Are You Embarrassed to Follow Jesus?
Have you ever felt embarrassed telling others you’re a Christian? The Apostle Paul certainly had this temptation. As the author of the Book of Romans, Paul wrote a priceless masterpiece that has influenced countless Christian leaders like Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and Wesley.
Romans 1-2
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
Have you ever felt embarrassed telling others you’re a Christian?
The Apostle Paul certainly had this temptation. As the author of the Book of Romans, Paul wrote a priceless masterpiece that has influenced countless Christian leaders like Augustine, Calvin, Luther, and Wesley. The book is filled with so much theological richness that readers can feel like they are moving at an unsustainable pace.
N.T. Wright notes that Romans “covers many different topics from many different angles, bringing them all together into a fast-moving and compelling line of thought. Reading it sometimes feels like being swept along in a small boat on a swirling, bubbling river. We need to hold on tight if we’re going to stay on board. But if we do, the energy and excitement of it all is unbeatable.”[1]
This message is for Jews and Gentiles alike. “Paul’s two main themes—the integrity of the gospel committed to him and the solidarity of Jews and Gentiles in the messianic community—are already apparent in the first half of the letter’s first chapter.”[2] Still, the radical nature of the gospel gives even Paul reason to pause. In Romans 1:16-17, he says, 16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.”
Reflecting on this statement, John Stott made this observation. “I once heard James Stewart of Edinburgh, in a sermon on this text, make the perceptive comment that ‘there’s no sense in declaring that you’re not ashamed of something unless you’ve been tempted to feel ashamed of it’. And without doubt, Paul knew this temptation.”[3] Case in point, in 1 Corinthians 1:23, Paul said, “But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.”
