Are You Ashamed
August 2017
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“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” —Romans 1:16-17
Paul was not ashamed of what he believed because he knew it was the true gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me ask a question of the many preachers of many various gospels, “Are you ashamed of the gospel that you believe in?”
The True Gospel
Not every gospel presented on television, radio, in print, or on the Internet is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. There are many counterfeit gospels presented by counterfeit preachers. What is the true gospel of Jesus Christ?
The word gospel means “good news” or “good message.” It comes from the Greek word euaggelion. In reality, the good news is centered in the Son of God and His atoning mission at Calvary. Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Lk. 4:18-19). Jesus presented Himself as the fulfillment of this Scripture.
The Gospel Of Religious Works
The gospel of religious works cannot be the true gospel. Since when does salvation by works mean good news? Unsuccessfully trying to earn your way to heaven is not good news. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). Salvation through a simple faith in Jesus Christ is good news!
Good News Is For Everyone
The true good news must be good news for every man, every woman, every boy, and every girl around the world. It has to be good news in America and the remotest parts of the world at the same time. It cannot be “us four and no more.” It’s good news for everyone.
It Must Work For Everyone
The good news has to work for everyone. The prosperity gospel, for example, does not work for everyone. Giving more riches to a drug addict only gives him more funds to spend on his habit. Nobody has ever been set free from drugs, alcohol, or immorality through the prosperity gospel; yet, millions have been set free by a simple faith in what Christ accomplished on an old rugged Cross!
The Power Of God
“For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (I Cor. 1:18). The power of God is found in the preaching of the Cross! The word used here for “preaching” is logos in the Greek. The logos—the Word, the doctrine, the Message of the Cross—to them who are presently in the act of perishing is foolishness, but unto us who are presently in the act of being saved, it is the dunamis—(miraculous) power—of God! That is the true gospel, in which you do not need to be ashamed. We preach the Message of the Cross because it is the true gospel, it is for everyone, and it works for everyone who believes.
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