In Romans 1:16, Paul boldly declares, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”. The gospel of Jesus is not just something we boast about; it is the very foundation of our faith.

1 Corinthians 1:18 states, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” Through the gospel, we are saved and given the promise of a full and abundant life on Earth, a victorious life. This promise is a testament to God’s goodness and grace. 

It wasn’t until I was a pastor, regularly preaching the gospel, that I understood the temptation to be ashamed of it. For a season, I was part of a legalistic church that often dismissed any teaching they disagreed with as ‘doctrine from the pit of hell.’ 

This experience starkly contrasted legalism with the gospel of grace. Legalism is an approach in which salvation depends on obeying rules rather than grace. It leads to judgment, doctrinal fear, and reluctance to embrace the gospel’s liberating message of faith. 

Legalism, with its burdensome set of rules, implies that salvation and God’s favour are earned through our own efforts, obscuring the gospel’s true message. 

Yet, the gospel of Jesus Christ is not a demand for perfection but an invitation to grace. It signifies that salvation is attained not through our works but through faith in Christ, freeing us from the burden of self-righteousness and the shackles of legalism. 

Galatians 2:16: “Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law because by the works of the law, no one will be justified.”

The liberating truth of the gospel, which can feel too good to be true to the legalistic mind, cause one to be ashamed of preaching it. Understanding this contrast is crucial; it liberates our faith from the shackles of self-righteousness, allowing us to embrace the freedom and joy that come with God’s unconditional love and grace. 

In my walk with the Lord, I have realised that every heresy has some truth. So, accepting it seriously harms our faith, but if we completely reject it, we would also be rejecting some important truth pivotal to our faith. The trick is to know enough of the Word, to study and understand it deeply, so that we can discern and separate truth from error. 

The Good News of Jesus Christ

In simple terms, the gospel of Jesus is that mankind can now, by faith in Jesus, be saved from sin, spiritual death, sickness, disease, and poverty and live the victorious life that God had prepared for them before the foundation of the world. This is not just a belief. It is the trust on which our faith is established. 

To the religious mind, this gift seems too good to be true. How can a holy and just God give us such a great gift that we don’t deserve? It is a gospel of grace – it is almost too good to be true. 

Accepting this gift of salvation requires repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, not our works. Of course, once we have put our trust in Jesus, it produces good works that honour Him, but the works independent of faith don’t justify us before God. It is by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8). This reassures us that our salvation is secure in our faith in Jesus, not in our own efforts. 

This is also a blow to our egos. Fallen human nature desires to work independently of God. The flesh’s nature is to figure things out for itself and not depend on God. Salvation by grace through faith requires dependence on God, not on our works. 

When I started preaching this, I sometimes drew back from boldly preaching it for fear of criticism in a sect that labelled it “a doctrine from the pit of hell.” Apostle Paul faced many religious leaders who criticised him for steering people away from what they considered “true religion”. 

I would not dream of putting myself on the same level as the Apostle Paul, but I can now understand how one can be tempted to be ashamed of the good news of Jesus Christ. When I was allowed to preach, I experienced a similar sentiment as Apostle Paul might have felt when the religious leaders criticised him. I understood why Paul had to declare boldly that he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. 

The Power of God

Paul goes on to say that God’s power is in the gospel of Christ. Many churches lack this power because they haven’t embraced the gospel that Paul preached. The manifestation of power is a mark (although not the only one) of the true gospel. Many believers don’t experience God’s power because they haven’t even heard this good news, not to mention believing in it. 

The power of God was powerfully manifested in Paul’s life and ministry. In Acts 14:19-20, Paul had been stoned and left for dead, but he was raised up when the disciples gathered around him. And he even travelled the very next day. If that’s not the power of God, then I don’t know what is. He was bitten by a snake but suffered no ill effects (Acts 28:3-6). He was shipwrecked multiple times but survived them all (Acts 27:27-28:2).

These experiences are a testament to God’s unwavering power, which is available through the gospel of Jesus. He has not changed, so we can also experience this supernatural manifestation of God’s power in life. 

According to Acts 19:11-12, “God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits went out of them.” 

Paul continuously experienced God’s supernatural power. If we want God’s power to operate in our lives and those around us, the gospel of Christ must be our boast.

Prayer and Declaration

Father, I thank You for the gospel of Christ. I seek a revelation of the gospel so that I lay hold of everything that belongs to me as Your son. I pray that Your power will increasingly manifest in my life. 

My Challenge to you

Now, I challenge you, dear reader, to reflect on your relationship with the gospel. Are you living in the freedom of grace, or are you bound by rules that obscure the beauty of Christ’s message? Consider diving deeper into scriptures like Romans 1:16, Galatians 2:16, and Ephesians 3:20. Join or start a conversation with your loved ones about the true power of the gospel. 

Use every opportunity to speak and live out the gospel. Most importantly, pray for a personal revelation of this power, for it is through such revelation that we truly experience God’s supernatural power. 

May you understand and embody the gospel’s truth, living unashamedly in the victory that Christ has already secured for us.