For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek
[Rom. 1:16].
“I am not ashamed of the gospel” (“of Christ” is not in the better manuscripts).
Paul says, “I am debtor…. I am ready…. I am not ashamed.” I am a debtor—that is
admission; I am ready—remission; I am not ashamed—submission. These are the
three “missions” of Paul: admission, remission, and submission.
Why did Paul say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel”? As I walked down the streets
of Ephesus and looked at the ruins of marble temples, I realized that there was
not a church building in Ephesus in the first century. In Ephesus was one of the
seven wonders of the ancient world, the gorgeous temple of Diana (or Artemis),
but there was no church building. I suppose there were folk in Rome who were
saying, “Well, brother Paul hasn’t come to Rome because he is just preaching a
message geared for poor people. The message he preaches is without prestige;
there are no great temples connected with it. He would be ashamed to bring it to
an important place like Rome.” So Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel.”
Now why is Paul not ashamed of the gospel? “It is the power of God”! The Greek
word translated “power” is dunamis, from which we get our word dynamite. It is
dunamis power! It is the kind of power Dr. Marvin R. Vincent calls divine
energy! In itself the gospel has power, innate power.
It has power for a very definite thing: “It is the power of God unto salvation.”
That is the end and the effect of the gospel. “Salvation” is the all–inclusive
term of the gospel, and it simply means “deliverance.” It embraces everything
from justification to glorification. It is both an act and a process. It is
equally true that I have been saved, I am being saved, and I shall be saved.
The gospel is “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” It’s to everyone. It
includes the entire human race, irrespective of racial or religious barriers.
And it is personal; it is directed to every individual—“whosoever will may
come.”
It is universal in scope, but it is limited to “every one that believeth.” This
statement wraps up election and free will in one package. The only way of
procuring salvation is by personal faith.
“To the Jew first, and also to the Greek” does not imply that the Jew has top
priority to the gospel today. The important thing is to make sure the Jew is on
a par with the Gentile as far as evangelism is concerned. Chronologically the
gospel went to the Jew first. If you had been in Jerusalem on the Day of
Pentecost, you would have seen an altogether Jewish meeting. And Paul in his
missionary journeys took the gospel first to the Jewish synagogue, but in Acts
13:46 we are told, “Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was
necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing
ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we
turn to the Gentiles.” The gospel began in Jerusalem, a Jewish city, then spread
to Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Dr. Stifler calls our attention to three very pertinent truths in this verse:
the effect of the gospel—salvation; the extent—it is worldwide—to everyone; the
condition—faith in Jesus Christ.
McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (Romans 1-8)
(electronic ed., Vol. 42, pp. 31–33). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.