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Not Ashamed of the Gospel
Romans 1:16,17
All of God's word is important. Everything we find on the pages of inspiration
deserves our attention, our interests and our respect. Especially, given the
dispensation in which we live, the great epistles of the New Testament should be
read, studied and reviewed by God's people. And there are several significant
statements or
confessions made by Paul, comprehensive in their reach and profound in content.
Consider this marvelous statement written by Paul: "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'," (Rom. 1:16,17).
THE GOSPEL
The word translated "gospel" simply means good news. The gospel is the message
that is good, from Jesus Christ, about Jesus Christ and based on His death,
burial and resurrection (see 1 Cor. 15:1-4).
When Paul told people about Jesus Christ, and gave instructions to them about
responding to Christ and living in Him, he was preaching the gospel. Likewise
today, when we simply tell people what the New Testament teaches about the
Savior; when we show people from the Scriptures: how to be saved, how to keep
saved and all the glad tidings of the kingdom of God, that's gospel preaching
(Acts 8:4-5,12-13,35-40).
The opening paragraph of the Roman epistle is packed with truth about the
gospel. It is the gospel "of God," (1:1), and it was "promised before, in the
Holy Scriptures," (1:2). The gospel concerns Jesus Christ (1:3), and this is the
message Paul preached (1:1,15). This gospel message is "the power of God to
salvation." The truth revealed in the New Testament is the power God uses to
reach us, to save us and to guide us toward Him.
Outside of Romans there are other key passages affording us good instruction
about the gospel:
The gospel is called the gospel "of the kingdom" in Matt. 24:1. When a penitent
believer obeys the gospel, he is added to the kingdom (see Acts 8: 12, Col.
1:13). Christ reigns as King now, and obedience to the gospel brings us into
that kingdom.
Acts 20:24 shows, the gospel is the gospel "of the grace of God." This is a
suitable description because there is no DO-IT-YOURSELF PLAN OF SALVATION (Eph.
2:5-10). Sinners can be saved only by submitting to and obeying God's plan,
whereby He favors us with salvation in Christ. God's unmerited favor toward man
found full expression in Jesus Christ, and the gospel tells us about that and
calls upon us to respond.
So, the message of salvation in Christ - as set forth in the New Testament - is
the gospel. Robert Turner has said that the "good news" or gospel "...may here
be limited by context to the heart of God's plan, Christ dying for our sins (vss.
1-5, 1 Cor. 15:1-3); but "gospel" is also used to refer to the whole of revealed
truth in
Christianity (2:16; 1 Cor. 9:14)." {Reading Romans, by Robert Turner, p.#22}.
Man is called upon to RESPOND to this message, and live accordingly.
1. The gospel must be heard, Eph. 1:13; Rom. 10:1.
2. The gospel is to be believed, Mrk. 16:16.
3. The gospel calls for obedience, Rom.1:5; 10:16 & 6:17,18.
4. The gospel calls for a holy manner of life, Gal. 2:14;Phil. 1:27.
If you are not a Christian, you need to hear, believe and obey the gospel! You
should open your mind to the truth recorded in the New Testament about Jesus,
who He is and what He did for you. With care, you should note what the apostles
told sinners to do:
1. HEAR: Acts 2:14; Rom. 10:17.
2. BELIEVE: Heb. 11:6; Jno. 3:36.
3. REPENT: Acts 17:30; Acts 2:38.
4. CONFESS: Rom. 10:10;Acts 8:37.
5. BE BAPTIZED: Acts 2:38; 1 Pet. 3:21.
6. LIVE IN A MANNER WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL: Phil. 1:27.
You need to understand, your obedience to the gospel puts you into a
relationship: IN CHRIST (Gal. 3:26,27) and a member of His body (1 Cor. 12:13).
