Photo by Tim Wildsmith
By Mike Chaffin
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. Romans 1:16
There are times to feel ashamed. Ashamed of some sin we committed. Ashamed we lost our temper or haven’t completely gotten over an addiction. But there is one thing we should not be ashamed of, and that is the gospel of Christ.
In contrast to the 41st Most Referenced Verse on the Internet, (where we learned that when we feel ashamed for wronging someone we should go apologize and ask for forgiveness), we should not feel ashamed, and never apologize, for sharing the gospel.
For, as Paul points out the gospel has the power of God to bring people to salvation if they believe. Hebrews expands on this verse,
For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. Hebrews 4:2
Some people will believe the gospel, and some won’t. This means some will go to Heaven and enter God’s rest, and some won’t. One of the ways people try to shut down hearing the good news of the gospel is by asserting the way to Heaven is too narrow. Why is Jesus the only way to Heaven, what about all those people who believe in other religions?
Jesus himself said the road to Heaven is narrow, but many people will try to take the wide road to Heaven, but that road leads to Hell. Jesus anticipated their argument and told us it would happen.
However, he didn’t say stop believing, or stop telling people, or stop loving people. The most unloving thing we can do is to not tell an unsaved person about the good news of the gospel. You may plant a seed, water their soul, or reap the harvest of salvation. You may be the only opportunity they have to hear and if you don’t tell them, they may wind up in Hell. Always be ready to share the gospel with love in your heart, and respect in your voice.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for dying on the cross for my sins and defeating death by living again. This good news is the gospel message you have told us to spread throughout the whole world. Lord, I need your Holy Spirit to give me the boldness and the means to tell others. In Jesus’ name, amen.
* There is a website that conducted a search for Bible verses. They compiled a list of the verses in order of the magnitude of hits they got in their search. Some of these verses probably qualify as ‘people’s favorites’, while others might be on the list because they are some of the most important and most teachable words of God.
