What truly matters to you? What are you passionate about? As followers of Christ, as fully devoted and fully committed disciples of Christ, we are called to boldly proclaim the good news about Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:16-17 says: “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 man shall live by faith.’”
The Apostle Paul was proclaiming a message about a Messiah who had reconciled humanity with the Lord through the cross — and this message, his allegiance, it was a scandalous offense to those around him. And even though the Jewish people of the day longed for the Messiah to come, they took offense with what he was proclaiming. The Jews, the Greeks and even the Romans had these things that truly mattered to them, items and people they placed their hope and allegiance in for this is what they were devoted to. And all of it was never a bold confession and devotion to the Lord. If any of them were to do what Paul did here in this truth, declaring Jesus is Lord, it would be at the risk of their lives and they could not comprehend that.
But Paul did — do you? As a disciple of Christ in our community, do you get what you are called to do with your life? And are you actually doing it? If you believe you have been doing this, then what does the fruit of that work look like in your life?
Paul boldly proclaims he was not ashamed to declare Jesus is Lord. He had been a leader to the Jews, an influencer in the world he was surrounded by and he even held Roman citizenship, but his journey as a disciple of Christ dramatically changed all of that and he radically, boldly and powerfully declared: I am not ashamed! Does a statement like this reflect your heart? Does saying, believing and acting this out matter to you?
What Paul declared also matched with what he was doing for God. This is important for us to grasp. We must be fully surrendered to the Lord and fully devoted to doing God’s work. Stop thinking your busyness is the Lord’s work. If we are truly living as disciples of Christ, making more disciples of Christ than this community of believers we live among, it would be seeing more and more people coming to salvation in the Lord. We are called to be His disciples and to make more disciples for Christ and we do this when we are unashamed in what we proclaim about God and when we live out our faith in such an authentic way it faithfully declares to those around us we belong to God and we long to see Him redeem and transform their lives.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ can hold its own against any challengers. Do not live in fear of what your friends or family might say or do when you boldly and faithfully live a Christ like life in this present moment. Clarence Bence said: “Although there are strategies for countering the criticisms of the skeptics, or compensating for the failures of less-than-perfect believers, or coping with spiritual adversaries, faith is the key to experiencing the good news of salvation in one’s life.” Does your faith in the Lord reflect your belief and action as His beloved, as a truly devoted disciple of Christ?
Paul was fully committed to making sure with the rest of his life, with all he had, those he encountered would know the good news about Jesus Christ. Does proclaiming this message, Jesus saves, does it truly matter to you? Are you passionate about sharing with others God’s plan for salvation — how God has saved you and how He has transformed your life? What has the impact of being unashamed for Christ on your life, on your family, your marriage or other relationships? What has that impact been and how has it changed you?
May you cultivate in your discipleship journey an overwhelming confidence in God’s power to redeem a lost and hurting world. May this motivate you to use every aspect of your life to share with others the gospel message Jesus saves. And may you be unashamed to proclaim, in your words and actions, Jesus is Lord of your life and that you want others to surrender to His lordship for their lives!
Nick Emery is the senior pastor at Good Shepherd Wesleyan Church. He can be reached at pastornick@gswc.org.
