Standing Strong
No matter what our circumstances,
we should never allow shame and fear
to keep us from being identified with
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Here's Gene:
The apostle Paul modeled this principle
in a remarkable, remarkable way.
And it's an example to all of us.
And note what he wrote here.
Right in this first chapter in verse 14:
"I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians,
both to the wise and the foolish.
So I am eager to preach the gospel
to you also who are in Rome..."
Those are strong words.
Obligated! But at the same time, eager.
You see there's a unique balance right there.
Obligation and eagerness.
Eagerness comes from his heart.
Obligation comes from the fact that this is a directive for him. And his task.
And so he addresses this really from inner strength.
So he continues:
"...For I am not ashamed of the gospel,
because it is the power of God
for salvation to everyone who believes,
first to the Jew, and also to the Greek."
Here Paul is stating that he has an obligation.
But he also is very eager to carry out this task.
His obligation really comes, I think, from the fact that his past life was lived in such
a way that he called himself a blasphemer.
Not my word. It was his.
A persecutor. And we know he was.
An arrogant man. That's how he described himself.
But what he is saying is that even though he felt he was the worst of sinners,
God in his grace saved him. Called him.
And of all things, to be the great apostle to the Gentiles.
And Paul never got over that
in terms of God's mercy and God's grace in saving him in spite of the way he was living his life.
So he senses obligation.
But also he has eagerness and a heart to reach people.
A marvelous balance.
In fact, there's a passage in Romans later that is very difficult to identify with.
But it shows his incredible passion for his own people.
Namely, his Jewish brothers and sisters.
When he said this in Romans chapter 9:
"I speak the truth in Christ--
I am not lying; my conscience testifies
to me through the Holy Spirit--
that I have great sorrow and
unceasing anguish in my heart.
[Why?] For I could wish that I myself
were cursed and cut off from Christ
for the benefit of my brothers and sisters,
my own flesh and blood."
Whoa. In no way can I identify with that.
But what he's simply saying is when
he looks out at his fellow Jews--
who are rejecting the Messiah--
he had such compassion that he would
exchange his position in Christ if they
could have the position that he experiences.
I can't identify with that.
And I'm not sure totally what it means.
And most people who study the passage don't understand it totally.
And admit that.
But it certainly indicates an incredible balance in terms of wanting to fulfill the
task that God had called him to.
Now, one of the important things I think is to
realize in terms of the whole concept here--
of not being ashamed or being fearful--
is that Paul was tempted.
As a human being he was an apostle.
But he was a human being and he was tempted to be fearful.
And in some instances, perhaps to even be ashamed, as it were.
And notice his prayer request to the Ephesians when he said:
"Pray also for me..."
And remember now, he's in prison
when he wrote this letter.
"Pray also for me, that the message may be
given to me when I open my mouth to make
known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.
For this I am an ambassador in chains. ..."
And there of course,
he's referring to his first imprisonment. He was in his own hired house under house arrest.
But he was chained to a Roman guard.
And he's writing this letter and he's asking for prayer. He says:
"...Pray that I might be bold enough
to speak about it as I should."
Which simply meant that he had fear.
He was a human being.
And so he sought for prayer.
And later, he gave a personal challenge to Timothy
when he said this. He wrote to Timothy.
This was the last letter that Paul ever wrote.
This is during his second imprisonment.
This time from a dungeon.
He never left that dungeon except when his life was taken.
And this is what he wrote to this missionary companion:
"Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the
gift of God that is in you through
the laying on of my hands. ..."
And there you see a reference to his apostolic authority.
And the ability to give a gift through the Spirit of God to Timothy.
We don't know what that was.
But he goes on to say:
"...For God has not given us a spirit of fear,
but one of power, love, and sound judgment..."
Timothy's--one of his weaknesses was fear.
And frankly, I can understand that.
Because look at what he saw happening.
He literally saw Paul stoned in his own hometown. There in Lystra.
And so he saw Paul and Silas beaten and thrown into a prison in Philippi.
So he had a lot of fear.
And so Paul is encouraging him not to be ashamed. To be bold.
And so he says:
"So don't be ashamed of the testimony
about our Lord, or of me his prisoner. ..."
Which means that Timothy, at times, was tempted to be ashamed.
And he's encouraging him.
These men were human.
"...Instead, share in suffering for
the gospel, relying on the power of God."
In other words, God can enable us to be strong
in order to withstand the temptation to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
So this leads to a Reflection and Response question:
Why is it that some believers today even
hesitate to openly pray and thank God
for their food in public places?
You ever met Christians like that?
Why won't they bow their head
and thank God for the food?
Well, I don't want to be judgmental.
But one reason is, they don't want anybody to see them.
Isn't that interesting?
Just that simple thing?
How easy it is to be fearful.
Or ashamed. Or afraid that somebody's going to do something.
Maybe be offended.
I think we have to be cautious, obviously.
But I love Paul's model when he was on that ship with those pagans.
And notice what happened:
"After he said these things..."
And there he had reassured them they were going to be okay.
And they should eat.
"After he said these things and had
taken some bread, he gave thanks to God
in the presence of all of them,
and after he broke it, he began to eat.
[And] they all were encouraged
and took food themselves."
They thought they were going to die on that ship.
But here was Paul encouraging them.
And encouraging them to eat.
And I think, perhaps, when he broke that bread, he actually talked about the broken body of Jesus.
And shared the gospel of Christ as they were partaking of that food.
And so Paul gives us a wonderful model here
in relationship to not being ashamed of the Lord.
It's really interesting that on one occasion I was with a group of men.
I was at a men's conference.
And we went out to eat.
And one of the leaders was there.
And this waitress had served us food.
And the guy sitting right next to me said to the waitress:
We're going to thank God for our food and pray.
Is there anything we can pray for you?
Now, she was overwhelmed with the fact that he even asked that question.
And she shared a need that she had for prayer.
And that was a great model.
Because I've used that model in my own experience on occasions.
I've never had any waiter or waitress be offended.
They've always been appreciative of the fact that I asked them if we could pray.
And in their presence right there, we thank God for the food.
Or if it's awkward, they can leave and we pray.
And we can say: We're going to pray for you.
It's a wonderful opportunity.
And so I simply use that as an illustration.
Even in the simplest things, we can be a witness for Jesus Christ.
So let's remember this principle:
No matter what our circumstances,
we should never allow shame and fear
to keep us from being identified with
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.