S156P4 – Our good spiritual progress: a sense of pride
Rom. 1:16-17
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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
I remember when I first learned how to spell the word “computer.” Being the youngest of three children, I was constantly looking to my brother and sister as my example. I wanted to learn what they were learning in school and to know what they knew. I had asked them to teach me how to spell a difficult word, and that was the word they taught me. When they did that, they created a monster. I went up to everyone I knew and let them know that I could spell that word, then I would spell it. I was proud to have this knowledge, and I wanted to display it. Everyone who knew me knew that I could spell that word, and I wanted all of them to know how to spell it, too.
This is not the only passage of scripture in which Paul speaks of not being ashamed either of the Lord or of the gospel. Having a revelation of the truth of Christ is supposed to give us pride and stir something within us. We should be proud to know him and proud to know of his plan of salvation. The natural consequence of this pride is that we would desire to share this knowledge and revelation with others. It is not for us to sheepishly admit before others that we follow Christ. It is not for us to tiptoe around the truth. When someone proudly proclaims anything, he proclaims it with confidence. Considering the power that this knowledge has, we really should be on the rooftops sharing it boldly.
A big part of our spiritual progress is getting to the point at which we no longer must force ourselves to share the truth with others. We get to the point at which we really desire to share the truth every opportunity we have. We understand the freedom that the gospel brings, and we want others to be as free as we are. We want them to know Christ as we know Christ. We are proud to be God’s children, and we want to invite others to be his children as well. Proper pride in the gospel should move us to bold confidence in sharing it with others. Father, help us to share the gospel message as those who are unashamed, who have confidence in its power to save and transform.