message that is powerful to save. Nothing else can. Paul had to preach the gospel to those he encountered because he knew that they were not going to be saved from the judgment of God any other way. Every single person needs this message and those who trust in Jesus and his substitutionary death on the cross for them are saved. As a person places their faith in Jesus they receive righteousness from God. Jesus takes all their sin and shame on the cross and God gives them all of Jesus’ righteousness.
If we have understood this, how could we ever be ashamed of the gospel? It is the only way our family, friends, and colleagues will be saved from God’s wrath. Let’s pray for boldness this week to speak of Jesus.