There are a lot of things we have no trouble talking about. We talk about work, our families, sports, politics, the latest project around the house, or whatever happened over the weekend. But sometimes something changes when the conversation turns toward Jesus. Even Christians who genuinely believe the gospel can suddenly become hesitant. We wonder whether bringing up Jesus will make things awkward, whether the other person will think differently of us, or whether they’ll ask a question we don’t know how to answer.
That makes the opening chapter of Romans especially challenging. Paul doesn’t sound hesitant at all. As he introduces himself to Christians in Rome, he describes himself as obligated to bring the gospel to people, eager to preach it, and unashamed of it. What gave Paul that kind of confidence?
It wasn’t confidence in himself. It was confidence in the message he had been given.
The Gospel Is Good News About Jesus
Paul opens Romans by identifying himself as “a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1). That phrase, “the gospel of God,” is important. The message Paul carried wasn’t something he had invented. It originated with God, and Paul says God had promised it beforehand through the prophets in Scripture.
Then Paul immediately tells us what this gospel is about: God’s Son. Jesus Christ is the promised descendant of David, the Son of God in power, risen from the dead, and Lord. Before Paul explains everything the gospel accomplishes, he makes sure we understand that the gospel is fundamentally good news about a Person. Jesus isn’t simply one piece of the Christian message; He is at the center of it.
That’s worth remembering because we can sometimes reduce the gospel to a formula. We might explain that we’re sinners, that Jesus died for our sins, and that we need to believe in Him to be saved. All of that is true, and Paul will spend much of Romans explaining those truths. But his starting point is even more fundamental: the gospel is the good news concerning Jesus Christ. Everything the gospel promises flows from who He is and what He has done.
That gave Paul confidence because he knew this wasn’t merely another religious philosophy competing for people’s attention. God had entrusted Paul with good news about Jesus Christ.
The Gospel Is for Everyone
That confidence changed the way Paul looked at people. In Romans 1:14, he says he is a debtor to “Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.” Paul isn’t saying these people had done something for him that he needed to repay. He understood that God had entrusted him with the gospel and commissioned him to take it to others. Because God had given him a message they needed to hear, Paul considered himself obligated to give it to them.
The categories Paul uses matter too. “Barbarian” can sound insulting to us today, but Greek speakers commonly used the term for non-Greek-speaking peoples. Paul’s point is that the gospel crosses the social and cultural categories people use to divide the world. Educated or uneducated, culturally sophisticated or outsider, Jew or Gentile—the gospel is for everyone.
We may assume a successful coworker isn’t interested in God or decide a skeptical family member would never listen. Someone whose life is falling apart can seem too far gone. Other times, we’ve known someone for so long that suddenly talking to them about Jesus just feels awkward.
Paul doesn’t give us the freedom to decide ahead of time who needs the gospel or who might respond to it. Nobody is too educated for the gospel, and nobody is beneath it. Nobody is so successful that they don’t need Christ, and nobody is so broken that Christ cannot save them.
The Power Isn’t in Us
All of this builds toward Paul’s declaration in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.”
That’s the key to Paul’s confidence. That’s the key to Paul’s confidence. He doesn’t say he is unashamed because he’s an exceptionally gifted speaker. His confidence doesn’t come from having an answer to every objection or always getting a positive response. Paul isn’t confident because he believes in his own ability to save people. He is confident because he believes in God’s ability to save people through the gospel.
That distinction matters when we’re afraid to share our faith. We can put an enormous amount of pressure on ourselves because we think everything depends upon us saying exactly the right thing. Maybe we won’t explain something clearly enough or know how to respond to a difficult question. Before long, we start thinking we need to become better salesmen for Jesus.
But you aren’t the power of God for salvation. The gospel is.
That doesn’t mean our words don’t matter or that we shouldn’t learn to explain what we believe clearly. It means we understand our role correctly. We faithfully carry the message; God is the One who saves. Paul can be eager and unashamed precisely because the outcome doesn’t depend upon his own power.
Righteousness Comes Through Faith
Romans 1:17 then begins introducing something Paul will spend much of the letter explaining: “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” We cannot solve our problem with God by becoming righteous enough on our own. We need a righteousness we cannot produce ourselves, and the gospel reveals God’s answer. Religious performance, moral improvement, family background, intelligence, and good works cannot give us right standing with God. It is received through faith.
And that is why the gospel really is good news. Christianity isn’t an announcement that bad people need to work harder until they become good enough for God. It is the announcement that God saves sinners through Jesus Christ.
Why We Can Talk About Jesus With Confidence
So why is it so hard to talk about Jesus? There are probably a lot of answers to that question. We don’t want to make a relationship awkward or risk rejection. Sometimes we’re afraid of looking foolish. Other times, we’re simply not sure what to say.
Interestingly, Paul doesn’t answer those fears by giving us a better evangelism technique. He gives us a bigger view of the gospel. By the time he reaches Romans 1:16–17, everything in the opening of the letter has been moving toward this point. God set Paul apart for the gospel. Paul serves God through the gospel, feels obligated to bring it to people, is eager to preach it, and finally declares that he is not ashamed of it. Why? Because he knows what he’s carrying: the gospel is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes.
Maybe, then, the answer to our hesitation isn’t becoming more confident in ourselves. Maybe we need to become more confident in the gospel.
What Do We Do With the Gospel?
That also leaves us with two very different questions. If you have never trusted Jesus Christ, the question is whether you will believe the good news yourself. The gospel isn’t an invitation to clean yourself up enough for God. Jesus Christ died for sinners, rose from the dead, and offers salvation to those who trust in Him.
And if you already belong to Jesus, the question becomes: Who around you needs to hear that good news?
You don’t have to save them. You can’t. But you can carry the message of the One who can.
If you’re looking for a church where you can grow in God’s Word, build real relationships, and learn to follow Jesus, we’d love to have you join us this Sunday at Calvary Chapel Thunder Mountain.