I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Devotional

Day 1: When Chains Couldn’t Silence the Promised Land

The enslaved Africans, given a fragmented Bible stripped of Exodus’ liberation, still sang of crossing into freedom. Their hollow iron drums and coded spirituals became a defiant liturgy—a testimony that no censorship could erase the soul’s hunger for deliverance. Even with Psalms and Revelation removed, they clung to the God who parts seas and raises the dead. Their faith teaches us to recognize God’s voice in the gaps, to trust that what man withholds, the Spirit restores. [01:03:14]

“I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I have remembered my covenant. Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.’”
(Exodus 6:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you encountered God’s promises in seasons of limitation? How might your worship become a defiant act of hope when freedom feels distant?

Day 2: Lot Carey’s Unashamed Gospel in a Stolen Bible

A formerly enslaved man, Lot Carey, read the same manipulated scriptures used to justify bondage—yet he saw beyond the page to the resurrected Christ. He bought his freedom, then carried the full gospel to Liberia, refusing to let oppression define God’s story. His life proves the gospel cannot be contained by those who weaponize it; it erupts through cracks in empire, turning survivors into apostles. [01:13:10]

“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 for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”
(Romans 1:16-17, ESV)

Reflection: What “edited” narratives about God have you inherited? How can you, like Carey, reclaim the gospel’s subversive power to liberate?

Day 3: Resurrection’s Echo in the Empty Tomb’s Wake

When Jesus shouted, tombs cracked open. Saints long dead walked Jerusalem’s streets—resurrection’s aftershocks testifying that His victory over death rewrites all endings. The preacher’s trembling knees and rapid heartbeat at the pulpit mirror this holy disruption: the same power that unsealed graves now animates our witness. To preach Christ crucified is to declare that chains and cemeteries cannot hold us. [01:12:32]

“And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.”
(Matthew 27:51-52, ESV)

Reflection: When has God’s power surprised you in a place of death or defeat? How does Christ’s resurrection compel you to live unafraid of brokenness?

Day 4: Costly Grace and the Pearl Worth Selling Everything

Cheap grace demands nothing; costly grace cost God His Son. Bonhoeffer’s warning echoes: grace that ignores repentance, discipleship, or the cross is a hollow forgery. True grace is the treasure hidden in a field, the pearl bought with all we have. It calls us to lose our lives to find them, to trade comfort for the fire of following Jesus. [01:23:31]

“The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
(Matthew 13:45-46, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you settled for “cheap grace” in your walk with Christ? What might surrendering to costly grace look like this week?

Day 5: The Gospel That Outshines Bad News Headlines

Amid wars, injustice, and despair, the gospel remains the headline: God makes rebels righteous, breathes life into dry bones, and rewrites stories. Like the enslaved who sang “I’m Bound for the Promised Land,” we fix our eyes beyond today’s chaos. The good news isn’t a denial of pain but the assurance that Christ’s resurrection power outlasts every crisis. [59:54]

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”
(2 Corinthians 4:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: What “bad news” weighs heavily on you? How can you actively proclaim Christ’s victory in that tension today?

Sermon Summary

Paul declares that the good news outweighs the bad news. The news of fire, violence, hate, hunger, deportation, economic trouble, and grief can wear a soul down, but the gospel says God is still God. God promised this good news through the prophets, and the good news is about his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Slave Negro Bible reveals how human beings tried to parse God’s word in order to control enslaved Africans. That Bible removed Exodus, Psalms, Jeremiah, the prophets, Revelation, Mark, and much of Romans because hope, resistance, freedom, and God’s victory were too dangerous for slaveholders. The enslaved still carried a heritage of music, story, spiritual awareness, and a knowing that Jesus had done a wonder. The songs said, “You better mind,” but the songs also said, “I am bound for the promised land.”

Mark’s omission reveals the fear of a gospel of action. Mark presents Jesus healing, delivering, preaching, calling disciples, suffering, dying, and rising again for people facing persecution. Romans 8, though removed from that slave Bible, still declares that if God is for God’s children, no trouble, calamity, hunger, danger, or death can separate them from God’s love. Christ’s resurrection shows that God’s vindication follows righteous suffering.

Paul refuses shame because the gospel is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes. The righteousness of God is not earned by law righteousness, pride, status, or human effort. God makes people right from start to finish by faith, justifies sinners freely by grace, adopts them as children, and transforms them into the image of his Son through the Spirit.

Grace cannot be bought, but grace is not cheap. Cheap grace wants forgiveness without repentance, baptism without discipline, communion without confession, and grace without discipleship, the cross, or Jesus Christ living and incarnate. Costly grace is the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price because it calls a person to follow Jesus. Costly grace costs a life, yet gives the only true life, because God did not count his Son too dear a price for salvation.

The Holy Spirit meets weakness with the word, “My grace is sufficient for you.” Jesus lives by the resurrected power of God, and believers live by that same resurrected power. The gospel therefore calls broken hearts, grieving souls, seekers, and those needing prayer to come to Jesus without shame.

