Romans 1:16–Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Romans 1:16: "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."

This verse speaks of not being ashamed of the Gospel because we understand its power for those who would rest upon the truth of its promises.  This is a good thing: to believe that Jesus is Lord and God has raised Him from the dead.  But it is not enough to merely give assent to the theological assertions of the Gospel; it must be planted within our hearts for its power to take root and for lives to be transformed.

Here's the Catch-22: if we do not implant the Gospel deep within us, we will always think of it as a set of doctrinal assertions lacking any 'real' power to transform hearts and lives.  Are only understanding of the power of the Gospel will be, by nature, second-hand.  We will be able to see the Gospel working in other's lives, but because we have never committed to our own lives in faith, we will remain just outside the purview of experiencing the Gospel's power.

In a round-about way, that's part of what this verse is talking about.  If we are embarrassed or ashamed of the Gospel we have, in the very least, affirmed a low, un-salvific view of the Gospel. This view will, in the end, prove to be self-prophesying, for as the power of the Gospel is applied through faith, if we do not have the faith overcome our own uncomfortability of the Gospel, we have, in fact, rendered the Gospel an innocuous set of theological propositions lacking any perceivable power.

But the Gospel is powerful.  Therefore, if we the Gospel seems embarrassingly powerless, the issue is not the impotency of the Gospel, it is our faithlessness and doubt.  The relevant solution to such a lopsided ordeal is not, it turns out, to find a 'new, more-powerful' gospel, it is to press in wholeheartedly to the Gospel to see its power for ourselves.  In the end, if we find ourselves ashamed of the Gospel it is not the Gospel's fault; it is ours.  It is ironic, then, that the only cure for such a spiritual malady is the Gospel!

If we find ourselves at the precarious position of feeling ashamed of the Gospel, the only tactic which will prove fruitful is to pray and seek ever more for the face of God in Christ, which is the Gospel.  In this way, we will see the Gospel's power in all its glorious splendor as it is: the power of God!