“For I am not ashamed of the gospel…” (Ro. 1:16a).
When Paul was known as Saul, he was ashamed of the gospel. His shame of Jesus’ gospel was the consequence of his pride in himself and the traditions he worshiped. Paul was dying in his satisfaction with his Roman citizenship and his Jewishness. He was devoted to his heritage: “Circumcised the eighth day, of the nation Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless” (Ro. 3:5f.).
Why was Paul ashamed of the gospel? The gospel is about a man who hung on a cross! The gospel chronicle includes an angel, a virgin, a manger, a carpenter, a trial and a resurrection.
Why was Paul ashamed of the gospel? Paul answers the question: “For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (I Cor. 1:18). Paul was perishing. The gospel was foolishness to him because “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (I Cor. 2:14).
Paul was not “being saved” – he was a “natural man.” The natural man who is not being saved will always be ashamed of Jesus’ gospel. God alone can remove the veil of death from his deadened eyes (Ro. 9:15ff.).
The tragedy is not that the unconverted Saul was ashamed of the gospel, for you expect the unregenerate to shy away from the good news. The heartbreak is when a professing Christian quails from God’s gospel, because one of the marks of Christianity is the believer’s unashamed witness to the gospel (Mk. 8:38).
After Paul’s conversion, he became the foremost proponent of Jesus’ gospel. He told the Galatian Christians, “But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). Paul boasted only in Christ and commanded his followers to resist any temptation to “be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord” (II Ti. 1:8).
Your Lord’s gospel is not a mere philosophy – it is a stubborn fact that remains steadfast! It is an announcement from God about God. If you are a Christian, God actually called you to Himself through the gospel (II Thess. 2:14).
All who are unashamed of the gospel “walk by faith, not by sight” (II Cor. 5:7). You can determine your measure of shame by examining the sacrifice you make to live by faith. The greater your faith, the less your shame. After all, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Ro. 8:17).
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