I Am Not Ashamed of the GospelSample

Paul’s relationship with the gospel

Paul describes his relationship to the gospel message in the first chapter of his letter to the Romans. He says in verse 14, “I am under obligation.” In verse 15, Paul says, “I am eager,” and in verse 16, he adds, “I’m not ashamed.”

Being under obligation—he hasa sense of responsibility to the gospel. He has been entrusted with it. He says he is under obligation to Greeks and barbarians, meaning the entire world. That includes people who thought themselves to be wise—they also need Christ. It also includes the common people, the foolish. He is just as responsible for sharing the gospel with them.

Paul repeats this sense of duty or obligation throughout his letters in the New Testament.

1 Corinthians 9:16: “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!”

Galatians 2:7: “They recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised.”

1 Thessalonians 2:4: “Approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.”

1 Timothy 1:11: “The glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.”

Titus 1:1–3: “The preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.”

In Romans 1, Paul lets the Romans know that he is eager to see them. His sense of obligation isn’t separated from zeal. It is not “I have to,” but “I get to do this.” Paul rejoices in the preaching of the gospel. He is eager, willing, and ready. He desires to preach the gospel.

Paul is also not ashamed of the gospel. The first two descriptions could not be true if the third one wasn’t true. You can’t fulfill a sense of obligation and zeal if you’re embarrassed by the gospel. He is not standing apart from it out of fear of persecution or rejection because he is not entirely convinced of it or concerned about how the world reacts to it. Paul is not ashamed.

Does Paul’s relationship to the gospel challenge and test your relationship with it?