Romans 1:16-17
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.”
Theme: Walk by faith
Lesson 1 : Do not be ashamed
16 For I am not ashamed
Psalm 40:9-10 – I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord. I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. – cross reference
Word fact check
Ashamed/epaischynomai – offended by/embarassed of/ fearful of ridicule because of
Shame is a powerful feeling that can cause regression and a lack of progress, it can hold you hostage and make you hesitant and unable to complete your assignments because you are held in a place of bondage by the thing that causes you to feel shame. It is a stronghold that can be broken.
of the gospel
Word check – Gospel
the gospel is the herald/word of victory, it was sent by a victorious king ahead of him so that when he would be arriving back everyone would have been ready to receive and celebrate with him because it would have already been proclaimed in his name.
Declaration
I will not be ashamed to go ahead and proclaim victory in my KING’s name, in spite of ridicule, embarrassment and loss of reputation
for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes
Multiple Word check
Why is the GOSPEL the power of GOD for SALVATION through faith?
Scripture references and definitions
Why is the gospel the Power of God to salvation by faith?
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. – 1 Cor 1:18
In essence, the gospel is the word that declares a specific thing.
Also read Acts 2:42-47 about corporate teaching, faith and worship
What is the gospel declaring according to scripture?
1 Cor 15:1-4 -Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures
So faith came to those who heard the gospel, who were drawn by the Lord because of what they heard , who did not feel ashamed or embarrassed by what they saw or was being told to them about death, burial, resurrection and ascension so they were saved.
Why would Paul be saying he is not ashamed? What could cause embarrassment or offense for the audience around him? How is the gospel offensive?
- It is saying we are so bad and such moral failures that the only way to be saved is if God did it himself. That we are powerless to make it right. This is offensive to some very moral and religious people, think the pharisees for example, or think some churches even today who focus on pointing out other people’s flaws and issues
- It offends people who in this world feel their works get them closer to God. People who do not know Christ can give as well, be good samaritans as well, stand up for human rights etc, telling them that only Jesus saves can be offensive and make you ashamed
- Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and other religions preach about love, kindness , compassion, but they do not preach the gospel, so hearing you preach Jesus is offensive to their belief because they believe they are just good people trying to live their best life. The problem is Jesus declares that only He is the way to salvation.
- The gospel is literally built on suffering and serving, it might be offensive to those who just want to conquer and take, so internally it even becomes a problem doctrinally for those who follow the prosperity gospel for instance, because that message is not congruent with what the gospel repeatedly says . Ascribing to the gospel of Christ means being ready to let go of the easy life, literally carrying your cross daily.
- The gospel itself IS power, not that it has power or it brings power – the word for power dynamis/dunamis (see Matt 25:15 -To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.) also means ability, the message of the gospel is a demonstration of what He has done and will do for those who believe and walk by faith.
- The word of God is like a scotch bonnet pepper, when you just look at it and hold it it is not transformative, but put it in your mouth and chew on it a little bit, and it will literally light a fire inside of you that you cannot put out easily. And this gospel is the power of God for salvation through faith
to the Jew first and also to the Greek
Word check – Jew, Greek
Jew- those who had received the law and were the chosen people. They would be considered as knowing the law
Greek- those who had not recieved the law of Moses so would not have not understood the precept or what God expected. They lived their lives oblivious that their practices and lifestyles were sinful. We would refer to them as pagans and gentiles
What was the significance? – the Jews knew the law, so they transgressed because they did not obey the law knowingly. The Greek or gentile did not know the law of God so they transgressed unknowingly. Even thought they did not know God or His law, the pagan people would still have been under the judgement of God for sinful behaviour.
‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” – Exodus 19:4–6
The Jews were therefore meant to show the practice of the law to the peoples through their culture and worship of God by being a priestly nation.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed
Word check – Righteousness
Right standing/ justification/not owing anything/without liability/you are acceptable to the other/very good credit score.
Who is righteous? – God
Where do we get the right standing -At the cross
2 Cor 5:21 -For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
How do we become righteous –
Gal 3:27 – But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
To whom is the righteousness imputed/given over to – those who walk by faith
Gal 5:5-6 -For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith
Word check – Righteousness
Gal 3:6, Rom 4:3, James 2:23
The righteous – The ones who have right standing with God.
Shall live – Be saved/be rescued/continue
By faith – In the word of the gospel.
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4 responses
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Very well put together , simple to understand Very informative at the same time . Explanation on point . Thakyou Nick
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Thank you for your feedback sis. We are aiming to use all this, including any comments made to broaden the conversation for those who come after because there might be something we miss in the initial article. That is to say if you have any addition, subtraction or correction, add it and we will highlight it because we are growing together.
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Presentation , fantastic .. well done brother , I will return to this page as I feel I’m getting fed Amen
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I definitely agree with you sis; this was quite instructive.
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