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Key Takeaways

1. The good news outweighs bad news. The bad news is real, and it comes from every direction: violence, loss, injustice, fear, and uncertainty. The gospel does not deny the trouble, but it declares that God’s saving power is greater than the trouble. God remains present in all things, even where human eyes cannot yet see the good. [59:39]
2. God’s word cannot be safely parsed. The Slave Negro Bible shows the danger of cutting away the parts of Scripture that announce freedom, judgment, endurance, and hope. Human power may try to control the Bible’s witness, but God’s truth keeps rising through song, testimony, memory, and faith. The gospel cannot be reduced to obedience toward earthly masters while silencing God’s liberating power. [62:17]
3. Grace is free, but not cheap. Grace comes without purchase because Christ has already paid the price. Cheap grace excuses sin while leaving the sinner untouched, but costly grace brings repentance, confession, discipline, and a real following after Jesus. Christ’s call costs a life because it gives that life back in its truest form. [81:24]
4. Resurrection power meets human weakness. The Father raised Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit, and that resurrection is not merely a phrase for celebration. The same Spirit strengthens those who are weak, grieving, trembling, and conscious of their failures. God’s sufficient grace makes room for faithful obedience where human strength runs out.

## [88:03]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[52:33] - Gratitude, Prayer, and Personal Grief
[57:48] - Paul’s Good News in Romans
[59:39] - When Bad News Is Everywhere
[60:56] - The Slave Negro Bible
[63:31] - Scriptures of Hope Removed
[64:33] - Spirituals and the Promised Land
[66:01] - Why Mark’s Gospel Was Omitted
[69:26] - Romans 8 and Overwhelming Victory
[70:19] - Raised by the Holy Spirit
[72:48] - Lot Carey and Gospel Mission
[74:19] - Unashamed of the Gospel
[77:39] - Conformed to Christ’s Image
[81:24] - Cheap Grace and Costly Grace
[85:02] - Praise, Invitation, and Prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Romans 1:16–17
“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 for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”
[59:07]

Romans 8:28–30
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
[01:17:40]

Romans 8:31–39
“What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
[01:09:34]

2 Corinthians 12:9
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
[01:20:17]

Observation questions

In Romans 1:16–17, what does Paul say the gospel does, and who does he say it is for?
What kinds of hardship does Romans 8:31–39 name as unable to separate God’s people from Christ’s love? [01:09:42]
What parts of Scripture were removed from the Slave Negro Bible, and what themes in those books would have been threatening to those who wanted to control enslaved people? [01:03:31]
According to Romans 8:28–30, what is God’s purpose for those who love him besides simply helping things work for good? [01:18:07]

Interpretation questions

Paul says the gospel reveals “the righteousness of God” from faith to faith. What does it mean that God makes people right with him as a gift rather than through pride, status, rule-keeping, or human effort? [01:16:16]
Romans 8 does not deny tribulation, hunger, danger, or death. How does the promise that nothing can separate believers from God’s love change the meaning of “victory” in hard times? [01:10:02]
Why would a Bible that emphasizes obedience while removing Exodus, Psalms, the prophets, Mark, and Revelation present a distorted picture of God and the gospel? [01:02:17]
Grace is freely given, yet it calls believers to repent and follow Jesus. What is the difference between receiving Christ’s forgiveness and using forgiveness as an excuse to remain unchanged? [01:21:31]

Application questions

What bad news has been weighing on your heart lately—whether in your family, community, health, finances, or the world? How can Romans 1:16–17 help you hold that trouble honestly while still believing the good news outweighs it? [59:39]
Is there an area of your life where you have been trying to prove yourself through achievement, appearance, education, work, or religious effort? What would it look like this week to receive God’s righteousness by faith instead? [01:16:31]
The gospel cannot be safely cut apart to serve human power or comfort. Are there parts of Scripture that you are tempted to avoid because they challenge your habits, politics, relationships, or sense of control? What would it look like to listen to the whole counsel of God? [01:04:12]
Romans 8 says that God is at work in all things to conform his children to the image of his Son. Where might God be shaping patience, compassion, courage, forgiveness, or endurance in you right now? [01:18:07]
Cheap grace seeks forgiveness without repentance, confession, discipline, or discipleship. Is there a sin, harmful pattern, broken relationship, or hidden struggle that needs honest confession and a real turn toward Jesus? [01:22:02]
Costly grace calls people to follow Jesus and gives them true life. What might faithful following cost you in a practical way right now—time, comfort, a habit, a relationship pattern, money, or a willingness to serve? [01:23:44]
Where do you feel weak, ashamed, grieving, or unable to carry life on your own? How can you specifically invite the group to pray with you and remind you that Christ’s power is made perfect in weakness? [01:28:10]

Sermon Clips

42s

“Anytime I stand before God's people, you, to share the good news of Jesus Christ, there is trembling in my knees, rapid heartbeat. In particular, to think that God looked down, he looked all around, and he saw me. He knew me, but yet he thought I was worth saving to call me out of darkness into his marvelous light. I got a feeling I'm not that's not my only testimony. I feel somebody else got that testimony as well.”

58s

“wait, wait a minute. There's even more good news. Even though this Negro slave bible was to control enslaved Africans, in 1780, the reverend Lot Carey was born into slavery in Charles City County, Virginia. He purchased his freedom in 1821. At the age of 41 and fourteen years after the publication of the slave bible, following the call to carry the gospel to all nations, he led a pioneering missionary team to the West Coast Of Africa. Lat Carey became a respected government leader and organized Providence Baptist Church, the first Baptist congregation in Liberia, Africa. He refused to be ashamed of the gospel. Now I just mentioned Lot Carey.”

31s

“Our ancestors, even though the bible that they were given were part of some most, profitable scriptures, they still had their own spiritual awareness, and they knew that you better mind, you better mind talking to their slave owners, but they didn't know what they were saying. Amen. They knew that one day they would be bound for the promised land.”

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Mt Level Missionary Baptist Church of Durham NC This sermon · AI assistant

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