can the gospel cause shame?

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. - (Rom 1:16 ESV)
 I am not ashamed...hmm.  Ashamed...isn't the gospel a good thing?  Then, why shame?  Why would Paul say this?  Does the gospel bring us shame?

 To answer these questions we must answer one very important question, what is the gospel?  The gospel is simply the good news that God reigns (Is. 52.7).  God reigns.  That's it?  Yep.  But what about us?  Isn't the gospel about us, also?  Sure.  The good news is that although you have belittled and rejected His reign and glory (Rom. 1.23, 25), He has brought you out of that darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet. 2.9b).  So that now you may bring glory to Him by your glad obedience.

  The gospel tells sinners who think they are god; they are not.  You see Satan got Adam with this lie and has been fooling men and women for all time.  Satan told him and tells us that if we would just step out from under the reign of God we could be our own god.  This is idolatry and is punished by God with eternal, literal torment in Hell.  That makes people mad.  It has for centuries, more like millennia.  It will continue, until all of God's enemies, that includes those who refuse to trust Him are destroyed.  This is offensive to sinners.  Light offends darkness (John 1.5). 

 Ok, but where do I get all this stuff about shame?  Well, when people are offended, they will lash out at the one who has called them out.  Sometimes violently, sometimes they will use some form of verbal abuse.  This is a source of shame.  Open and public ridicule and opposition is a terrifying concept for many.  The fact is that if you speak out against anything that is honored above God, you will be put to open shame.  It is the scare tactic of Satan.  I think I could say with confidence that it is the number one reason many believers do not share their faith.  Even so, we have a command from Christ to preach the gospel, despite the crippling terror of open shame it may cause.  But how? 

 How can we say together with Paul, "I am not ashamed of the gospel..."?

   1. We must know the object of the gospel.
      a. The Object of the gospel is God.
      b. God is sovereign (Is. 52.7; Is. 46.9-11)
      c. Because God is sovereign His plans cannot fail (Job 42.2; Dan. 4.35)
   2. We must trust that even in the worst of circumstances that God is sovereign, everything that          takes place has been allowed and planned by God and that God works everything for the good of  those who love Him (Rom. 8.28).
   3. We must understand and acknowledge that without Jesus we can do nothing(we can't breathe, we can't speak, we can't be unashamed of the gospel without His power). (John 15.5)
  

Go, now in the power of Jesus and be bold in your workplace, in your home, in your school, in your social circles, and be unashamed of the gospel, because in the gospel is the power of God to save sinners.