Unashamed Faith

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 to faith; as it is written: “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH.” Romans 1:16-17

Have you ever been ashamed to talk about your faith in Christ with unbelievers? You know that conversation with family or a community member where you thought, “If I bring up Christ, they’ll probably reject me, or it will lead to an argument.” We’ve all been there. Interestingly enough, I have found that being a Pastor doesn’t make me immune to that feeling, but it’s hard not to have some kind of conversation about faith when someone asks me, “What do you do for a living?”

Paul declares his position of not being ashamed of the gospel in the first chapter of his letter to Roman believers. His purpose was to encourage them and us. The encouragement is found in that the gospel is the “power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” The power for us to not be ashamed comes from God’s power in wanting those we are in conversation to believe.

Sometimes I have to ask myself quietly during those conversations, “Does the Lord want this person to Believe in Him?” The answer based on other Scripture is yes! The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9, NASB) This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4, NASB) These verses and others are clear of God’s desire.

So if God wants them to know Him and believe, why do I act ashamed or scared to tell others? The answer to this is probably worthy of more than just this devotional, but in short, it’s because we have many moments in our lives where instead of living by faith, we live by sight or by our flesh. While we are stuck with our old natural tendencies, when we become Christians, God gives us a new nature and life, and it’s in that new nature that we can walk by the spirit and live by faith.

There are so many Scriptures that describe this. Galatians 6 describes this battle. Romans 6 also is a good place to go that reminds us that we should consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. I would encourage you to read these this week and thank God for the new life you have by believing in Him.

This week my brothers and sisters understand that God did everything He could, through His power, to give us the opportunity and power to live by faith in Him. My encouragement is to DO IT! Live by faith in Christ this week! Live by faith in our Risen Savior, who loves each and every person in our lives and desires for them to have the same loving, powerful faith that we do.

Desiring to live unashamed and by faith in Christ,
Pastor Mike


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