Stand Strong in the Word
Stand Strong in the Word is a weekly bible study that teaches through the Bible verse by verse in chronological order. For more information, visit www.standstrongministries.org.
Stand Strong in the Word
#307 “Are You Unashamed of the Gospel?” (Romans 1:16)
Have you ever been embarrassed to say something about your faith because you were concerned about what others would think of you? In a world that often mocks the message of Christ, Romans 1:16 calls us to something greater. In this episode, we will explore how to remain unmoved and boldly share the power of the gospel in a desperate and hopeless world that needs Jesus.
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Have you ever been embarrassed to say something about your faith because you were concerned about what others would think of you? In a world that often mocks the message of Christ, romans 1.16 calls us to something greater. In this episode, we will explore how to remain unmoved and boldly share the power of the gospel in a desperate and hopeless world that needs Jesus. Turn to Romans, chapter 1, and let's stand strong in the word together. Well, hey there, my friends, welcome to Stand Strong in the Word podcast. Jason Amin is with you, as always. Blessed to be with you, guys, as we continue our study here in the book of Romans. Now we're just going to look at verse 16, and I'm sure most of you guys who are listening you know this passage well, this particular verse. Perhaps you even have it memorized. And what is it 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. Now, I don't remember how old I was when I memorized this passage, but it certainly was one of those verses that helped me share my faith when God gave me an opportunity to do so. So maybe right now, as you are diving in this passage with me. You are struggling, or you're convicted, or you just feel really scared, or you have a situation where somebody has, you know, made objections to Christianity, or you know someone's lost and you're just not sure how you can step into that space and let them know what you believe, or get to know who they are and what they believe, and through that you can build a relationship and start sharing them the gospel. But let me just say this as we go into this passage I pray all of us have a conviction that we would live out the gospel and share when God gives us opportunity, because it is the power of God. Jesus Christ came into this world to die on the cross for you and me. There's not one person who's ever lived where Jesus forgot about or disassociated himself with or didn't qualify as someone that he died for. Jesus Christ's love is universal. We're all made in his image. So let's now look at this passage, my friends, and just pray that wherever you are at, whether it's on college campus, in your workplace, at home, in your neighborhood, whatever it is that you would not be ashamed of the gospel. So now, if you go back and you see where we left things off. We were just talking about in verse 15 here in the last episode, where he says I'm eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
Speaker 1:Now, one of the things that we had talked about is Paul's passion to preach the gospel, to live it out, and I was encouraging you guys in the last episode that it's all about what the Lord has done in our life and this opportunity to participate. Paul refers to over and over again the harvest, and it's plentiful, but the labors are few, and so we should be convicted and have this obligation, this responsibility, to share Christ. Remember the word? There was debtor, and so Paul's life. We know that he was divinely called and, matter of fact, we all are. We're not an apostle like Paul in the sense that he had that official divine office, but we are apostolic, meaning that we are called out. That's what the word means. We are sent out with a message, and so when Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9, that you know, for if I preach the gospel, it gives me no ground for boasting for necessities laid upon me, woe to me if I do not.
Speaker 1:What preach the gospel. So we want to take this heart from verse 14, that he's under obligation for Greeks and barbarians. Remember that. There's there. There's equality. God shows no partiality, whether it's wise or foolish. The gospel is for all human beings, and so when we see this in verse 16, it says for the Jew first, and the Greek. We'll look at what that means. But there's this eagerness, there's this determination, and so I want to set you up again from where we left off.
Speaker 1:Are you eager to share the gospel? And if so, are you eager to share the gospel? And if so, that doesn't mean that the boldness automatically comes. A lot of times, people says I want to share the gospel, I want people to know about Jesus, but I'm just too afraid to do it. So, one, do you have the eagerness? Because, remember, some people are just apathetic. You know, jason, honestly, I just don't really care. I just really care about my own life, and that's so sad because it does not obviously match to the Christian living, and it doesn't. That, my friends, is sin. You're walking in the old flesh. So we, as disciples of Christ, we are to make disciples just like us. Now, do you want a bunch of nominal Christians who don't share their faith? In America, we've done that, and it's really, really sad. And so, one, are you eager? And two, do you have the boldness now to step into it?
