Not Ashamed of the Gospel: Share Boldly

Paul opens Romans with words that carry scars behind them: “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” Paul is not talking tough from a safe place or playing the part of a keyboard warrior. Paul has been whipped, beaten, shipwrecked, hunted, and left for dead because he would not stop saying what Jesus had done. Rome is the center of the empire that will eventually take his life, so his confidence is not a slogan. His boldness is hard won conviction.

Shame works differently than outright fear. Fear says something might hurt; shame says something might embarrass. Shame keeps the most important thing in a believer’s life tucked away where it will not make anybody uncomfortable. Paul names that pressure and decides he will not give in to it.

The gospel gives Paul the reason for his courage. Paul does not say he is unashamed because he is naturally bold, because he has no fear, or because he has built up enough moral fortitude. The gospel itself is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” That power is dynamite power, not merely good advice or a little religious help for somebody’s life. The gospel takes people dead in sin and makes them alive, takes slaves and sets them free, and takes enemies of God and brings them into God’s family.

The church’s problem is often not lack of strategy or lack of information. The tension is between claiming confidence in the gospel and remaining quiet when embarrassment becomes possible. A cure for a fatal disease should not be whispered about, because silence around the cure becomes a failure to love the dying. The gospel deserves boldness because it alone can rescue a human soul.

Hope Church exists because the power of the gospel works in people’s lives. Launch Sunday is not the goal, and lights, music, strategy, and a new building have no power by themselves. People are the goal, and the gospel is the power. The opportunity before the church has faces, names, phone numbers, invitation cards, and a specific day attached to it.

The Roman Empire killed Paul, but the gospel outlived the sword. Nero became a footnote, Rome became ruins, and Paul’s unashamed witness reached across two thousand years into Greensboro. The gospel came to believers on its way to someone else. The call is not to endure Paul’s exact sufferings, but to risk a moment of awkwardness so that somebody might hear the power of God for salvation.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Shame often makes believers go silent Shame does not always feel dramatic or openly hostile. Shame can sound wise, polite, and socially aware while quietly keeping Jesus out of everyday conversation. The call is not to become careless or pushy, but to recognize when a desire for comfort has taken the place of love for people. [37:11]
• 2. The gospel is dynamite power The gospel is not just true information or helpful advice for becoming a better person. The gospel is God’s power breaking into lives that human effort cannot repair. Christ raises the spiritually dead, frees the enslaved, and makes enemies into sons and daughters. [40:38]
• 3. Boldness grows from gospel conviction Courage does not come mainly from having a stronger personality. Confidence grows when believers see again what the gospel can really do in a family, a neighborhood, a broken life, and an eternity. A bigger view of the gospel produces a freer voice. [44:39]
• 4. Strategy cannot replace gospel boldness Church organization, friendliness, and good production can all be useful, but they are machinery without fuel if the gospel stays hidden. Launch Sunday can open a door, but only ordinary believers can carry the invitation through that door. People matter more than the event itself. [46:56]
• 5. The gospel came through unashamed people Every believer stands in a long line of people who chose to speak about Jesus when silence would have been easier. Paul’s witness outlived Rome because the empire could take a life but could not kill the gospel. The same gospel that reached past Paul can now move through ordinary lives to someone else.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [14:22] - Romans 1 and Hope Church
• [29:03] - Standing Up When It Is Hard
• [31:19] - I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel
• [33:10] - Paul’s Scars and Suffering
• [35:29] - The Pressure to Stay Silent
• [37:11] - Shame as the Quiet Enemy
• [39:51] - The Power of God for Salvation
• [41:22] - The Gospel Changes Human Lives
• [44:39] - A Bigger View of the Gospel
• [45:52] - Hope Church Exists for People
• [47:43] - Launch Sunday Is a Tool
• [49:41] - Putting Feet to Prayer
• [52:03] - The Gospel Outlived the Sword
• [53:38] - The Gospel Came on Its Way Elsewhere

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.” [31:25]
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” [31:37]

2 Corinthians 11:24–27
“Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” [33:24]

Acts 7:54–60
“Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’ But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” [33:56]

Observation questions

1. In Romans 1:16–17, what reason does Paul give for not being ashamed of the gospel? What does he say the gospel does for those who believe? [40:02]
2. What kinds of suffering did Paul endure in 2 Corinthians 11, and how do those details change the weight of his words, “I am not ashamed of the gospel”? [33:15]
3. What difference is described between fear and shame? How can shame keep a person from speaking about Jesus without making them feel openly afraid? [37:11]
4. According to Acts 7, what did Stephen see and say while he was being killed? What connection does the passage make between Stephen’s death and Saul, who later became Paul? [33:47]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul’s courage came from the gospel being “the power of God,” not from a naturally fearless personality. Why would confidence in what the gospel can do give an ordinary believer courage to speak even while feeling nervous? [40:08]
2. The gospel is described as bringing spiritually dead people to life, freeing enslaved people, and making enemies of God into God’s family. Which of these pictures most clearly shows why the gospel is more than helpful advice? [41:16]
3. Paul wrote to believers in Rome, the center of an empire that would eventually kill him. What does his example show about the difference between being unafraid and choosing faithfulness in the presence of fear? [36:29]
4. A church can have good organization, kind people, music, and plans, yet still be powerless if the gospel remains hidden. Why can useful church strategy never replace believers personally speaking and living out the gospel? [46:44]

Application questions

1. Shame often sounds reasonable: “Do not make things awkward,” “Do not bring religion into this,” or “Keep it private.” In what situations do those thoughts make it hardest for you to speak openly about Jesus? [37:36]
2. Think of one person in your life—a friend, family member, coworker, neighbor, or classmate—who may need hope in Christ. What do you know about their life, and what could a caring first step toward a gospel conversation look like? [53:46]
3. The gospel is God’s power to save, not merely advice for improving life. How would your tone, expectations, and willingness to speak change if you remembered that God can truly transform the person sitting across from you? [42:41]
4. Paul’s scars remind believers that following Jesus can cost something. What is the relatively small “cost” you most want to avoid—awkwardness, rejection, being misunderstood, losing social approval, or something else? [54:01]
5. The gospel reached each believer because someone else chose not to remain silent. Who helped bring the gospel into your life, and how does remembering that person’s courage shape the way you see your own opportunities now? [53:06]
6. Prayer and action belong together. Is there a specific person you can pray for this week and then encourage, invite, serve, or contact in a meaningful way? What would make that step feel loving rather than forced? [50:09]
7. People matter more than an event, a building, or a strategy. How can your group help one another keep the focus on people who need to know Jesus rather than only on church activity? [47:54]