As Christians we must not be ashamed of Jesus in any way. Jesus said, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26). Paul echoed this sentiment in Philippians 1:20. “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed…” This should be the attitude of all of us who claim to be followers of Christ. Let us focus this week on not being ashamed of Jesus or anything associated with Him, and let us begin with the gospel of Christ.

Romans 1:16 (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.

What is the gospel? It is the wonderful story about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). However, the gospel is more than that. The words gospel, doctrine, the faith, the word, the word of faith, etc., all refer to the body of teaching found in the New Testament. We must not be ashamed of any of it. Everything that is taught in the New Testament has been revealed by the Holy Spirit and reveals the mind of God (1 Corinthians 2:6-13). We should embrace it with enthusiasm and defend it at all times (Philippians 1:17).

One aspect of the gospel that we, especially, should not be ashamed of is God’s plan of salvation. I refer to that specifically because the true, unperverted gospel of Christ is renounced and repudiated by the majority of the religious world today. Those who accept, obey, and advocate it are thought of as heretics. This is because all mainstream Protestant churches teach that we are saved by faith alone. Never mind that there is not a single passage in the New Testament that teaches this; it is the foundational belief of almost all churches today. They like to say that we are saved by the finished work of Christ on the cross, and if anyone teaches anything else, that person is viewed as an unlearned false teacher who denies the sovereignty of God. But, if you are a Christian, do not allow anyone to silence you. Teach the truth, and do not be ashamed of it. The true gospel reveals that there is something for man to do in order to be justified. Yes, a person must believe in Jesus (John 8:24), but that is not the only obligation of man to be saved and enter into fellowship with God. The gospel teaches us that a person must also repent (Acts 17:30), confess that Jesus is the Son of God (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). Do not be ashamed to teach what the Bible teaches. You will be in the minority, but, when you consider what Jesus taught in Matthew 7:14, that is a good thing. And do not forget, you have the Word of God on your side. You can give book, chapter, and verse for God’s true plan of salvation.

But does the Bible not teach that we are saved by faith and not works? Yes, but the works under consideration are works of the law (Romans 3:20, 27, 28; Galatians 2:16, 3:2, 10) and the faith under consideration is an obedient faith (Romans 1:5; 16:26). Now, when you talk to people, make sure they understand that you do not believe that we can earn our salvation. We cannot. Still, we must obey God, and obedience has never eradicated grace. Noah was saved by grace, but he still had to build an ark. Abraham was justified by faith, but he still had to leave home and go to a strange land. There is a list too long to innumerate of faithful people of God who were saved by faith and grace but had to do something to experience the favor of God. Do not be ashamed of this truth. It is a part of the precious gospel of Christ.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things