Speaker 1:So let's look at what Paul means when he says For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Now what's interesting is, if you look at chapter three, verses seven and eight, it says this but if, through my lie, god's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil, that good may come, as some people slanderously charge us with saying, their condemnation is just so. What's interesting is, even as Paul's writing this letter and of course he'll say this in chapter three, as I just read, but it actually points out to, I think, why Paul is so fierce, meaning he fiercely defends his calling and preaching the gospel. But if, through my lie, god's truth abounds to his glory, the gospel, but if, through my lie, god's truth abounds to his glory. And so it's like he's refuting these slanderous claims. And again, this is very consistent to what we just saw in the letters to the Corinthian church.
Speaker 1:We see that people are making accusations against Paul and if there's one thing that's true, like if there's one takeaway from Paul was he was not ashamed of the gospel and he died for the gospel. I mean, that's it. He lived it out and he's not ashamed. Why? Because he knows it to be the power of God. I mean, one thing that's so amazing about Paul, if you look at his life, is he recognized the work that God did in his own life. And I think that's where it starts, when you and I really genuinely understand what Christ has done for us and the power of the Holy Spirit that indwells us, that has regenerated us, and that we get to walk in step with the Holy Spirit, that he guides and teaches and illuminates the truth. He comforts us and you have that intimate relationship. You're not going to be ashamed of the gospel. You're going to tell people. I mean, I always remind people.
Speaker 1:If you see, I just actually did. It's funny, I actually did it today. If you know me, I love to garden and so I knew there was a sale at one of the local nurseries and I still had a gift card, some money left on a gift card, and I was texting a good friend of mine who actually gave me the gift card, and I was letting him know about this, this sale that they're having on these amazing hibiscus plants. I mean, I mean, we're talking, my friends, like 80% off. I was like stunned. Well, the moment I saw the sale and people that I know that love to garden, I'm going to let them know. I'm not gonna be ashamed, like I mean, do you really think that they wanna hear about this and maybe this might offend them? No, this is a good deal.
Speaker 1:Now I'm not comparing quantifying salvation to a good deal, but it's free. I mean, if you are dead in your trespasses and sin and you're on your way to hell, separation from God for all eternity. But I have the answer for you. I have the solution to free you from your bondage, from the dominion of darkness, from Satan himself, and that you can walk in the marvelous light of Christ and you receive an inheritance. In the marvelous light of Christ and you receive an inheritance, matter of fact, you become a co-heir. That you become adopted in a kingship that lasts forever, that has freed you from your enslavement to sin and death, that you have eternal life. Do you think I'm going to share that with you?
Speaker 1:Of course, so, even when you see a sale and you let people know about it. Or you see a great restaurant, you go in there and you try it out and you leave a sale and you let people know about it. Or you see a great restaurant, you go in there and you try it out and you leave a good review for other people to know hey, this place is awesome. Or when something is bad that you leave a bad review. So you warn people don't buy this product or don't go into this place. It's a waste of money. It you know it made us sick and I don't want you to get sick. That's out of concern. So when it comes to someone's soul for all eternity, knowing what Christ has done in our life, you want to share that with him because it is the power of God.
Speaker 1:Paul is confident in the gospel because, number one if you notice in the first part of this verse, it comes from god. So god is the author. As jonah said, he is the originator of salvation. Salvation comes from god. Two, we see in this second part of the verse it contains god's power. So god has given us a gift that comes from him so he can be reconciled to his creation that has been lost, going back to Adam and Eve in the fall and it's more powerful than the sting of death and it saves people, is the last part of this verse. So salvation comes from God, it's the power of God and obviously it saves you and me from something bad. In fact, the Greek word here is dynamo. It means to describe the ultimate power of the gospel.
