The shameful Gospel

Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes."
In this verse alone Paul makes an incredible statement of depth and opens the door to a conversation that will be carried out for the duration of his letter.
Paul’s claim of not being ashamed of the gospel is one that needed to be stated, not only to prove his dedication to the cause of Christ and the new life and mission that he has been given but also to identify with the shame that was strongly associated with being a Christian. Our faith is based on a man who lived a humble life and died a horrible death, a death that was regarded as the most deplorable and most dishonorable. To claim that you follow him and arrange your life around his calling and view him as someone you not only admire but worship is something that should have been shameful.
But Paul takes this even further; not only is he not ashamed, he states that this deplorable death and humble life is the power of God. Paul was speaking to a mixture of Jews and gentiles. The Jew's who believed that God would come to them as a warrior and someone who would be very respected. He was also speaking to gentiles, people who worshiped many god's and considered them all to have power. Paul not only says that he believes in this Christ and this gospel but also that this is the power of God for salvation. This gospel that is dishonorable, highly debated, accursed and completely unimaginable is the power of God for salvation.

The way that I imagine the reception of this statement for a non-believer in Rome would be somewhat comparable to the first mate of the Titanic standing on the deck as it is sinking handing out marshmallows for flotation devices. What would be going through the minds of these recipients would be a reaction of discontentment and the question of "How can this insignificant aid save me from the overwhelmingly bad situation I am in?"


Paul’s message of the gospel being the only way to our salvation resembles the words of Christ himself in John 14:6 “ I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father but through me."
If we believe in Jesus and that He is our Savior then we believe in the same gospel as Paul did. The only question is are we ashamed?