Bible Reading: Romans 1:1-17

“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 to faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16)

How many times do we find ourselves ashamed of the gospel? For me, there have been countless experiences. Too often do I choose to love myself and my comfort zone over spreading the gospel and loving the souls of other people. If we continually fall back into these situations, what must we realise, and how must we act? 

The first question is, do we understand just how precious and wonderful the gospel is? If we have never experienced or realised the gospel’s saving power, we will have no reason to defend it or further its cause. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel because he knew that the gospel was the power of God for salvation. Paul understood that the gospel was not any man’s work. However, through the gospel, God works to regenerate lost souls. Paul knew that only the gospel could bring salvation to any soul because he experienced it himself on the road to Damascus. 

Through the gospel, we are made right with God. Christ’s righteousness becomes ours because our sins are laid upon Jesus. The gospel redeems us from sins and gives us renewed lives and hearts. When the gospel is shared, the Spirit is at work, and God’s divine power works to save those who believe. How precious and how wonderful is this? If we get to spread the gospel, we can testify and witness how God works to save sinners just like us. On the other hand, if we have genuinely experienced the gospel, we will not not have a desire in our hearts to spread the gospel to others. 

However, even if we have a slight desire in our hearts, we are ashamed of our flesh and sinful selves. Often, we care too much about our ego, and we fear getting rejected. This is something we all struggle with. So how do we face our own weaknesses and failures? By leaning on God’s strength and work. 

Our battle always begins on our knees. Prayer is where it all starts. When we fail, when we feel we are constantly ashamed of the gospel, or even when we feel confident, we must pray. The principle is this: no one can do anything without God. We cannot redeem souls, let alone open their hearts to accept our message. The gospel is God’s work and the Spirit’s work alone. We take no part in regenerating a soul. That is only God. Period. If God does not work to use us, nothing will happen. And so, we must pray and ask for His mercy that He will use our lives. 

To be used by God to share the gospel is a privilege. We are unworthy to be saved, let alone to get to know God more by being used by Him. God could complete all evangelism by Himself. He could use angels to spread the gospel or write it in the sky. He could bring all His chosen people home in an instant. Yet He doesn’t. He waits patiently and uses unworthy humans so that we can learn what it means to serve Him. To serve God and be used by God is a privilege. Therefore, we shouldn’t be afraid to be used by God. Start in prayer. Ask for strength and ask to be used by God. God is good and faithful. He will surely lead You in His path. 

Lord, forgive us because we are unworthy and failed servants. Even though we have experienced Your grace, we spend too much time thinking about ourselves instead of following and obeying You. Teach us that serving You and being used for Your Kingdom is a privilege. Plant in us a desire to serve You more than anything else, that our one lives maybe for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Hans Sangtoki (18) is the coordinator of RE Generation Z. He has a passion for serving his generation and sharing hope in Christ. He also has an interest in classical music and dreams of conducting an orchestra one day.

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