Speaker 1:Paul knew this power personally. If you go back to his letter in 1 Timothy 1, verse 12, he says I thank him, that is, I thank Jesus, who has given me strength, christ Jesus, our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointed me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer persecutor, an insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I acted ignorantly, in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost, where I am the chief of sinners. And he says but I received mercy for this reason that in me as the foremost, jesus Christ might display his perfect patience, as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. So Paul's sharing his testimony right, and as he's doing so to Timothy. That's why, in verse 17, he says to the king of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God. Be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Speaker 1:After sharing his faith, his testimony here, how he was transformed from being a sinner on his way to hell to having eternal life and given by the mercy of God a calling to share this message to the rest of the world. In verse 17, he just gives praise and honor to the Lord because he understood the power of God. My friends, that is important. You can't learn that in a book. We're looking at scripture when Paul says for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God. When you say I'm not ashamed of either, because I know that it comes from God. It has the power to save me and I want to share that with other people.
Speaker 1:Now, what's also interesting is when you look at the context. This is in the Greco-Roman era and shame and honor played crucial roles in society. So obviously people that are in high status would shame people in lower status, and we know that. He says that the gospel when he said you know in the previous verses in 14 and 15, that he's eager to preach the gospel to what? Greeks and barbarians, meaning there's no buddy who is living when Paul was alive, at this time that is worthy of the gospel, because we know it's. It's by God's mercy and grace, but that there's nobody who does live though, who's unlovable, who's out of reach from God's love, who can't be forgiven and saved. It's not just exclusive to those people who can quote, pay for it or who are famous. Right, they have a celebrity status, they have a high social status, high threshold no, none of that matters. But now what we're seeing in the culture.
Speaker 1:When he's expressing this in this greco-roman era, he uses a greek verb, epi sky nomi. When he's using this, when he uses the phrase I'm not ashamed and this is frequently found in paul's writings. In fact, if you go back to first corinthians, chapter 1, verse 18, he clearly states that he was not ashamed of the gospel. But remember he talked about how he was foolishness to the Greeks and it was a stumbling block to the Jews in 1 Corinthians 1.23. So you have these different camps, these different philosophies, these different individuals who put a stigma to spreading this message of a quote crucified Messiah. Are you kidding me? Me like that just flew in the face of these elites. You're almost doing the work for them, like I don't have to shame you, make fun of you or put you down, because the very message that you're conveying about having a poor rabbi who not one high institution that's regarded as credibility even wanted him. He came up with this rabbi nonsense on his own, because nobody ever wanted Jesus to be under their tutelage and he made no money. He didn't pay you to follow him. You guys slept on roadsides and were given assistance by people out of pity. And then he is an insurrectionist. He tries to overthrow Rome. The Jews reject him. The high priest, he makes a fool out of himself, turning over tables on two different occasions. He was a Galilean, so what good comes from Galilee? See, and on and on and on. You get the point and this is what my friends, in fact, you hear even today. Nothing's new under the sun.
Speaker 1:I address this on my book hijacking Jesus, about progressive Christians how they like to refer to Jesus as a liberator, but he's not savior because he's not God in the flesh. They don't believe in the incarnation. And when it comes to the atonement of Jesus, oh, that is one of the worst doctrines of Christianity to say that Jesus was stripped naked and crucified to forgive us of our sins. What God would do that to his son and bring utter shame to its teachings. So this is what Paul was up against in the Greco-Roman era and that's why he's saying I'm not ashamed, you guys think that a crucified Messiah, that I'm telling you guys that he fulfilled scripture and you're saying that I'm a fool in believing this. And this is reflecting his strong belief because it's in the divine truth and power of what he believes. And that is the gospel. And who is the gospel? It's Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1:So one of the things I encourage people when it comes to not just jumping into tactics and ways to share your faith and that's important, don't get me wrong but it's first helping the believer in Christ have intimacy with Jesus, to know who he is, to understand the transformation that has taken place in your life. Because this word salvation now again is speaking of being delivered by God from all forms of evil. So there's not one thing that you have committed or has been done to you or that is in this world. There's no amount of darkness in this world. There's no amount of darkness. You can take all the demons in the world and in the spiritual realm, including Satan himself, all the wrongs and evil acts. That is not more powerful than Christ's forgiveness. In fact, isaiah 52, verse seven, says this how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him. Who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion your God reigns. You see, my friends, when Paul says for I'm not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation, this word salvation again is being delivered from all forms of evil.
