Not Ashamed of Christ

Romans 1:16 "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes."

I have always been struck by this verse.  The implication that Paul is saying in this is that some ARE ashamed of the gospel.  Why?  Because there is power in the name of Jesus, and some can't take the heat that His name draws.

People generally have three reactions to the gospel, to hearing the name of Jesus; they either are drawn to it like fireflies drawn to a flame, they run away from it for fear that the light will expose their own sin and shame, or they try to put out the light like someone chucking something at a lamp to break it. 

This is why some are ashamed of the gospel, because of the power that it carries with it, because of the persecution that comes with it. 

There is power in the name of Jesus.  If there was not, it would not offend people so easily.  You can say God all you want, but when you start saying Jesus people might hate you, and they might start to make life really hard for you.   

In America we are not thrown in prison or physically tortured for our faith, but there is a social stigma about "Jesus freaks" etc.  It isn't "cool" to talk about Jesus in public high schools.  I even felt awkward walking into my Christian club meetings at lunch in high school.  I have heard of people trying to carry a Bible around school and getting teased relentlessly for it.

This is why most people start to be ashamed of the gospel.  They can't take the heat.  They can't take the teasing and the ridicule. 

They want to be popular.  They want people to like them.

But if you're going to follow Christ, like really, really follow Him, you might as well get used to people not liking you.

I have always had a problem with people pleasing.  My parents divorced when I was 10 so I think I always felt responsible to make my mom happy since I kind of felt like I was the reason her and my dad couldn't stay together.  I always got straight A's in school to try to make her happy.  I played every sport I could think of to impress her, and to impress myself as well, to make myself feel better about the whole situation.  In high school I did more extracurricular activities than anyone I knew.  I was in tons of AP, or advanced placement, classes.  I sang in choir.  I played basketball and made Varsity as a Sophomore.  I was the Senior class Vice President.  I was in Model United Nations.

I went on to college and I thought getting a degree would finally make up for the shame of our family not working, of being broken.  I got my B.A. in English, which has proved to be somewhat useless in our current economic recession, but at least I could say I had a degree right?

I did all that as a form of people pleasing.  I very much cared what people thought about me.  I wanted people to like me and think I was cool for my skills in basketball or for my ability to sing well or think I was cool having my picture up in the hallway for being in the top 5% in the school.  I tried every avenue possible to get people to like me. 

Then I got to college and I realized nothing I did impressed anyone anymore lol.  I had to start all over.  These people didn't know me and all the activities I did.  I was in an honors program with people waaaay smarter than me lol.  So that was humbling, and kind of made me re-evaluate my ability to gain value from what I did.  I sang in the Biola Chorale with singers far superior to anything I could sing.  I've always been a great singer but these guys were completely amazing and blew me away.  I felt like I was singing with the angels in heaven.  :)  And my intramural basketball team lost most of our games, so that also was humbling. 

I started caring less and less what people thought of me because I was no longer able to gain recognition in all these areas like I used to be able to.  No one seemed to care really.  No one was impressed by me anymore. 

So God stripped away my identities slowly.  God is a jealous God and He used the Christian college I went to to show me all the idols I had erected in his place.  My idols were success, other people, myself and my own talents and abilities, sports, music, my mom and trying to impress her, and relationships with boys.  All of that was taken away basically and I was left with.....God. 

It was a hard process of having these things broken off of me but I know it was good.  Things that seem bad can actually be good in the long run.  God wanted to be the biggest thing in my life.  He wanted me to look to Him as my source of joy, not my grades or how well I could shoot a basketball or how well I could sing a song etc.  He wants to be the largest thing in our lives, as He deserves to be, of course.

And I have wondered often times how that is supposed to work in marriage.  In marriage husband and wife are supposed to submit to one another yes?  But how do you submit to your spouse and God at the same time?  How does that not cause a woman to idolize her husband when Paul says the husband is the head of the wife? 

1 Cor. 7 does say, "I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. ³³ But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— ³⁴ and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. ³⁵ I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord."

Therefore, in order to really have God/Jesus as the biggest thing in our lives, being single is best.  Paul says in order to be "free from concern" it is better to stay single.  And that this is how we can have an "undivided devotion to the Lord" meaning, yes, if one is to marry and have to submit to a husband it is then a divided submission between God and the husband.  It is a very complex issue indeed. 

In conclusion, beware of people pleasing and idols.  Don't let people become bigger than God in your eyes and in your heart.  Always keep Him as number one, because He will take things away if they are becoming to big for you.  He has taken many, many things away from me, but I see His reasoning behind it.  I know why He is doing what He does.  I understand and I trust that He has my best interest at heart.