Romans 1:16

Verse of the Day Devotion: Romans 1:16

“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.” – Romans 1:16  

Paul is a man who gave up everything for Christ.  And in his day, he was probably one of the least expected to do so.  He was a zealous Jew, who knew all the law and the components that came with it in regard to strict adherence to it.  Before he committed himself to the work of Christ, his name was Saul from the city of Tarsus.  Paul was a disciple of Gamaliel, a Jewish rabbi in the first century and a leader in the Jewish Sanhedrin, of which Paul would eventually become a member.  Gamaliel was well respected, being a grandson of the famous Rabbi Hillel who wrote a commentary on the Torah; the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.  This relationship with Gamaliel no doubt provided Saul much solid teaching of Jewish law and beliefs.  We see Him first at the stoning of Stephen for his supposed heretical belief in Jesus as the promised Messiah, where he held the robes of those throwing the stones and thereby approving of Stephen’s execution.  He was on his way to arrest many more Christians in order to rid the world of this cult when Christ made Himself visible to Saul who then realized all he had done was wrong and offered himself totally to the work of Christ.

Because of this Saul, who I will now refer to as Paul, was cast aside by the Jews as an apostate.  And by the wise of the Gentiles, “when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.” 1 Corinthians 4:13.  However, even though he was considered worthless to the Gentile leadership and the Jewish nation, where before he was regarded with much applause by both, he was not ashamed.  “According to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” Philippians 1:20. Hope in this context refers to that which is expected with assurance and conviction.  It is not something wished for.  What Paul is saying is that no matter what befalls him, he will, with boldness and a steadfast strength, not in any way deny the truth of the gospel or water it down, even before emperors or kings, Jewish or Gentile leadership.  He will never compromise even in the least.  Christ will be magnified and declared the only way of salvation.  What drives him forward in this boldness?  The fact that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation to everyone who believes, both to the Jews and the Gentiles.

This should be what drives us as well.  The truth of the gospel is the most important message ever given to mankind.  It shows the only way of salvation.  It is absolute truth, and we should not be ashamed of this message but should be ready and anxious to declare it to a lost world.  Just as Paul lived a life totally contrary to this truth prior to his conversion, we also lived a life contrary to the truth prior to our conversion.  And the life we live now is infinitely greater than before.  We should never be ashamed of the gospel.  The word “ashamed” has the idea of, in the past tense, embarrassed or guilty of one’s actions, characteristics, or associations.  And in the present tense, reluctant to do something through fear of embarrassment or humiliation.  Are we reluctant to share the truth in certain situations?  Have we been ridiculed and become ashamed of a time where we shared the truth?  We all need to examine ourselves and see where we are regarding this.  To share God’s truth with boldness should be seen as a great privilege because this is our calling from the infinite God who exists and is there with us.

In closing, let us remember the words of Peter, where he wrote, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.  If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.  Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.” 1 Peter 4:12-16.  Whatever we suffer in this life for the cause of Christ will glorify God and will be a source of rejoicing when He returns.  We must not focus on its effect on us, but how it glorifies God and how we will rejoice in the end.

However, I cannot end without these words of Jesus, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:38. No need to comment on this one, it pretty much speaks for itself.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Galatians 3:28

Verse of the Day Devotion: Galatians 3:28

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” – Galatians 3:28

Back in the first century, there were many divisions within the populations.  Several would be the have’s and have not’s, basically the rich and the poor.  Then there were the dignitaries and the normal people.  Then there were the wise and the foolish, as decided by the different groups.  And of course, the free and the slaves.  Each of these groups were looked at very differently.  This was the way of the Greek and Roman rulers.  And these distinctions were many times accentuated in order for the aristocracy to place themselves at a higher level than the common folk.

When Jesus came, He saw things differently.  He focused on one distinction as primary regarding His purpose here on earth.  That distinction was regarding following Him.  You either followed Him or you did not.  And this distinction was not as strict as those of the Greeks and Romans, and even to some extent the Jews, because with them, it was very difficult and sometimes impossible to cross the divide they had imposed on the people.  With Jesus, you could move from non-follower to follower by making the decision to follow Him.

