Day 22

Paul preaches the Gospel because it is universal, personal and powerful.

‘I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks...I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.’ (ROMANS 1:14-16)

Some days it feels as though sharing the Gospel with others is too difficult and ineffective. When Paul addresses the Romans, he talks about his motivation. First, he says he is ‘obligated.’ The reason is that it is a universal Gospel, for Greeks and non-Greeks, for the wise and the foolish.

His second statement is that he is ‘eager’ to preach the Gospel. Now he narrows it down to ‘you who are in Rome’ – because the Gospel is not only universal, it is personal. He wants to meet these people face-to-face, shake their hands and be familiar with them.

Thirdly, Paul is ‘not ashamed’ because the Gospel is ‘the power of God’ that brings salvation. These three elements – the Gospel is universal, it is personal and it is powerful – are motivations that give Paul the conviction to press on, knowing it is not the power of his witness that is effective, but that it is the ‘power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.’ But how can they believe unless they hear? That is where our responsibility comes in.

Lord, please help me to feel both obligated and eager to preach your Word unashamedly today.