You should find people who are conducting themselves as subjects to the Head,
Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:22,23). And let all thatyou do be according to the
authority of Christ (Col. 3:17; 2 Jno. 9). As you do these things and grow in
Christ you'll feel stronger and stronger about the gospel, day by day; and
you'll increase in your
depth of appreciation for God, His grace and His Son. You'll confess with Paul:
"I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ"
Paul was NOT "ashamed." Shame is the state of one who has lost esteem; who is
not proud. Shame commonly carries the ideas of regret, guilt and disapproval.
It is significant, as you read through the Bible, you do not read about shame
until after sin was committed. Before transgression there was no grounds for
regret; no reason for disapproval or guilt. BEFORE EVE AND ADAM SINNED, the
Bible says, "... they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not
ashamed," (Gen. 2:25). AFTER they sinned the record says: "..the eyes of both of
them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves
together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the
sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day,
and they hid from God ... the Lord called to the man, 'Where are you?' He
answered, 'I heard you in the garden and I was afraid ... so I hid ...," (Gen.
3:7-10).
This is intriguing: BEFORE SIN, no shame; no grounds for regret, no reason for
disapproval or guilt. AFTER SIN: the presence of shame, manifesting itself in
this effort to hid from God.
This helps us understand what SHAME is. It has to do with regret, guilt and
disapproval. SHAME implies that something is wrong ..not good .. something to be
concealed. If shame implies regret, guilt, disapproval and wrong, the reverse of
that is: A SENSE OF PRIDE; GLORY; HONOR; APPROVAL!
THIS WAS PAUL'S ATTITUDE TOWARD THE GOSPEL: a sense of pride, honor and
approval. He had no feelings of regret about the gospel; he was not ashamed to
preach it, to defend it, to commend it. He held the gospel of Christ in high
regard; he viewed the gospel as good news, in the highest sense. Thus his
affirmation here: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ ..."
"Paul's mention of not being ashamed of the gospel is appropriate, because in
the city of Rome were all the trappings of human glory, pride, selfishness,
power, and cruelty, also every extravagance of intemperance, vice, and idolatry.
Raw, naked force was enthroned there. Those fierce Romans had controlled the
world for centuries; and, in their lustful exploitation of power, they had
shamelessly held all human honor and virtue expendable. Ruthless, unprincipled,
power-politics sat naked and unmasked upon the throne of Caesars; and, if there
had been a place on earth where the gentle teachings of the Son of God were
despised, the great harlot on the Tiber was that city. Jesus had warned his
disciples that God himself would be ashamed of any who were ashamed of Jesus and
his word (Mark 8:38); and in this epistolary war-cry, Paul hurled the challenge
of his faith in Christ like a steel gauntlet into the face of proud and arrogant
Rome."(Commentary on Romans, James Burton Coffman, p.#24).
"...I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ!" Paul had full confidence in the
truth and power of the gospel he preached.
HE SAYS THE GOSPEL IS "THE POWER OF GOD TO
SALVATION."
"Salvation." Here is one of those common religious words, we often use but
seldom define. There are a number of technical, or theological definitions I
could read to you and a variety of complex explanations concerning the original
Greek words.
Perhaps it is better to use this simple definition: Salvation is a trip; it
involves movement from one place to another, not physically but spiritually!
Salvation is what takes you from the danger of sin to the safety of
righteousness. Salvation means moving away from Satan to God. Salvation means my
attachment to Satan (the bondage of sin) is broken when I surrender to Jesus
Christ, the Savior, and I am now attached in fellowship to God through Christ.
God worked all this out
before the world began, and when the fullness of time came, He sent forth His
Son. In this word "salvation," there is emphasis on rescue; rescue from the
human problem Paul describes in Rom. 1:8-3:23. "Paul sees a world lost in sin,
facing inevitable judgment and just condemnation, and tells us this is the
remedy for that condition," {Robert Turner, p.#22}. THE GOSPEL!
The apostles were sent out with this message and they were told to baptize
penitent believers and command them to observe all the teaching of Christ (Matt.
28:18-20). This is the gospel, and in this message there is the power of God to
move sinners from their sin to the refuge and safety of righteousness in Christ.
