I Am Not Ashamed

Day 193: Romans 1:1-17

'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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”' - Romans 1:16-17 ESV

Yesterday we left Paul on house arrest in Rome, unhindered. Today, with the beginning of Romans, we've traveled back in time, before Paul made it to Italy. He is both inspired and hopeful about the faith of this church in Rome. Their faith was famous (see 1:8), and as we continue to read this masterful letter, we will see that Paul intends to drill down even further, helping to make their faith more secure.

For Paul, being a person of faith and also ashamed couldn't coincide.

It is no mistake that later on Matthew, Mark, and Luke quote Jesus using the same Greek word for ashamed (ἐπαισχύνομαι epaischynomai): "For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." (Mt 8:38, Mk 8:38, Lk 9:26)

Our faith in Jesus is something to proclaim for all to hear.

Remember when your parents would embarrass you as a teenager? What was so scarring about that experience? Deep down, you felt like your parents were misrepresenting your brand to your friends. Jesus will never misrepresent you. He is a truth-teller. He is a life-giver. Not to mention He's the one who alone has the words of life (see John 6:68).

We will regret many of our actions in this life. We will never regret, not now or in eternity, identifying with Jesus.

"We should note, however, that just as 'righteousness' involves transformation, so the term pistis (faith) includes the sense of 'faithfulness'—loyalty and allegiance—and not simply an intellectual acknowledgment. Genuine dependence on Christ invites genuine loyalty to him, not simply reciting a statement about him as if nothing is truly at stake."
- Keener, C. S. (2009). Romans (pp. 29–30)