UNASHAMED!
If you are like me, there have been many things in your life that you are not too proud of. Whether it was things you did before you changed your life or knew better. Or whether it was something that happened to you that you didn't have control over. The enemy lives to use shame to control us and to make us believe that we are not worthy and less than. That is why the good news of Jesus Christ is such an important message for the world to know. God tells us that we are worth it, and He sent Jesus to pay the ultimate price to save us from the guilt, shame and regret that threaten to condemn us. And in the process, He gives us eternal life. In the opening chapter of Paul's letter to the Christians in Rome, he affirms his gratefulness to God for his salvation and reaffirms his commitment to God as a servant who is not ashamed of the gospel he was called to preach (Rom. 1:8-17). I pray that you would reflect this week on the awesome saving grace of God in your life, and recognize the power of the gospel to offer that same saving grace to someone else that needs know Him.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. Paul begins by thanking and giving honor to God through Jesus Christ who is the mediator between us and God the Father. His reason for thanking God is that God is being lifted up throughout the world by the faithfulness of the church in Rome. Paul again noted that he is a bond servant who is in service to God to preach the good news of Jesus Christ. Finally, Paul offered that while he had not come in person to the church in Rome, it was not for a lack of desire to do so, but it had not been in God's will. In his physical absence however, Paul had prayed for them. Is your faithfulness to God something that others see in you and praise about you? Are you praying for someone else to grow in faith?
I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. Having praised the church in Rome for their faithfulness, Paul told them that he wanted to come to them because he believed he had something to offer to them from his own spiritual gifts. Ultimately, his goal was that they would mutually benefit each other’s faith as a result of his fellowship with them and together they might bring others to Christ. Paul's not having to come to them was attributed to his missionary work of preaching the gospel in other Gentile (non Jewish) communities and establishing churches in those communities. Paul presented himself as one who was a true bond servant, indebted to God because of God’s saving grace. And he was willing to go to whomever and preach the gospel. No one was too different, too lowly or too high and mighty for Paul to preach the good news to them. God has given you some spiritual gift to use to encourage others in their faith. Knowing the magnitude of His grace in saving you, are you willing to share with someone else in service to Him?
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.” When reading the words "I am not ashamed..." , we should put them into context. First, we should picture Paul writing this letter to this church that was located in the cultural, political and military power center that was Rome at that time. Additionally, we should have in mind that this was the seat of the empire which had put Christ to death by crucifixion, a method of capital punishment that was intentionally meant to be shameful (note: we sing that the cross was “an emblem of suffering and shame”). Yet Paul was unafraid and unashamed of serving God, because he was preaching the gospel...which is the power of God to save everyone who believes! (See Rom. 10:9-10 for Paul's word on a saving belief). When you realize that we have a gospel message that we can share through word, song and action, and that it has the power of God to save people...you don't have to be ashamed to go anywhere or to anyone and proclaim what you believe and in whom you have faith.
Paul made some things clear in this opening chapter of his letter to believers in Rome. He was a doulos (bond servant) who was indebted to God because of the grace God showed in saving him. In 1 Tim. 1:15, Paul called himself the “chief” sinner. And so he served God by preaching the good news of Jesus Christ anywhere and everywhere, to anyone and everyone. No matter their station or location. Because the gospel message is more powerful than empires and will outlast dynasties. It is more crucial to men and women than anything else you could ever share with them or any other legacy you could ever leave to them. Sharing the gospel with someone may only take a minute...but eternity is in it! God saved each of us who believe, and for that we should be eternally grateful. We didn't earn it and we didn't deserve it, but He's just that kind of God! Now, who could be ashamed to tell the world about that?
Blessings,
Rev. Glenn
