I Am Not Ashamed Of The Gospel; It Is The Power Of God That Brings Salvation To Everyone Who Believes
I Am A Child Of God
ROMANS 1:16-17
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
”Romans 1:16-17 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/rom.1.16-17.NKJ
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Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. His message is the Good News. It is a message that has life changing power; a message of salvation; a message that gives hope; a message that brings peace and joy into our lives, and what’s more, it is for all who believe in Jesus Christ.
Regardless of your past sinful nature, your origin of birth, your health, your wealth or lack of it. Regardless of your sin or circumstance, or even your future sin or any other factor; that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (ROMANS 10:9).
Yet if you are uncomfortable when your unbelieving friends or family mock your faith, or join in with their inappropriate jokes and actions to hide your faith, remember what the Good News is really about and what Jesus has done.
Your mocking loved ones are bound and desperately need Jesus Christ, and it is the truth that shall set them free (JOHN 8:31-32).
It is His light that shines from you that in time shall draw your unbelieving love one’s to the Lordship of Christ. But that light cannot shine if you put it under a basket (MATHEW 5:15).
Yet one does just that when he falls into sin or denies Christ, for all sin separates us from God until repentance comes.
Jesus said, ““Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 10:32-33 NKJV
By focusing on God, His love, which is a weapon of mass destruction against our enemies, our eternal future, and what He is doing in the world, rather than on trying to please people and trying to fit in, or focusing on your own inadequacy or failures, you will lose all fear of what others think or feel ashamed or embarrassed.
For “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.“
I John 4:17-19 NKJV
Further more, you can do all things through Christ who is your strength (PHILIPPIANS 4:13).
Believers say, “we are saved by God’s grace,” and that is true (EPHESIANS 2:8-9), but that is only possible because of what Christ has done.
The power of sin is death, ”The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.“
I Corinthians 15:56 NKJV
But without justice which must be a part of God Law, there would be no consequence and sin would reign.
Therefore, if one was saved by grace without the sacrifice of Christ, God would be breaking His Law of justice and that could never happen, for He is a holy God. Furthermore, no one would have any hope whatsoever if He broke His Laws too.
This is why He allows pain and sorrow in this world today, His grace cannot override justice; if it did, Jesus would of not needed to be crucified on cross to pay our wages of sin.
My beloved, this world would be condemned to sin forever.
But it is therefore by what Christ has done that empowered God to bring salvation to everyone who believes. Christ has defeated sin and it’s power and through Him alone, we have life regardless by faith.
But why did God choose the Jews first?
For more than 2000 years, they had been God’s special people; ever since God chose Abraham and promised great blessings to his descendants (GENESIS 12:1-3). He did not choose them because they deserved to be chosen (DEUTERONOMY 7:7-8; 9:4-6), but rather because God wanted to show His loving mercy to them, for it was through them, He would send His Messiah into the world.
It was nothing to do with favouritism, but simply because He had to start somewhere and the Jews were His choice.
He chose them as a starting point and continued to bring His plan of salvation to the whole world.
That was His plan from the very beginning and remains His plan today and it will come ro fulfilment.
You are all Gods favourites; For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God had chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but rather because the Lord loves you (DEUTERONOMY 7:6-8); that is all who believe in Him.
This is not just Good News, it is amazingly wonderful Good News.
The devil will come time and time again to destroy your faith and put you down with his lies, reminding you of your past sin and failures, telling you how you are useless and unworthy, and that God hates you.
But the truth is, you are a child of God, His special treasures, and it is in your weakness that God is strong (2 CORINTHIANS 12:7-10).
Therefore, when the devil comes to remind you of your sin and failures, remind him of his future, and keep telling yourself, “I am a child of God.”
All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.
