Scripture:
Romans 1:16-17 ESV
[16] 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. [17] For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Observation:
Paul was a pretty bold man. As soon as Jesus got ahold of his life, on the road to Damascus, his whole perspective changed. A man who was on his way to gather followers of the way suddenly became the number one advocate for that very way. Jesus Christ had changed his life in an instant. There was no way to deny it. All of his education was turned around, and now he understood the truth. All of his life, he sat at the feet of a sought-after teacher, soaking up all he could. Only to be restricted in the middle of his life due to an encounter with the one who created him. His boldness proceeded him. His willingness to speak the gospel in spite of opposition was the catalyst for two-thirds of the New Testament. He knew and believed the gospel so much that when he saw Peter living in a manner that contradicted it, he had to say something, and he said it right to him. There was no shame in Paul when it came to the gospel. He knew it he spoke it and he lived it.
Application:
If you confess my before, man, then I will confess you before the Father, but if you deny me before, man, then I will deny you before the Father. How bold is your walk? Are you just speaking it? Is it just words, or has your life been truly changed? The gospel is the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. To know that you are loved so much that HE would take the punishment that YOU deserve is powerful. The grace that started flowing in the garden before anyone ever laid a hand on HIM is the same grace that draws us out of a life of sin. The gospel is the power unto salvation… but what is it, and how do we proclaim it? Well, it’s simple. There is one verse that speaks the entire gospel in a manner that anyone can tell others about Jesus John 3:16 for GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS one and only SON that who so ever believes in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life. That’s the gospel. That’s how simple it is. You have probably been saying it from childhood. That’s the one verse that says it all. GOD’S love redeemed you through HIS SON’s death on the cross. I know the power that is within that verse. It changed my life. I am not the man I used to be, and honestly, I’m not saying that to stroke my ego. I’m saying that because GOD loved me so much that HE was willing to step out of heaven and die a brutal death on a wicked cross to redeem my life… HE DID THE SAME FOR YOU. All you have to do is say it and believe it. Salvation is yours. That’s all brought about by the gospel. It’s simple let’s not complicate it. Let’s live it boldly with no shame. Shout it from the rooftops. Jesus Christ is LORD. If you don’t know HIM and this message moved your heart, I would love to introduce you to the man on the middle cross who redeemed this wicked thief and brought him to the promised land.
Prayer:
Father, your plan is so simple yet so profound. Let us live our lives in such a manner that others can not just hear the difference but see it. Let our actions speak so loud that the words we say scream your name. We are a people redeemed. By the blood of the priceless lamb of GOD. We want to walk out a bold walk of love. That shows others who your SON is. We need your Holy Spirit in order to do that, so we ask for a fresh anointing from head to toe. In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray amen.