Four "FORS". Romans 1:16 Paul was not ashamed to go to that city of licentious living, idolatry, and human political power with the message of the Gospel. The capital of the Roman Empire was much less important than the Gospel of Christ. The Nazarene, despised by His own people who would not receive Him, had an impact already in that great city. A carpenter from Galilee would seem to have been an insignificant Person, but "the powers that be" in Rome were already affected by Him whom they had put to death. They had seen and heard of many crucified people, but there was something different about Jesus.
The Gospel - the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ- changed everything. It changed people who believed in Him. It changed their allegiance from self-glory or national glory to glorifying the one true God who had been on earth in the fashion of a living man. The Gospel is God’s power used to save souls from being lost in hell. The Gospel testifies to the righteousness of God imparted to those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. The Gospel is God’s greatest act on behalf of Jews and Gentiles in that He has provided salvation for everyone who believes in Jesus. There is hope for the hopeless because of the “power of God.” His reputation and power were based on divine love demonstrated by His grace. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel" gives us an understanding of the impact of the Good News on Paul.
The Romans' crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ could not hinder His resurrection by the power of God. He changed the lives of millions of people who believed in Him and were placed by the power of God into the kingdom of God. Results of the power of God in the Gospel include the fulfillment of many of the prophecies in the Old Testament regarding Christ. The righteousness of God has been declared in the Gospel as a result of the saving work of Christ. His perfect righteousness is imparted to the repentant sinner who puts his or her faith in the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on their behalf. That person is declared legally righteous before God. Further, there is the life-transforming power of the righteousness of God to make us a new creation in Christ Jesus.
We do not have to be embarrassed when we declare the words of truth of a risen Savior to a dying world. The Gospel's message gives us a positive and glorious hope to pass on to a sinful and hopeless generation of people. Fear of reprisal makes us ashamed or embarrassed. The mocking words of scornful people may embarrass us. A lack of knowledge of the message, so we fear answering the questions people ask, makes some believers ashamed. Confidence in God and the testimony of our own faith in Christ and its effect on us personally will keep us from being ashamed of the Gospel.
The second "for" gives the reason for boldness. The death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is "the power of God unto salvation." It is the message of the Gospel itself, not the way it is delivered, that is the power of God. "The word of the cross" is the power of the cross, not the cross itself, because the cross was only an object. People have and do form crosses that are only symbols of death. The Gospel does not stop with the death of Christ. Its message includes the burial and resurrection "according to the scriptures."
Every person who presents the Gospel must know in their own soul the truth of the message they preach and teach. It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. This is not a casual assent to a historical event. This means one who preaches, heralds, or publishes the Gospel knows the power of God personally in their own life that has brought them salvation.
1st Corinthians 15 tells us of the ultimate triumph of the Gospel. Evangelism is centered on the Gospel of Christ: Christ’s death for our sins according to the scriptures, His burial, and His resurrection from among the dead on the third day according to the scriptures. The key points are that first, God’s word says all of us are sinners who are condemned to hell because we are sinners by nature and practice. Second, there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Third, Christ was born as a perfect human being, lived a perfect life as a Perfect Person, was crucified as payment for our sins, and was raised from the dead to save lost souls from the penalty of our sins. Fourth, individuals must repent and forsake their sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith.
CHRIST’S RESURRECTION: Proofs… The preaching and effect of the Gospel, the facts of the Gospel, and the lives of changed Christians in the days following the resurrection of Christ, has impacted the world from that day to this. Those eyewitnesses were changed people and were motivated to carry out the commission of the Lord despite serious opposition and martyrs' deaths on the part of thousands of people.
The essentials of the Gospel have never changed and still have the same effect on believers today. Christ (a) died for our sins according to the scriptures. Paul uses this phrase, giving it authority. (b) Christ was buried. He did not vanish. (c) Christ was raised again. Paul preached it in the Gospel, and the Corinthians received it. The demonstration of the Gospel was living proof in the soul of the apostle Paul, and all those in the list of witnesses never looked back.
The resurrection of Christ is central to Christianity. The early Christians had no difficulty believing in the resurrection and ascension of Christ. Apostles were there and saw Him and were with Him after His resurrection. They heard Him speak, saw Him eat, and watched Him ascend into heaven. Those two events unleashed a world-changing power that transformed people's lives from that day until now. Without God, death ends all hope, is the final indignity to the body, and is the final frustration to a purposeless life. Christ’s resurrection changed all that. Christians know Christ’s resurrection opened the doorway to eternal glory for all the redeemed. His resurrection was the promise of our own resurrection. Early Christians who had never seen Jesus (“who having not seen we love”) loved Him. If someone says I love Shakespeare, they mean they love his writing or plays. If a widow speaks of her love for her husband, she would say, “I loved him,” not “I love him.” But all Christians speak of their love for Christ as a Living Person whom we haven’t seen but love. We sing to Him, talk to Him, worship Him, and live our lives to please Him. This is not an idealized fantasy or assumption but a real response to many pieces of evidence of Christ’s resurrection.
There were three views of life after death in those days and similar views now. (1) Epicureans: the philosophy of matter only; materialism; no existence after death. (2) Stoics: the soul returns to the Deity at death, so there is no personality after death. (3) Platonism: the soul is immortal without bodily resurrection. Regarding our salvation, Christianity is validated upon the resurrection of Christ. Paul and preachers are false witnesses and liars if there is no resurrection. The faith of Christians is unreal if there is no resurrection. Dead saints have perished if there is no resurrection.
However, regarding the program of God, the whole of human history until His coming had the first coming of Christ in view. “But now…,” life in Christ is new. “In Christ shall all be made alive…” Christ was the first to rise from among the dead in a glorified body. He is “The first fruit.” Christians’ resurrection, “They that are Christ’s,” will occur at His second coming. Human history after the resurrection is referred to as “Then cometh the end” as a conclusion of the age. The prophecies of Christ’s kingdom reign on earth will be accomplished. “He must reign.” The whole of humanity centers ultimately on the resurrection. “His death.”
One who proclaims the Gospel must know, "It is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." It is not our business to argue the message or to present the Gospel as a new philosophy. The person who is proclaiming the Gospel is passing on definite statements about the Lord Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection. He is proclaiming the revelation of a Person. Salvation results from his message, "For it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes; to the Jew first and also the Greek."
The Jews had the law, the temple, and forms of worship. They had what should have been a great advantage to them because of all the Word of God given to them. The Gospel message originated in Jerusalem. The Gospel was first preached there. The offer of salvation was first given there. It is just a statement of fact that it began with the Jews, not that they were greater in importance. "There is no difference, for all have sinned."