May 17, 2021 CAC Living Water Devotional : Topic – I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL
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Monday, May 17, 2021 – World Telecommunications & Information Society Day
I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL
Read: Romans 1:1-17
Romans 1:1-17 From Paul, a bond servant of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) called to be an apostle, (a special messenger) set apart to [preach] the Gospel (good news) of and from God,
Which He promised in advance [long ago] through His prophets in the sacred Scriptures—
[The Gospel] regarding His Son, Who as to the flesh (His human nature) was descended from David,
And [as to His divine nature] according to the Spirit of holiness was openly designated the Son of God in power [in a striking, triumphant and miraculous manner] by His resurrection from the dead, even Jesus Christ our Lord (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
It is through Him that we have received grace (God’s unmerited favor) and [our] apostleship to promote obedience to the faith and make disciples for His name’s sake among all the nations,
And this includes you, called of Jesus Christ and invited [as you are] to belong to Him.
To [you then] all God’s beloved ones in Rome, called to be saints and designated for a consecrated life: Grace and spiritual blessing and peace be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because [the report of] your faith is made known to all the world and is commended everywhere.
For God is my witness, Whom I serve with my [whole] spirit [rendering priestly and spiritual service] in [preaching] the Gospel and [telling] the good news of His Son, how incessantly I always mention you when at my prayers.
I keep pleading that somehow by God’s will I may now at last prosper and come to you.
For I am yearning to see you, that I may impart and share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen and establish you;
That is, that we may be mutually strengthened and encouraged and comforted by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.
I want you to know, brethren, that many times I have planned and intended to come to you, though thus far I have been hindered and prevented, in order that I might have some fruit (some result of my labors) among you, as I have among the rest of the Gentiles.
Both to Greeks and to barbarians (to the cultured and to the uncultured), both to the wise and the foolish, I have an obligation to discharge and a duty to perform and a debt to pay.
So, for my part, I am willing and eagerly ready to preach the Gospel to you also who are in Rome.
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God’s power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek,
For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.
MEMORISE:
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God’s power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 1:16).
EXPOSITION
Wise people believe that there are some things that are even more shameful than theft. In these opening verses of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he used the word “gospel” five times, and in the fourth time of it, he said: I am not ashemed of the gospel. Whenever Paul reflected on his past, he found many things that he would have been ashamed of. For instance, he would have surely been ashamed of giving approval to the killing of Stephen and guarding the clothes of his killer (Acts 22:20).
He was definitely ashamed of spending his youthful age persecuting the Church of Christ. Refusing to allow John Mark to go with him on his second missionary journey, simply because, he had deserted him and Barnabas at Pamphylia, is another area of His obvious regret. No wonder, later in His ministry, he asked Timothy to bring the same Mark with him when he (Timothy)was coming to see him (2 Timothy 4:11). He would have been ashamed of so many things, but definitely NOT the gospel! Why? Because of its power and Purpose.
1. It has the power to Save lives. Paul says of it, it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes… God has no other plan for the salvation of mankind than the gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:2).
2. It has the Power to change lives. A man confessed that he once bought a panel beaten Volkswagen Santana car that almost ruined him financially! It had an attractive body but unknown to him, it was ‘terminally ill’ The gospel of Christ doesn’t panel-beat, or counterfeit people, it changes them, positively, making them new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
3. It has the Power to heal people. To heal physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually (1 Thessalonians 1:5). It is so sad to see how this same gospel is being commercialised in some churches and denominations. If we make a mockery of the Gospel, Jesus says He will be ashamed of us on the day of glory (Mark 8:38)
PRAYER POINTS:
1. Praise the Lord for the power of the Gospel.
2. Pray for the grace to be a true messenger of the Gospel.
3. Pray that every unrepentant enemy of the Gospel of Christ in this nation would crash, regardless of their affluence and influence.
EXTRA READING FOR TODAY: 2 Samuel 24:12 – 24:25, 1 Kings 1:1 – 1:50, John 3:17 – 4:2