Unashamed of the Gospel by Akinjobi Oluwagbemisola Temitope

Growing up in a Christian family, I lived to learn that being a Christian meant attending church services, going for carols and making donations where possible. To the young version of myself, preaching and evangelism were tailor-made professions for "some" people and as I grew older, it became difficult to identify as a believer because I found it shameful. Of course, as a young lady, I wanted to be in vogue, speak the latest slang, dance to the latest songs and forget about my problems, if there were any. You could imagine my shock the first time I was placed in a group with two other youngsters like me and asked to go preach the word of God. I was scared, shocked and all of a sudden, the shame I never knew existed, rose in me. I wanted to back out so badly but a part of me was reluctant to refuse this assignment.

As if sensing my fear, the group leader turned to me and quoted Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek", continuing, she said, "We are the ones with the answers, raise your head high and don't get disappointed by people's responses or attitudes". It dawned on me at that moment that the most powerful person on earth was the believer for whom Christ has died and placed great responsibility on.
Looking back to those years, I wondered why I felt such a strong sense of shame and I knew right away that I could not have been the first to feel that way and neither would I have been the last. Now, the big question is, "Why do people feel shame in an attempt to spread God's word?"

1. Fear of the unknown.
The first culprit towards feeling a sense of shame while preaching the gospel would be the fear of not knowing what was in store for you with people especially after reading the epistles and seeing how the apostles were treated.
"Will people listen to me?", "Am I eloquent enough?", "Will I be killed?", "What if I speak the wrong accent?", and a lot more reasons plague people and so, as a defence mechanism, they shrink back into their shells and refuse to partake in spreading the good news.

2. Personal ambitions and plans.
Every human on earth has a set way they want their lives to portray so, going out of their comfort zone to include the work of ministry becomes a big problem for most people. This is mainly because many believers have been fed the theorem that one's plans do not always align with God's plans and that God always gives difficult assignments. They do not want to be laughed at by their families and friends while picking up God's assignment, therefore, in a bid to protect themselves, they refuse all means to get them to spread the gospel of Christ.

3. Wrongly taught doctrines.
Some people, like my younger self, had been taught that evangelism belonged to a group of people and so, they see no reason why they must deviate from their life goals to take the "job" of some other people.
If such people are then wrongly coerced to partake in the spread of the gospel, bitter shame, fear and distress will be their only response.

Identifying these major causes prompted me to learn more about how they can be solved because according to my Bible, every believer was called to the ministry of reconciliation. How can the people who have been ashamed of the cross become firebrands who will boldly declare the works of God?
The answer came when I discovered that unless many see the meaning of the gospel, they might never be free from the clutches of shame.

1. You must know that the gospel is the power of God.
The gospel does not bring the power of God, it does not facilitate the power of God, and neither does it start the power of God. IT IS THE POWER OF GOD!
It means that for whatever any man is trusting God for, unless such a man believes in the gospel, he hopes in vain because it is the power of God that can destroy yokes and remove burden in the life of a man.
Knowing that one is equipped with this power of God is one major way to get rid of the shame that society has placed on believers for spreading the word of God.

2. God's righteousness can only be revealed when the gospel is shared.
How beautiful will it be to tell a prostitute who is drowning in the guilt of her sins that she is forgiven because someone had died on her behalf? Her joy would know no bounds!
It is with the same formula that we realise that unless the gospel is shared, many souls will perish and enter eternal damnation because they do not know about the gift of righteousness. The gift of righteousness makes a man who is bound, free, removes restrictions, breaks barriers and lifts limitations off the lives of people. Being the reason so many people can live should be a major justification for a person to stop being ashamed of sharing the gospel.

3. Preaching the gospel completes your life.

In a world where your soft skills and certifications dominate, many believers have turned their affections to these earthly accolades forgetting about the fact that preaching the gospel was not a suggestion; instead, it was a command as said in Mark 16:15, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
Jesus Christ was not making a suggestion, He handed over a mighty assignment into the hands of men and woe is the man who forgets his primary assignment to focus on worldly accolades.
The command we have received - preaching the gospel fulfils the very reason God creates man. Therefore, you, as a believer, do not have to fear the creatures (human beings) but rather, the creator (God) who gave this responsibility to you. How disappointed will God be if you got to heaven and it was said of you that you neglected the assignment because of shame?

This is a call to every believer that you will never get anything out of this for yourself, and that preaching is not to get something. If this was any human's idea of just another way to make a living, we would expect some pay. But since it is not a man's idea but something solemnly entrusted to us, why would we expect to get paid?
So, are we getting anything out of preaching? Yes, as a matter of fact: the pleasure of proclaiming the message at no cost. We don't have to pay anything to access all the blessings of God. Therefore, put off your garments of shame and rejoice because henceforth, the gospel shall be sweet as honey on your lips.