Romans 1
Not Ashamed of the Gospel
Shaming is a powerful tool and very easy to use
The use of negative words and images to shame others
Has never been greater than it is today
Shame is a good indicator in our moral compass
But like never before, people and people groups use words and images
To create an environment of shame around anyone different than them
This was true with Jesus and His Gospel
Jesus Christ became the model of Roman shaming
He was mocked, accused, beaten, stripped of His clothes
All to humiliate and shame Him and His followers
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have nothing to be ashamed of no matter what others may say or how uncomfortable you might feel in some environments
Don’t shame others into doing what you believe is right
Use the Truth of the Gospel to explain God’s loving plan for them
Because it is the POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION
Not Ashamed of the Gospel
Shaming is a powerful tool and very easy to use.
God made us with a desire to be accepted.
This desire is so important to building
relationships and healthy communities.
Because there are things, we should be ashamed of.
Shame comes with inappropriate behavior.
We see this in the very beginning with Adam and Eve
who first understood shame after their disobedience.
You and I are wired with the ability to feel shame.
Sadly, shaming is used as an evil tool.
People used negative words and names to make others ashamed
of who they are or what they are associated with.
If we dislike some thing or someone…
We can, with a word or name, make them look bad.
It has never been easier to use the power of shaming.
With the click on our keyboard, the world can
see our words and images in less than a second.
Sadly, people without knowledge
embrace this shaming.
This is nothing new.
Paul, the Apostle, understood that people were trying
to make him and other believers ashamed of following Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ became the model of Roman shaming.
He was mocked, accused, beaten, stripped of His clothes
all to humiliate and shame Him and His followers.
People groups… families, races, government,
neighbors, in fact all of us, use shaming to divide.
Paul made a bold statement in Romans 1:16…
‘I am not ashamed of the gospel’
Paul made this statement after telling us
he is eager to preach the gospel to the Romans,
who humiliated and shamed Jesus by crucifixion.
He is all inclusive when he says…
Greeks and non-Greeks
Wise and foolish.
He was not going to allow their words
or actions to humiliate him.
Paul refused to be ashamed of the Gospel,
no matter how hard the world tried
to make the Gospel a shameful thing.
Most of the time when we are shamed,
we repay shaming with shaming.
We speak negative words to cast
an evil shadow in retaliation.
But, Paul understood…
“The power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes”.
Paul knew the eternal need of those who would attack him.
He knew that if he could get a person to hear
the compelling Truth of the Gospel…
It can change their life like it did his.
People are living by all kinds of standards.
There are many people groups, and
we are dividing into more groups all the time,…
We need to remember in every group
is a person and God cares for that person.
In the Book of Romans and the other letters
to the churches…
There is a constant need to deal with the divisive groups…
Jews and Greeks,
Males and Females,
Followers of one person over the other.
Paul addressed this in Galatians 3:26-29…
Paul points out that faith in this Gospel causes us
to look at people not as different then us, but like us.
We all are people created by one God and
the one God loves everyone in the World…
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3:26-29
Paul did not let the shaming from others stop him
from boldly sharing the Gospel to those
who spoke against the Gospel.
Paul did not get involved in the name calling game
to shame the enemies of the Gospel.
Paul preached, continued to unashamedly explain
God’s love and plan for our lives to be full and abundant.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ…
You have nothing to be ashamed of
no matter what others may say or
how uncomfortable you might feel
in some environments.
Don’t shame others into doing what you believe is right.
Use the Truth of the Gospel to explain
God’s loving plan for them.
Because it is the POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION!
Scripture Reading
Romans 1:14-17 NIV
14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome.
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
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