Romans 1:16
[16] 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. (ESV)
Someone once said, "All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." There are many people who know the truth yet keep it to themselves because they are afraid of how it will be received if they share it. So they do nothing. It is one thing to see the world crumbling around you. It is quite another to take a stand against it.
The Apostle Paul lived in a time of pagan religion and emperor worship. Moral decay was the rule of the day. Each city had a collection of deities that were worshiped. In Acts 16 we find Paul in Athens where he is disturbed to find that they had so many idols there was even one idol for the unnamed god they had not discovered yet.
Paul could have been intimidated by all of the wickedness in the world he lived in. He was not! Paul tells us that he is not ashamed of the gospel. Because of his insistence on preaching the gospel he encountered all kinds of opposition. He was ridiculed. He was beaten. He was imprisoned. He would ultimately be martyred. None of these actions would keep him quiet. He was unashamed.
Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel because he knew that it's life transforming message was true. It was the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. This foundational truth is the same for us today. We have a message that has the power to transform people's lives from living in bondage to sin to freedom in Christ Jesus.
Are you ashamed of the Gospel? Are you allowing evil to triumph while you do nothing? Take a stand for the truth. It is worth every insult or hardship. The power of God will transform you. It will also transform your hearers.
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