I have been meditating over Romans 1:16. This is one of those verses that we read over and say, "OK, I am not ashamed!" and we move on! But if you look at the seriousness of it all, are we not ashamed? When we are around those who do not know Christ, are we not ashamed of who we are in Christ? When you ask yourself the question of what is it like being not ashamed, we might think of Paul when he was beaten and thrown in jail, instead of whimpering, he sings praises to God. The gates of the jail are opened, and instead of running, he stays and preaches the Gospel to a Philipian jailor who is about to kill himself (Acts 16). That is not ashamed. Or, go back to Acts 8 where Stephen is being stoned, he calls out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," and before he dies he cries out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." That is unashamed. So I recently went over this verse with my Small Group and asked them to give me some examples of being, not ashamed. I started off with 'I am not ashamed of preaching the Gospel' (they needed a little boost), then things were stated, I am not ashamed to live a Gospel lifestyle, not ashamed of being persecuted, not ashamed of what my friends think because who I am in Christ. So if we look at this small list of being unashamed, it is safe to say that to be ashamed is not preaching the Gospel, not living a Gospel lifestyle, being afraid of persecution, being afraid of what my friends think, etc.
Not Ashamed. Can we say that we are not ashamed. Lord, I pray that you show me what I am lacking, and that I trust your power to be unashamed of the Gospel!!!