In the focus verse, Paul is laying out this same idea.  Within the Kingdom of God, there are no distinctions accept whether you are a follower of Christ or not.  Everyone is on the same level.  First he says there is neither Jew nor Greek.  He is not talking about their ancestral line, for that remains.  What He is referring to is at this level, all are saved in the same way, and all are intitled to the same privileges.  Jews often looked down on the gentiles, and I am sure vice-versa.  However, within the body of Christ there is no favoritism on account of birth or bloodline.  All confess their love and devotion to Christ, and all are saved by His mercy and grace.  The same is said regarding the slave and the free man.  Being a free man does not give anyone any special claims to Jesus and His grace.

In those days, the women was looked at as totally subordinate to the male.  In the body of Christ, again there are no special privileges associated with the person’s gender.  Both sexes are seen as being at the same level.  Now, this does not mean there are no distinctions in what each of them do.  In the parental role, women will always by the mother and the man will always be the father.  And there are other distinctions, especially where the Jewish law was concerned.  However, within Christianity, both have equal rights, privileges and equal blessings.  And, neither are more useful or important than the other.

We must remember that all who are truly Christians are all one in Christ Jesus; no-one is greater or less than any other. We must never look at anyone and think we are better or worse than they are.  We should never flaunt our spirituality simply because we have more credentials than someone else.  All credentials really are to show how we have been prepared for the work God has called us to.  We are all called to specific tasks.  Some to teach, yes.  But some to hospitality, others to helping those in need, and still others to reaching out to those who no-one else will.  We are all equal in the eyes of God no matter who we are or what our talents are.  We should see things in the same way as Christ did.  There are followers, then there are those we need to become followers.  Any other distinctions are truly irrelevant.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

Romans 1:16

Verse of the Day Devotion: Romans 1:16 

“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.” – Romans 1:16           

Paul claims here that he is not ashamed of the gospel.  Why does he think he needs to say this?  He declares in his first letter to the church in Corinth the following.  “For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness,” 1 Corinthians 1:22-23. 

Regarding the Jews, Adam Clarke writes in his commentary on 1 Corinthians the following, “There never was a people in the universe more difficult to be persuaded of the truth than the Jews: and had not their religion been incontestably proved by the most striking and indubitable miracles, they never would have received it.”  In essence, if the Jews had not seen the miracles, they would never had received the message God gave them.  Remember the parting of the Red Sea. “As Pharaoh drew near, the sons of Israel looked, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they became very frightened; so the sons of Israel cried out to the LORD. Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” Exodus 14:10-12. They would not believe what God had told them because they saw the Egyptians and they feared.  Then, God parts the Red Sea.  We see this pattern throughout the Old Testament.  And this does not just refer to the Jews in the Old Testament.  “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You. But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet;” Matthew 12:38-39.

As for the Greeks, the best example was Paul’s visit to the Areopagus.  They were more interested in wisdom than truth.  Paul gave a compelling argument regarding God, Him being the creator, that He is not in need of us but desires for us to seek after Him. However, when he brought up the resurrection, we read, “Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, “We shall hear you again concerning this.” Acts 17:32.

As we can see, the Jews required a sign, and the Greeks were seeking wisdom.  Paul was ridiculed by the leadership of both, essentially saying that he could not prove to them what he was saying.  They found his declaration ridiculous.  However, he continued preaching the gospel.  He did not stop because they laughed at him or called him silly. The Jews did not see a viable sign that Jesus, a meek, lowly and impoverished man would save the world, and the Greeks saw no wisdom in his words.  Do we not see the same thing today?  Are we strong enough not to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ, or do we hide our belief from those who may ridicule or despise us because of the gospel?  It is important that we show there is no cost we will not pay to share the truth with anyone, and to share it with boldness and surety.  God is real, Christ is real, and the gospel is real.  Let’s show it by our not being ashamed of declaring the reality of it and not backing down. 

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.