The only thing powerful enough to take you from the bondage of sin to the
freedom of righteousness in fellowship with God is the gospel. Human merit isn't
the ticket. Faith alone is not the way. The creeds of men have no saving power.
Paul said, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, FOR IT IS THE POWER OF
GOD TO SALVATION...."
The gospel message; this plan we have on the pages of the New Testament is the
power God uses to transport sinners from sin to righteousness.
So, when a sinner hears the gospel; believes it; turns from sin; confesses his
faith in Christ and is baptized, he is, in a manner of speaking, transported
from sin to righteousness!! It says, in Col. 1:13, delivered "from the power of
darkness and translated .. into the kingdom of the Son of His love."
Our confession should be the same as Paul's: "...I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation..." There is more in this
great passage ...
"..For everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek..."
The gospel is God's power to save; to be saved means, moved from the guilt and
danger of sin to the peace and safety of righteousness. And this happens in the
life of individual when they obey the gospel.
Now Paul states, IT IS FOR EVERYONE!! It was taken to the Jews first, but it
also went to the Greeks, or Gentiles. It is for everyone, regardless of
nationality, genealogy, race or ethnic culture. The gospel is for ALL. This was
hard for some Jews to accept. It may have been a matter of dispute among some
classes of Gentiles. Men may be selfish, narrow, prejudiced and caught up in
traditional patterns of bigotry.
Notwithstanding man's evaluation or viewpoint, this says THE GOSPEL IS FOR ALL:
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to
salvation for everyone ..."
But, is this teaching universalism? NO! This says: "For everyone who believes!!"
Let there be no doubt, God sent His Son and the gospel was instituted for the
benefit of all men! God does not desire "... that any should perish, but that
all should come to repentance," (2 Pet. 3:9).
It is clear, God sent His Son and gave the gospel for the benefit of all men.
But all men are called upon to hear the gospel; to believe in Christ, and to
accept what God has done, in their own lives! God, by His grace, gave the
gospel. Man, through an obedient faith, is to receive or respond to this gospel
(Eph. 2:8). The gospel is for "everyone," but it says: "Everyone who believes."
This statement, "everyone who believes" should be explored. What does this mean;
what is involved in believing? This is crucial ...
Because there is a common view that believing is a single act of mental assent,
that accomplishes salvation before any obedience; before baptism. Now that
cannot be; "faith alone" is to be rejected on the basis of several things the
Lord said:
In Mark 16:16 He declared: "He that believeth and is baptized" shall be saved.
When Jesus spoke about the kingdom of heaven, and entering that kingdom, He
said: "... he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven," (Matt. 7:21). So
it cannot be that we are saved at the moment of mental assent, before faith
becomes active. That view does not agree with plain statements Jesus made.
But, right here in Romans chapter one; long before the subject of justification
by faith is introduced, there is some very clear teaching about the essential
role of obedience.
Back in the opening sentences; in verses 1-7 ... the aim, the direction of
everything is captured in that phrase: "...for obedience to the faith." That
tells us, the kind of faith essential to be righteous before God is faith that
obeys!
So when I read in verse 16, this phrase: "..everyone who believes," I assume; I
understand the role of obedience, as set forth all through the Roman letter (see
1:5, 6:17,18).
"Who believes, trusts, fully and exclusively, in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Christ is the personal object of this faith, the means of man's redemption; but
faith in Jesus as Lord demands faith in His resurrection, His absolute
authority, His promises; and submission to His commands, teachings, and all that
goes with them." {Robert Turner, p.#23}.
So, all through Romans and really, all through the New Testament and the Bible,
faith is presented to us as trust in God or belief that is so deep, it prompts
obedience.
Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. This gospel is the power God uses
to save people who have sinned. It is "for everyone who believes; the Jew first,
and also the Greek."
VERSE 17 -- "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed, from faith to
faith; as it is written, 'the just shall live by faith'." There are three things
I want to note, concerning this verse.
