Unashamed

In Romans 1:16, Paul writes “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe.”

Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was not ashamed of Christ; he was not ashamed of God. He didn’t care what men did to him because of Christ. He was beaten, stoned, whipped, snake bitten, ship wrecked, imprisoned, and finally, beheaded for Christ’s sake; all for the simple reason that he loved his Savior more than life. He loved his Savior so much that he was willing to endure anything for His sake, anything for His name to be proclaimed throughout the world – he was unashamed.

This Apostle, this Paul, I guarantee you that he was human. I guarantee that he was tempted, that he sinned, that he failed multiple times throughout his life; he himself wrote that he was the “chief of sinners”. He was not perfect, not by any means. But what Paul had was Christ.

Paul knew the purpose for his life. He knew that he was created to love and enjoy God; he knew that he needed to tell everyone else about Him so that they too could love and enjoy Him forever. Paul knew his purpose, and he went with it, no matter what stood in his way. He was a faithful witness of Jesus Christ.

In Philippians 4:13, Paul writes that he can do all things through Christ who gives him strength. Paul knew he could do nothing on his own; he needed strength through Christ to deal with all the persecution that was hurled his way. Without Christ, he would have given in long before he was killed. If he believed that this life was it, that he was just made to serve himself, and enjoy this life, he would have never gone through what he did. Naturally, we avoid pain and suffering, but in Christ, we can meet it head on.

Are you unashamed? Are you willing to stand up and proclaim His Name, and endure the persecution that you know is inevitable? Are you willing to pray in public? Are you willing to stand and raise your hands and praise God even when all others remain sitting? If you’re honest, your answer is probably no. I know mine is. But why?

Pride.

Pride seems to always get in the way. Your pride keeps you sitting. Your pride keeps your lips sealed. Your pride pushes Christ under itself, so that the world cannot see Him through you. This should not be.

But how, do you ask, can you possibly smash your pride and throw it away? How is that possible? While trying to do it, the pride itself gets in the way! You cannot do it on your own. Only Christ can do away with your pride and replace it with Himself. And the way to do that is to get to know Him better. As you get to know Him better, you will not be able to help but to love Him more, and as you love Him more, you will find that He is replacing your pride with a love for Himself.

Someday, maybe you and I will be able to say with all our hearts:

I am NOT ASHAMED of the gospel, for it is the power of GOD for the salvation of all who believe.