Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God to salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first… We have no reason to be ashamed of — I. THE EVIDENCE BY WHICH IT IS SUPPORTED. 1. Historical. Take the testimony of Paul. He was a contemporary of Christ; he conferred with the apostles; he saw the Lord. In his four undisputed Epistles he embodies all the facts of gospel history. His testimony is unexceptionable, for he was too sane to be imposed upon, too disinterested to be an impostor. 2. Prophetical. The canons of prophecy are that it should be long anterior to the event; that it should be so constructed that the story of its fulfilment could not be manufactured out of the mere study of its terms, and that its fulfilment be undesigned and in full correspondence with it. Apply these to Isaiah 53:3. Moral. How can we account for the difference between the character of Christ and that of His age? The age could produce a Nero, but not a Christ. II. THE INTELLECTUAL CALIBRE OF ITS CHIEF REPRESENTATIVES. Although not exclusively fitted for intellectual giants, but for the least intelligent also, yet in every age it has produced champions able to cope with the most gifted of its opponents. III. THE EFFECTS IT HAS PRODUCED. 1. Individually. It has made the drunkard sober. 2. Domestically. It has given sanctity to the marriage tie and blessed little children. 3. Socially. It has stood between class and class as the good Samaritan. 4. Politically it has laid the foundation of liberty. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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