Speaker 1:God's redemption is so powerful that catch this. It saves people from number one, his wrath, which Paul will later deal with in chapter five, verse nine. It saves us from the death of sin in chapter six, verse six. And it saves us from being condemned. It takes us out of that state of condemnation and we're given eternal life. In Romans five, nine and 10, it says since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by death of his son, much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his life.
Speaker 1:So, when you get the opportunity to share your faith, to share the gospel. You and I have been saved by the life of Christ. So remember I said in a minute ago know the person of Jesus, know about his life, know about his teachings, know about his miracles, his healings, know about His commandments, what he has taught us. And so, if you've never done that, years ago we did a chronological study. That's how we started the podcast throughout the Gospels, in chronological order. So you're not just going to get the book of Matthew, mark, luke and John, you're going to get all their different accounts, how I have pieced them together in the three and a half years of Jesus's Galilean ministry before he was crucified and rose again on Easter Sunday. So if you've never explored the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, I encourage you to go through that study on this podcast. Just scroll all the way back to the beginning.
Speaker 1:You have to know the life of Jesus because the Bible says here in Romans 5, verse 10, that we are saved by his life, what he has done. We've been reconciled. This word reconciled I've shared this a lot and it's so important this is one of the words that we use when we talk about salvation is we have been restored. We have been mended like, again, fishing nets. If they have holes in them they're not effective to catch fish, so they need to be mended, they need to be restored. Or when we have a broken bone and it needs to be realigned in order for it to heal and strengthen again so that you can walk, so we're able to walk in the newness of life because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Speaker 1:Dr NT Wright, in his book Paul and the Faithfulness of God, notes that the gospel is the message of Jesus as the risen Messiah and Lord who has fulfilled God's promises to Israel and has brought them to the whole world. And that's what Paul's saying. I'm not ashamed of. So you give me Jews. I'm going to share with them, from their perspective, who Jesus is the Messiah. Of course he's sharing to the Greeks that Jesus is the Messiah, but he has probably a different approach, and we see this in Acts, chapter 17.
Speaker 1:The jews didn't have many gods. They had one true god and they're showing him. That's what that is. Paul is showing them how jesus is god and that he's the messiah, the one that they've been believing and hoping would come one day, and one of the biggest things. He proves to them as evidence that Jesus is the Messiah is that he fulfilled prophecy, the prophecies that spoke of the Messiah. And then he says to everyone who believes so when you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, it's not going to be a 50, 50, 70, 30, it's a hundred percent.
Speaker 1:You put your faith and trust in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the sacrificial lamb, that he was placed on the cross and that serves as universal atonement. This is what John says in 1 John 2, verse 2. He says John 2, verse 2, he says he is the propitiation or the word, is atonement for our sins. Who is Jesus is Not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. So when the Bible says for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, and what did his son do? His son atoned for the sins of mankind. So you take John 3, 16 and 17 and apply to 1 John 2, verse 2 in what we just read in Romans 5, 9-10. And already there you have three different passages of scripture that are speaking about the salvation of Jesus Christ. That's universal atonement. You know the early church fathers when you think of.
Speaker 1:One of the guys I love studying is Saint Athanasius. He taught that Christ's incarnation in his sacrificial death serves as a ransom for humanity to restore its broken communion with God due to sin. Anselm great book he wrote, called Cure Deus Homo, and he presented Christ's death as fulfillment of divine justice for every human being, while the reformers supported this universal atonement, but they stressed that this was only applied to believers. So one thing that I would say is, when you think of God's unconditional love, is that he loves all mankind. He doesn't show partiality, and Christ, who came into this world, died for all mankind. That whoever believes in him shall be saved. Right, they shall come to the knowledge of the truth, they will inherit eternal life.
Speaker 1:So what we would say in this, when we're talking about unconditional love, universal atonement, is that the effects of it are applicable, meaning they apply to those who put their faith in it. So it's never one of those things where sometimes it works. Most of the time it does, especially on a good sunny day. No, anybody who puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, they're saved. So Jesus Christ atoned. Okay, the effects of it are for all mankind, but that doesn't mean that all mankind will be saved because they have to put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ, just like Ephesians 2, 8, 9 says for by grace we've been saved.
