Romans 1:16-17 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek. 17For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

In a nutshell, the gospel of Christ, of our salvation, teaches us that Jesus Christ, God the Son, gave His life up for us on a cross in order to put our sins to death with Him so that, by faith in Him, we will deny self, die to sin, and obey God and His commands as a matter of life practice. For in Jesus’ death on that cross He bought us back for God (He redeemed us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so we will now serve the Lord Jesus with our lives.

And that faith is not of our own doing. It is a gift from God to us. And it means to be persuaded of God as to His holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need (and God’s requirement) to deny self, die to sin daily, and to walk in obedience to God’s commands in daily living. By faith in Jesus Christ we surrender our lives to the will of God for our lives and we submit to Him as Lord (Owner-Master) over our lives to obey Him.

Our lives are now no longer ours to be lived however we want, but they are to be lived for the Lord, to do His will, to go wherever He sends us and to do and to say whatever He commands. Yes, it means forgiveness of sins. But forgiveness is not permission to keep sinning against God. Forgiveness is encouragement to “go and sin no more.” It does not mean we will never sin again (1 John 2:1-2) but that sin should no longer have control over us.

So, it is not enough to just claim faith in Jesus Christ, but we must be those who walk by that faith in lifestyle and life practice, in the power of God. For God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age. But if we claim that we know God, but we do not obey His commands, in practice, then He says the truth is not in us.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

I Am Not Ashamed of The Gospel
An Original Work / September 2, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Should I Not Preach Jesus

Based off 1 Corinthians 9:16-10:13
An Original Work / July 4, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Woe to me should I not preach Jesus.
I’m compelled to preach the full gospel.
I make myself a slave to ev’ryone
To win their hearts to Christ.
All this I do for my Lord Jesus,
And for the sake of His Name;
Do it for the sake of His gospel,
So that I, its blessings gain.

Scripture notates the sins of others;
Written down for us as examples
To keep us from setting our hearts
On evil as did those of old.
Do not worship other gods of man;
Do not give your hearts to them;
Not partake in immorality.
Do not test your Lord and King.

So, be careful if you think you are
Standing firm in your faith in Jesus.
God has given his word to warn us,
So through faith we will not fall.
No temptation has o’ertaken you
Except what is commonplace.
God is faithful to not let you be
Tempted past what you can bear.
He gives the way of escape.