“COMMITTED TO THE GOSPEL”

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

Romans 1:16

I have a confession to make. Back in high school, I did not want to be called a born-again Christian. I was ashamed. I thought Christianity was far from being cool and hip. As a teenager, I yearned for acceptance among my peers, and the last thing I wanted was to be in a church, singing songs that didn't impress my musical taste buds. So, I did everything I could to avoid going to church. I would pretend to be sleeping while my family was preparing for Sunday services.

I was the exact opposite of Paul, the writer of the book of Romans. If a person in history should be "ashamed" of being a Christian, it had to be Paul. As a Pharisee, he was notorious for pursuing and arresting Christians during the church's earliest days in 30-33 A.D. Twenty years later, he became the premier evangelist and Christian apologist throughout the Roman Empire.

Why would anyone be ashamed of the Gospel? In the Romans' eyes, to be identified with Jesus, a poor carpenter from an insignificant country of Israel, who was executed by crucifixion, was almost laughable. The teaching of the Lord Jesus contradicted every Roman belief and tradition. Rome was the capital of the world that took pride in its military power and world-renowned philosophers. On the other hand, Christians were some of the poorest people in the empire. But Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel. In fact, he died defending it.

Why wasn't Paul ashamed of the Gospel? Because the message operated in the power of God. Paul was representing Someone far greater than the emperor: God himself. He was taking to Rome, a sinful city, the message that had the power to save sinners and change people's lives. He knew what he was talking about, as he personally experienced the life-transforming power of the Gospel.

The word "salvation" means "deliverance," which was especially meaningful to people under the Roman Empire. The emperor was worshiped and believed to be their savior, but he didn't have the power to deliver people from their biggest problem: sin. 

Salvation is available to everyone, "to the Jew first and also to the Greek." This refers to the order of priority in proclaiming the Gospel. Christianity was born in Israel, the land of the Jews, and was delivered outside Israel's borders by the Lord's Apostles, among whom Paul was the most prolific. Throughout Paul's ministry, he preached the Gospel first to the Jews in synagogues and moved to public places in Gentile communities. The word "Greek" is a general term to describe non-Jews.

Just like Paul, I personally experienced the power of the Gospel. God changed my life through the message of hope that we can be saved if we put out trust in the resurrected Christ. Therefore, I am now born again and a slave of Jesus. I have come to understand that there is absolutely no reason to be ashamed of the fact that Jesus is the God-man who died on the Cross for my sins, rose on the third day, went back to heaven, and will return as King of Kings and Lord of lords.

Pursue the Saviour today!