"The righteousness of God."
In some passages in the Bible, this phrase, "the righteousness of God" has
reference to RIGHTEOUSNESS, as an attribute or characteristic of God. This is
the use of the phrase in Psalms 9:17, "I will praise the Lord according to His
righteousness."
Another use of this expression is curious. The word "righteousness" is sometimes
used in an accommodative way, having reference to the efforts of men to be right
with God through their own devices and methods. In Phil. 3:9 Paul says when he
came to Christ, he rejected his "own righteousness." And in Rom. 10:3, Paul said
some were ignorant of God's righteousness and they were "seeking to establish
their own righteousness." (Remember what we observed earlier - there is no
"do-it-yourself" plan of salvation!)
So here is a word, and its' significance depends upon context - - in some places
it means, an attribute of God; in other places, the imagined attainment of human
merit.
But we are concerned with Rom. 1:17, and the use of the word here: "For in it,"
[that is, in the gospel plan], "the righteousness of God is revealed." Here the
significance is: the condition or quality of being right in the sight of God.
While living in sin, transgressing God's law and trying to guide yourself
through life without God, you are not right; your state is wrong; you do not
enjoy fellowship with God. BUT, in the gospel, God reveals how you can be right,
in condition, in quality and in life. The gospel tells us HOW WE CAN BE RIGHT.
What a tremendous thought; what a proposition, that should invoke in each of us
gratitude and praise toward God. We have sinned; and in sin we are wrong ...
But, the gospel tells us HOW WE CAN BE RIGHT. In the gospel - God reveals His
plan, which has the purpose of putting us right with Him.
Notice the phrase, "from faith to faith." In Romans chapter one, we find the
word "faith" used in two different ways:
* 1:5, THE FAITH - the body or the system of teaching, the gospel message as a
whole. (See also Jude 3).
* 1:8, THEIR FAITH - at verse eight: "...I thank my God through Jesus Christ for
you all, that your faith is spoken of
throughout the whole world.
So there is THE FAITH (the message, the body of teaching) and THEIR FAITH (the
belief of the message by these people who lived in Rome}). This helps us when we
come to the phrase in verse 17, "from faith to faith." How to be right in the
sight of God is revealed from God through the message (THE FAITH) to be received
in our hearts and believed (OUR FAITH). It might help to say -- from THE FAITH
to YOUR FAITH.
Also in verse 17, those who hear the gospel message (the faith); those who have
generated in their hearts such faith that they obey the gospel - it can be said,
they are justified by, and they now can live BY FAITH. This is a quotation from
Habakkuk 2:4; it is Old Testament confirmation of a principle, that if you live
right before God at all, it will be BY FAITH. (See also, Gal. 3:11 and Heb.
10:38).
When the gospel is preached and people hear it, believe in Christ, and obey ..
what's happening is - this prophecy of Habakkuk is finding fulfillment. "The
just shall live by faith." (This is a concept developed in a more complete way
in Romans chapter four.)
Conclusion:
Remember, salvation can be viewed as a trip from danger to safety; it involves
movement from one place to another, not physically but spiritually! Salvation is
what takes you from the danger of sin to the safety of righteousness. "Whatever
power is needed to convert sinful men, all of that power is available in the
gospel!" {James Burton Coffman, Commentary on Romans, p.#26}.
Now what has God done, to afford man the power to make this trip and, what
should man's response be?
Here's Paul's statement: "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'."
I think we should take great pride in the gospel; we should not be ashamed of
it. "It is an amazing thing to think of the background of that statement. Paul
had been imprisoned in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica, smuggled out of
Beroea, laughed at in Athens. He had preached in Corinth where his message was
foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling-block to the Jews, and out of that
background Paul declared that he was proud of the gospel. There was something in
the gospel which made Paul triumphantly victorious over all that men could do to
him." {William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans, p.#9}.
By Warren E. Berkley
From Expository Files 2.11; November 1995
