In Romans 1:16, Paul emphatically declares
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for those who believe.”
A question that I occasionally ask myself:
Am I ashamed?
What does being “ashamed” look like?
Does the gospel embarrass me?
Fear of assertion
Our culture loves ambiguity and relativity:
- To couch statements into vague notions
- To dance around the truth with the idea that the truth is ultimately unknowable.
The gospel calls us to make claims of truth — assertions that are undeniable.
To state that “Jesus is THE way” is a truth claim.
Though I fully believe it, sometimes my silence may lend agreement to something else.
We can sometimes fear to assert and instead, shut down and say nothing.
Perhaps you can think of other ways that being “ashamed of the gospel” comes into reality in your life.
If so, feel free to share it with me.
Let me ask you this?
Can you think of a time where you were “ashamed of the gospel?” Feel free to share in the comments if you wish.
Image Source: Unknown, found on Pinterest
How to Grow a Small Church
Hi Chris… Good to see you posting again. Biggest time of shutting down and saying nothing is with family. They already know what I believe…ongoing sharing seems to “rock the boat”. Please pray as I go to my nephew’s wedding in PA over LD weekend that the Lord would give me both boldness and love.
Hi Chris,
I’ve been reading your stuff for awhile now. You really do have good helps. The churches–including ours– need help in evangelism. Keep it up! Mark
Thanks Mark.
During the years since I’ve written this post, I’ve discovered other ways that I might show that I am ashamed of the gospel:
* remaining silent when given the opportunity to witness
* not standing up for my faith when it would have been appropriate.
* allowing myself to let conversational opportunities to slide by.
They are all nuances on the same theme: remaining silent when perhaps I shouldn’t.
But I keep learning, and growing in confidence that I can help other’s learn how to overcome such fears.