ROMANS UNWRAPPED 15

           "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.........."  Romans 1 v 16.



Underlying this statement, Paul is admitting that the gospel is perceived to be a thing of scorn in the wider world; but he quickly asserts he is not ashamed of it. It was true in his day, it is still true today.
He could have said "I am proud of the gospel", which amounts to the same thing, but he put it this way to acknowledge a universal reticence to accept such a message as being the truth.
Writing to the Corinthian church he says "We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness". 1 Corinthians 1 v 22.
The Jews thought it was just plain wrong, and it conflicted with their religion, which after all GOD had given them. Their MESSIAH KING would come as a warrior to deliver them from their enemies, He would not allow himself to be crucified in weakness. Anyone who did, could not be the true Messiah. Largely speaking this is still the position of the Jewish people. The Greeks, who were noted for their intellect and love of high culture considered it to be just plain foolish. The word used is moria, from which we get our word "moronic", an absurdity, coming from someone of low mental ability. The idea that a GOD, who for them was a symbol of all that was powerful, all that was of high degree in every way, would lower Himself to a cross-death, was just plain nonsense, and something not to be entertained in their thinking.
At the heart of these two positions, is human pride, and the gospel leaves no room for that, which is why both groups at large rejected it. What about you, are you too proud to be in heaven?
In the gospel God lays in the dust all human pride! In three of the Gospels, Matthew 27 v 33,Mark 15 v 22, Luke 23 v 33  God refers to the cross where Jesus was crucified as "GOLGOTHA"- the place of a skull. There's a kind of irony in that. It's as if God is saying "this is what I think of  human pride, nothing but an empty skull!" At Calvary God laid in the dust all human pride. The Corinthians were proud Greeks, and when Paul wrote to them, fully aware of their former mind-set, he quoted Jeremiah 9 v 23-24 " He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord". His take on this was " that NO FLESH should glory in His presence 1 Corinthians 1 v 29.
The full blown wording of the Jeremiah prophecy, which is the death-knell to all the pride of man, and which needs to be proclaimed widely in every generation is as follows:
"Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understands and knows ME; that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness and judgment and righteousness in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord."
All of us should, daily , remind ourselves of this wisdom from God. He is not saying it is wrong for anyone to be wise, or mighty, or rich, just that we should give the glory to the One, from whom all these things come. So if all wisdom, all riches , all status comes from God and He ,sovereignly, and providentially supplies all these, human pride is nothing.

Further Paul says in Galatians 5 v 11 that the cross is an offence to the human mind. That's why we need to change our thinking, the biblical call to repentance is just that-change your mind!

Contrary to the wisdom of this world, God's wisdom was demonstrated at the cross of Jesus Christ. Paul explains again in 1 Corinthians 1 v 21 "For after that , in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe"
Jesus Christ, crucified is THE WISDOM OF GOD and THE POWER OF GOD.
He goes on to say, if we can't accept that we are lost, for a sovereign God is setting the terms.

Thus the apostle says "I am not ashamed" indeed he is proud of it and he gives three reasons, all commencing with the word "for"

1) "For it is the POWER OF GOD unto salvation......"
2) "For therein is the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD revealed......"
3) "For the WRATH OF GOD is revealed from heaven....."


These are powerful reasons to be proud of the gospel, and we shall study each of them in turn.


Tomorrow, in the will of the Lord "The POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION"