I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes. (Rom. 1:16)
Expanded Passage: Romans 1:1-17
I didn’t want to go to a Christian college. My high school chemistry teacher was hoping I would pursue science at some big-name school. In the end, however, I felt like God wanted me to go to what is now Southern Wesleyan University. I would be lying if I said I proudly told him the news. The look on his face said I was crazy, and I found it hard to explain from a human standpoint.
Paul clearly felt peer pressure from his fellow Jews to explain a gospel that put Gentiles on an equal footing before God. “Weren’t you a rising star among the Pharisees, Paul? I expected so much better from you.” It is in this context that Paul boldly proclaimed, “I am not ashamed of the good news I am proclaiming to non-Jews and Jews alike.” Why? Because it entailed the possibility of salvation.
Why would we be embarrassed about the power of God? Even more, when the world is in such dire straits, why would we be embarrassed about the possibility of salvation? You have perhaps heard the illustration of the person who doesn’t tell an oncoming car about a bridge that is out. He doesn’t want to annoy them when they are so peacefully on their way—to their deaths. No, let us not be ashamed of salvation! It’s a really good thing.
Ask God to take away your insecurity and exchange it for boldness.
Ken Schenck is provost with Campus EDU. He previously served as vice president for Houghton College (NY) and dean of Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
