UNASHAMED – Standing for the Gospel

“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 for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17

“But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1Corinthians 1:23-24

“Yet among the mature, we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. “1Corinthians 2:6-7

As seen in the scriptures above, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, yet, many do not come to appropriate this truth, and the world increases in its hostility to the message as seen mainly in the persecution of the saints. 

Also, the gospel does appear to have a reputation for being bizarre and offensive to the minds and systems of the natural man. While this does not mean that the natural man cannot come to understand the gospel and be saved [even the saved was once unsaved], it does show how the gospel does not fit into the design of the wisdom of men. The gospel is the wisdom of God and how he has ordained to reconcile fallen humanity to himself.

This is exactly why the apostle Paul makes a distinction between the wisdom of this age and the hidden wisdom of God. The greeks were known for their knowledge and love of wisdom – philosophy. Yet, the message of the gospel was seen as folly to them for they could not reconcile within the finiteness of their mind its veracity. This is why the apostle says: the natural man cannot receive the things of God. 1 Corinthians 2:14

The Christian must recognize this anti-conventional nature of the gospel and never seek to make it sync with the wisdom of this age. The precedence we find in scriptures is that the gospel does offend the mind of carnal men.

The Christian must recognize the anti-conventional nature of the gospel and never seek to make it sync with the wisdom of this age. The precedence we find in scriptures is that the gospel does offend the mind of carnal men. Click To Tweet

The believer, therefore, has received a call to being ‘weird’. Yes, weird. We must be ready to stand unashamed amidst men that will ridicule us for our faith as though it were folly. The Christian must be ready, therefore, to bear and proclaim the message of the gospel as the truth and the only panacea to the human condition.

In a bid to answer the existential questions that plague the mind of the average man, many schools of thought and philosophical orientations have come on the scene. All of these are fashioned after the wisdom of men. The Christian must also be bold to proclaim God’s wisdom to fixing humanity – the gospel. We must not allow this other high-sounding, essentially flawed ideologies to bully us into thinking our answer (which is the gospel) is inferior.

Never allow high-sounding, essentially flawed ideologies and philosophical orientations bully you into thinking the gospel is inferior. Be bold to proclaim God’s wisdom to fixing humanity – the gospel Click To Tweet

Another reason why we find it hard to stand unashamed and bear the message of the gospel is our desire for the praise and acceptance of people – unsaved men. While believers are instructed to follow peace with all men and live with wisdom towards them that are without the fold, the scriptures also prepare the heart of the believer for the ridicule and hate they will receive from the world. Here’s what Jesus said:

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. John 15:18-20

Jesus makes clear to his disciples that the same hate he received from the world will be their lot. Of course, he didn’t mean that they would be crucified like he was even though many of them suffered gruesome deaths. Jesus said this to his disciples in a bid to brace their hearts for the ostracization and oppositions that they will face.

We should learn the same lesson and prepare to receive the jabs that the world will throw at us on account of our faith in this bizarre truth – the gospel.

Follow peace with all men ≠ Endorse all beliefs. To be unashamed about the message of the gospel, we need to kill the desire for the praise and acceptance of people – unsaved men. Click To Tweet

Folks, if we must contend for the faith that was once handed to the saints, we must be willing to stand unashamed of this divine wisdom we have come to know – the gospel. While there will be many who will still believe, it’s sheer fantasy to think that all men will be saved.

Therefore, let’s put all shamefacedness aside and proclaim unapologetically the wisdom of God. Our boldness is rooted in our full discernment of this truth: the gospel is the power of God unto salvation.

SHALOM!