Ashamed

Romans 1:16

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.

To fully appreciate this verse you have to first remind yourself what salvation means to the Jewish writer. Salvation to the Jew is much broader than our narrow view. Many people think of salvation only in terms of not having to spend eternity in hell. Yes, that’s part of it but to God and to Paul salvation would be akin to Shalom. It means that we are saved in every aspect of our lives. And that clearly means the here and now.

To a person that is sick, the gospel is the good news about a healing God. To a person with an addiction, it means released from the bondage of that substance. Salvation is applicable in a marriage, in your emotions, and truly, every aspect of life. So, the good news about any brokenness is the gospel.

Paul was not ashamed to tell people the good news when he saw their lives broken. He knew that the good news about Jesus would save them from financial devastation, from a broken heart, would heal their bodies and their relationships. He wasn’t ashamed to let people know that falling in love with Jesus would be good news for their bodies, souls and spirits.

He also recognized that both the Jews and the Greeks needed to hear the good news about Jesus’ restorative power. To my way of thinking, I could say, we need to share the good news about how Jesus can touch a person right now to both Christians and non-Christians. Too often we think salvation is only for those who have never met Jesus but there are a lot of hurting Christians who need to be reminded that God loves them and has healing power in His wings. The need to be reminded the God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have very present power for everyday problems.

Yahweh is an everyday God. Jesus is the good news about every problem we face this day. His earthly ministry and sacrifice did way more than just assure us a place in heaven. He came to earth to give us abundant life right here and right now. That is salvation, that is Shalom – nothing missing, nothing broken.

When you see someone hurting, whether a Christian or not, share the good news of the gospel with them. It is power. If you can’t quote scripture, just tell them the good news that God loves them, Jesus loves them, and the Holy Spirit has been sent into the earth to help them with their problems today. Pray with them, pray for them. Encourage them to start reading the Bible and hearing the good news for themselves. Don’t be ashamed to share the gospel with them for it is the power of God, it is the power they need for their hurts and injuries.