Unashamed of the Gospel
6/11/25 Bible Thought (Romans 1)
The Scripture presents a picture of a sovereign Creator who is likewise a gracious Redeemer.
While the details differ between the various covenants, the same is found to be true. God didn’t just create the world and leave it to its own devices; He governs it by His providence and the God who is outside of time has acted in time to bring about redemption for those who betrayed Him.
Under the new covenant, this would be clearly portrayed in the gospel, the foundation for the Christian faith, and the message of good news concerning what God has done in Christ.
In Romans 1, Paul would declare,
“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. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Rom. 1:16-17).
Salvation cannot be found outside of the gospel, for it is the message that tells of that salvation! As Paul would later write,
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).
You can’t believe a message you’ve never heard. You can’t place your trust in a Messiah whose name you’ve not known. The gospel message is the power of God for salvation because apart from it, no one will be saved.
The gospel presents God as Lawgiver, Judge, and Justifier. The gospel shows the coming consequences of sin but also what God has done in spite of our sin. In the gospel, both the love of God and the righteousness of God are revealed.
First, God was just in that He punished sin as Jesus received the death penalty that we deserved.
Will God tolerate or ignore sin? There is no need to look further than the cross.
Sin, as an act of treason against our Creator, is serious, whether it’s big or small in our eyes. Throughout the Old Testament and climaxing with the sacrifice of Jesus, there is the continual reminder that, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Heb. 9:22b). If sin is so serious that it requires blood to pay, then surely, it’s not to be taken lightly.
Yet, the gospel also reveals the love of God who sent His Son to die for sinners (Rom. 5:8; Jn. 3:16). Truly, as one theologian remarked, “the cross is where the love and justice of God intersect.”
As Paul surveys the descent of ungodliness in chapter one, it begins with those who knew of God’s existence through the creation, yet they didn’t, “honor him as God or give thanks to him” (Rom. 1:21).
Let this not be said of us.
To those who have heard the gospel and placed their faith in Christ, let us never be found ungrateful. Let us always remember that we were sinners saved by grace. When we were utterly hopeless to save ourselves, God made a way for us. That is good news that doesn’t grow old of which we should never be ashamed.