I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, "The righteous will live by faith."—Romans 1:16-17
Paul 1) categorically states that he is not ashamed of the gospel, 2) defines the gospel as the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, and 3) asserts that the gospel inherently includes a righteousness from God—a righteousness by faith—precluding any sort of righteousness which may come, or seem to come, by some other source.
Let's pause and consider Paul's bold, imperative and dogmatic statement—
I am not ashamed of the gospel.
Are you ashamed of the gospel? Of course in order to fully answer that question we must address what the gospel is. So let's do that first. Let's take our helicopter of biblical understanding and hover over this passage. Let's hover over not only the ink and paper of our Bibles, but let's take some time to ponder and assimilate the revelation of Jesus Christ that is a part of this written message.
What is the gospel? The gospel is the power of God. It saves us from ourselves, if we believe.
