Romans 1:16 (ESV)
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.

The gospel’s core message is that the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17).  It was not a popular message among the Jews, but it was God’s revelation to the lost.  Anyone desiring to be saved must believe in Jesus (John 3:16; 8:24; Romans 10:8-10).

While the heart of the gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4), the teachings of the gospel include more than that.  The gospel of Christ consists of all that is taught in the New Testament.  It is sometimes referred to as the faith (Galatians 1:23).  In other passages, the gospel is simply called the word, the word of faith, or the word of Christ (Romans 10:8, 17), but however it is referred to, it encompasses the totality of inspired New Testament teachings.

To not be ashamed of the gospel, first has to do with not being ashamed of our Savior, Himself, especially how He suffered and died on the cross.  Paul said that the word of the cross (another way of describing the gospel), is folly to those that are perishing (1 Corinthians 1:18), and a stumbling block to the Jews (1 Corinthians 1:23).  The cross was a stumbling block to the Jews because the scriptures say that a man that is hung on a tree is cursed by God (Deuteronomy 21:23).  To the Gentile, who believed that the Romans only crucified criminal slaves, it would be foolish to think that a crucified man was someone special.

As Christians, we know the truth about the cross.  We know it represents the power of God to save us from our sins (1 Corinthians 1:24).  Yes, Jesus was hung on a tree and became a curse, but He was cursed, not for Himself, but for us.

Galatians 3:13 (ESV)
¹³  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

Knowing this, we should never be ashamed that our Savior died on the cross.  We should thank God for the cross and the salvation we enjoy because of it.

To not be ashamed of the gospel, is to not be ashamed of any of the instructions that are a part of the gospel.  Remember, the gospel refers to the teaching of the New Testament as a whole.  There should be nothing taught in the Bible that causes us to be ashamed.  Instead, we must embrace gospel teaching, live by it, and teach it to as many people as we can.  We should feel the same way Paul did about Christ and His Word.

Philippians 1:20 (ESV)
²⁰  As it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

For the rest of this week, I want to consider some very specific things about which we should never be ashamed.  I hope that it will help us in our efforts to be the best Christians possible. 

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.