The book of Romans is probably one of my favorites, if not my favorite book in Sacred Scriptures. I’m making it a point to memorize it in its entirety, but I know that is going to be a very arduous task. I shared an entire exposition of this book, courtesy of the late Dr. R.C. Sproul, on this platform, but today my particular interest is on Romans 1:16,
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.
This verse is deeper than most of us think because it directly defines what the gospel is and what the gospel means. If you ask ten people about the meaning of the gospel, I can guarantee you right now that you’ll get ten different answers. Some of the answers will sound like this: the gospel is the good news that Jesus loves you, the gospel is God’s love letter, the gospel is the word of God. These are some of the answers I received when I asked people about their thoughts on the gospel. So if you look at these answers, you’ll recognize in them some of the by-products of the gospel but not its biblical definition. It is imperative that our definition and understanding of the gospel mirrors and parallels its definition according to the Bible. So this morning, this is exactly going to be our goal.
What is The Gospel According To The Bible?
When Paul says in Romans 1:16 that he’s not ashamed of the Gospel, he actually defines it in order to explain why he is not ashamed of it. You see, an understanding of the Gospel as God intended is a must. So, according to God, the Gospel is the power that He exerts on those He has called in order for them to understand and then to be saved from His wrath. Let me define that again: it is the power that God Himself applies through the Holy Spirit to people He is drawing to Himself in order to grant them a right standing with Him, which means that they are completely sheltered from His coming judgment. Paul goes on to explain a little more about what this Gospel entails. See, in this Gospel, God reveals His righteousness. Now, this is twofold. First, He shows that the saved individual has been granted an alien righteousness that God Himself gives to him or her. So this righteousness has nothing to do with the receiver because he does absolutely nothing to earn it. This is why it is called the righteousness of God—in other words, a righteousness that belongs to God. It does not originate from or belongs to the receiver; however, the receiver receives this righteousness from God. But also, I do want to say that this righteousness proves that God does not overlook sin. He judges and punishes sin to maintain His righteous character. This is why the scripture says later that God is just and also the justifier of those who are being saved ( Romans 3 :26).
Why Was Paul Not Ashamed Of The Gospel?
You see, there’s a reason why Paul is not ashamed of this Gospel, and it is imperative that we revisit the conditions of his salvation that happened on the road to Damascus. Paul was vehemently opposed to the Way. He actually thought it was a pernicious sect, and he wanted it dismantled. Paul thought he was actually doing a service to God by destroying what he thought was heresy and false teaching. So he had received letters to go to Damascus to arrest and throw in jail anyone that was espousing the Gospel of Christ, and the rest is history. Paul himself received the Gospel from Jesus Christ; he was preached the Gospel directly by Jesus Himself. And then the Holy Spirit enabled him to understand the truth, in that the Gospel is the power that God Himself exerts to save sinners from His wrath. You see, Paul had a misunderstood version of righteousness. He later on talks about how he had a legalistic righteousness. So when he came to understand the Gospel for what it actually is, he saw his own depravity, helpless state, and corruption.
This is why Paul was not ashamed to preach this Gospel, and so should you and I. You see, when you come to an understanding of the Gospel for what it truly is, your only alternative or natural response is to fall down on your knees and worship God. You see, Paul had every reason to be ashamed of the Gospel because, for a Jew like him, a Pharisee of the tribe of Benjamin, believing in the Gospel came with a price. Let me explain.
Let’s look at Paul’s credentials pre-salvation. Let’s go to Philippians 3:
“Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
You see, many of the traditional Judaizers were preaching a salvation based on works, which Paul actually used to believe as well. They also said that unless one was circumcised, one could not be saved. So what they basically said by making such a statement is that Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross was not sufficient to atone for the sins of mankind and appease the wrath of God. So, in their assessment, it was necessary for one to be circumcised in order to be saved, which was a perversion and distortion of this Gospel that Paul preached—the Gospel that he received directly from God Himself.
So Paul is essentially saying that, if anyone has something to lose, it would be me. But he did not care about his former life under Judaism. He was willing to be persecuted, ridiculed, and killed for the sake of the Gospel. This is why Paul declared without hesitation that he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ—because he understood that that was the only way for him to be saved, nothing else.
So what does that mean to you and me? What stops you and I from preaching the Gospel according to how Romans 1:16 defines it? What do we put in front of the Gospel—is it friends, job security, family relationships, comfort, money, fear, rejection, etc….?
My objective this morning was to clearly define the Gospel according GOD and it is my hope that I was clear enough in my explanation. I’m aware that as born again believers, we are still prone to error because we have not yet been fully redeemed but I never want to distort the true meaning and definition of the Gospel. However, I am deeply committed to never distorting the true meaning and definition of the Gospel. When one truly understands the Gospel, it becomes impossible to be ashamed of it.
My name is Tayib Salami and I started Tayibs.com for the sole purpose of exploring difficult questions about the Christian faith that most of us shy away from. In 2017, I entered a very dark time in my life and it’s only by the grace of the Living God that I’m still alive today. It led me to really go deeper in my faith and consider a myriad of questions that I never thought about asking myself or others before. Welcome and enjoy the ride with me.