I'M NOT ASHAMED!
Greetings church family!
Bell bottom pants were a trend in the late 1960s. They were also a trend in the 1970s. However, I can tell you by experience that bell bottoms were not a trend in the 1980s.
I was in the 4th grade and getting ready for school one morning. My parents were stressed out because they were behind on doing laundry. At some point, my mom remembered that my aunt had brought some clothes over from the Goodwill just for me. It was a bag of all shirts, and one pair of pants. You guessed it - they were bell bottoms. I told my mom I couldn't wear those to school, that I would get made fun of all day long. She didn't heed one word of my plea. My only hope was to peg the legs of the pants up (this was in style in the 80s). That worked for a while, until recess came. As I ran around playing with my classmates, the pegged legs of the pants came undone. It didn't take long for the roar of laughter and mockery to commence. Talk about feeling ashamed!
Paul says in Romans 1:16, "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." Paul could have just stated that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Why does he add the first part, "I am not ashamed?"
Remember, Paul was both a Romans citizen (see Acts 22:25-29) and a Jew (see Philippians 3:5). Rome was the most powerful empire in the world, the epicenter of philosophy, politics, and pride. It celebrated strength, glory, and wisdom. The gospel of Jesus Christ was about God coming down as man and submitting to death. The gospel, by contrast, centered on a crucified Jewish carpenter, executed as a criminal on a Roman cross. From the Roman perspective, the gospel of Jesus Christ would have been absurd. Furthermore, the cross was problematic among the Jews also. Deuteronomy 21:23 reveals how Jewish law viewed the cross, saying that "anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse." This is why Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:23, "But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles." Undoubtedly, Jesus' followers in Paul's time were mocked and humiliated by the surrounding culture. How tempting it must have been to feel ashamed for following Jesus.
Dung beetles are stout, oval-shaped insects with broad heads, clubbed antennae, and strong legs for digging. This incredible strength is mostly due to their powerful leg muscles (especially the hind legs), exoskeleton design, and high energy efficiency in muscle fibers. The dung beetle can pull 1,141 times its own body weight. That’s the equivalent of a human pulling six double-decker buses full of people. Who would expect that kind of power from such an unlikely source?
No matter what ridicule Paul faced, it did not cause him to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he shared why. "Because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone." (Romans 1:16) Like the dung beetle, what Jesus accomplished on the cross became an unlikely source of power, a power none of us need be ashamed of.
It is because of this power that chains once keeping the soul captive in sin are broken.
It is because of this power that hearts once hardened are made alive in Christ.
It is because of this power that forgiveness becomes possible where guilt once reigned.
It is because of this power that grace writes a new story over every failure.
It is because of this power that salvation is available to everyone across every culture and language, bringing Jew and Greek, rich and poor, together in one faith.
Church family, in what ways have you personally experienced the transforming power of the gospel — breaking sin’s hold, changing attitudes, or renewing hope? How can you live more “unashamed” this week — in your words, relationships, or choices — so that others see the power of God at work in you?
Be blessed, and live boldly and courageously for God, knowing that He is for you, He is with you, and He loves you!
Blessings!
Pastor Chris