Speaker 1:Through faith, so through God's grace Jesus came. Through God's grace he died on the cross for all mankind, desiring that all men come to the knowledge of the truth. That doesn't mean that all will, because that's God's preferred will. The truth, that doesn't mean that all will, because that's God's preferred will. Now, he determined, his determined will was that justification would be a part of history, would be part of the process of restoring his creation. Because sin does not win. In the end God's grace does. He will restore things back to its original state. So when he says it's not our doing but it's a gift of God, it's not the result of works. So we don't boast. And that's what we have to understand with this tension between God's act and human free will.
Speaker 1:Now, in his anti-Pelagian writings this is interesting, st Augustine he defended grace as God's unmerited favor, which was reinforced at the Council of Orange in 529. And later supported by both Luther and Calvin during the Reformation through their emphasis on solo fide. So the gift of salvation, that is, the free gift of salvation, is rooted in Christ's finished work. So this isn't something we concoct or we negotiate or we figure out on our own. The gift is offered freely and it's offered to those who put their faith freely in him. So the invitation is there. The response needs to be by faith. This is articulated. I do believe in this area that not that I agree 100% to the Westminster Confession, but I do agree when they state that justification becomes accessible to every believer who has faith in Christ, because it is received through faith alone, without considering their merit or their. So that's why when Paul says to the Jew first and also to the Greek, that is the gift.
Speaker 1:This is something the Jews had abandoned, I would say in some cases suppressed. That we will see later in the book of Romans. This is the history of the Jewish people that many believe, like Abraham, isaac and Jacob, the patriarchs, the foreshadowing of the Messiah to come. This isn't saying that the Jews are greater. This is just saying that God started with a nation and it started with Abram who becomes Abraham. And we see the covenant from Genesis 12, genesis 15, and Genesis 17, that through the Jewish people, the gospel would shine forth and out of the Jewish people, out of that seed from the tribe of Judah would come Jesus, the Messiah, who would come from the line of Jesse, who was the father of David, who is the greatest king of Israel in Israel's history, and you see this again in 2 Samuel, chapter 7.
Speaker 1:So that's what he's saying to the Jew first, but then he's saying also to the Gentiles, because everyone has equal access to God and every single one of us who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ can walk in the newness of life. Why? Because the life of Jesus Christ, who came into this world, lived a perfect life, died on the cross and rose again. And when you put your faith and trust in the life and death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that he's Lord and savior, you will be saved. So, my friends, in, you will be saved.
Speaker 1:So, my friends, in a nutshell, are you eager to share Christ? If so, are you strengthened by the truth of what we learned today to be bold enough to jump into those situations and to share your testimony, share how Christ has transformed your life? You don't have to have it all together, you don't have to have all the answers, but I do want to encourage you guys that if you say, jason, I'm there with you, but I do know that I need to learn more and I'd like to learn more. Well, number one you're listening to this podcast and I so appreciate that. I want you to know that too.
Speaker 1:You can go to stanstrongministriesorg and you can check out all the resources that we made available. You can specifically search for evangelism, but I have two resources. One is Stand Strong in your Faith. It's a book you can get on Amazon. And two, grab my Q&A book, the Bible's Answers to 100 of Life's Big, biggest questions, and in that I do specifically address how you can share your faith, how you can defend your faith, and we cover so many other questions in 12 different subject matters and topics that can really equip you. So when you are in those situations you're gonna be better equipped.
Speaker 1:Because we're doing all of this, you guys, to help men and women just like you, your families, to know Jesus Christ, to not be ashamed of the gospel but to know its power and, as such, to go out there in the world where God has called you, in that power, to share the love of Jesus Christ. So I pray this has been a great encouragement to you guys. I appreciate you guys listening. Do me a favor, please. If this ministry has helped you grow in your faith and help you stand strong in the word, leave us a review, share this with your friends and consider becoming a stand strong supporter by going to standstrongministriesorg forward. Slash, donate. It's all tax exempt, but you can help us continue to propel this ministry to the world. Until next time, keep standing strong in your faith.