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.
Let's define ashamed, compliments of dictionary.com:
- Ashamed - 1. feeling shame; distressed or embarrassed by feelings of guilt,foolishness, or disgrace. 2. unwilling or restrained because of fear of shame, ridicule, or disapproval.
This is loaded. Paul says he is NOT ASHAMED to preach the gospel! He is not embarrassed, nor unwilling to preach because of fear. Why should he be? He himself knew the transforming power of the gospel in his own life, and his primary concern was that people HEAR the GOOD NEWS!
Paul did not molly-coddle his hearers. NO! He spoke with authority, and challenged the "wisdom" of his day. Not once did he apologize for what Christ had done to redeem us. Not once did he state that people can remain in open, or private, habitual sin and still maintain that they are Christ-one's. Yes, Paul acknowledges that we still sin, but the difference is that we are grieved over our sin and are moved to repentance. we do NOT remain in sin.
Can we, in all honesty, say that we are NOT ashamed of the gospel of Christ? I wonder. Do we capitulate to our culture? Do we quiet down or water down the gospel to make it more palatable to people? Are we preaching a Christ-centered gospel, or a man-centered gospel?
The days of tip-toeing through the tulips have got to be OVER. The darkness is getting very dark indeed. People are calling evil good, and good evil, just as the Bible said they would in Isaiah 5:20-21 - "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!". If someone dare call evil, evil they are labeled a hater or intolerant. Guess what? Calling evil, evil is exactly what we must do! And we must hold out the offer of hope that is found in Jesus Christ alone. In order to hold out that hope, we must not be ashamed of preaching the gospel.
There are those out there that are polluting the Gospel. They add to or subtract from the Good News. we are saved by grace through faith alone. Why would you want to take away from the Good News? Why add to the cross of Christ (which you can't do in reality)?
Preach the gospel... without shame and with boldness! Do not be afraid of what others may say.
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God".
Galations 1:9 "as we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed."
My problem isn't that I am ashamed of it. I'm not fearful of what others think. Maybe I grow tired of the arguing or conflict that arises, but I wouldn't say I'm ashamed. The problem I have is that sometimes I don't feel very passionate about God, the Bible, or about being a Christian in general. I don't know if that's just where I'm at, but I just am not excited about it. I'm kind of indifferent to most things and feel that way about the Bible too. That's sad really but not sure how to overcome that either. I can't make myself love something..you know? Or maybe you can? I think Piper talks about that in his book "When I don't desire God". I should probably read it again.
ReplyDeletei haven't read that book, but maybe it's a good place to start :)
ReplyDeleteThere have been times that i have been indifferent, and i think it all was my own "stuff". Even when i didn't want to read the Word, i would at least read a verse or two (usually as a part of a devotional).
I, too, don't like all the conflict that arises!! believe me on that one. Yet when i am discussing something, or someone is asking how i can be so sure, i have to be able to share the gospel. 1 Peter 3:15 has helped me with this.. "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with gentleness and reverence" . Going through the Foundations study by Ken Ham has really helped me see the necessity of ALWAYS being ready. The days are getting shorter, and we are going to have to be bold. Brian has really had to do this, and if he was indifferent, he would fall flat on his face with the people that are debating him :)
It has been a rough ride, Michelle, and i understand that... There is always HOPE, and we are always here to encourage :)