Romans 1:16

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For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

Romans 1:16 (NKJV)

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

Romans 1:16 (NIV)

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.

Romans 1:16 (KJV)

For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes — the Jew first and also the Gentile.

Romans 1:16 (NLT)

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.

Romans 1:16 (ESV)

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.

Romans 1:16 (NASB)

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation [from His wrath and punishment] to everyone who believes [in Christ as Savior], to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:16 (AMP)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (good news) of Christ, for it is God's power working unto salvation [for deliverance from eternal death] to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Romans 1:16 (AMPC)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

It's news I'm most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God's powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else.

Romans 1:16 (MSG)

Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.

New Covenant Meaning

The Gospel Is God's Power, Not Just His Message

Paul does not say the gospel contains information about God's power. He says the gospel IS the power of God. The Greek word is dynamis, the same root as dynamite. When you share the gospel, you are not sharing a persuasive argument or a religious philosophy. You are releasing the actual power of God into a situation. That is why Paul is not ashamed of it even in Rome, the cultural capital of the world that looked down on crucified criminals as saviors. The gospel does not need cultural prestige to work. It works because God's power is in it, and God's power is not dependent on anyone's approval.

Everyone Who Believes Is Included

The scope of the gospel is total: everyone who believes. Not everyone who has lived a certain way, not everyone who comes from the right background, not everyone who has earned a hearing. Everyone who believes. Paul makes the point explicit by naming Jew and Greek together, the two major categories of his world. No one is excluded on ethnic, cultural, or moral grounds. The only qualifier is belief, and belief is available to everyone. This is the radical inclusivity of grace: the power of God for salvation arrives at the door of faith, and that door is open to every human being.

In the New Covenant, the gospel Paul declares in Romans 1:16 is fully revealed as the good news of what Christ has already accomplished. Galatians 3:13 says Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. Second Corinthians 5:21 says God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. The power of the gospel is not just that it forgives. It is that it completely transforms the standing of the believer before God. You go from condemned to righteous. From orphan to heir. From enemy to child. That is the dynamis of the gospel, and no one who carries it has any reason to be ashamed.

Application for Your Life

Stop Apologizing for the Gospel

One of the most common responses to a culture that finds the gospel offensive is to soften it, minimize it, or apologize for it. Paul's response was the opposite: I am not ashamed. He did not shrink the gospel down to something the Roman world would find palatable. He declared it boldly because he had seen what it actually does. It saves. It transforms. It is the power of God. You do not have to make the gospel more sophisticated to earn a hearing. You have to believe it enough to say it out loud without embarrassment. The power is in the message, not in how polished the delivery is.

Believe That the Gospel Is Still Working

The gospel is the power of God for salvation. That is present tense reality. It is still working. It worked when Paul declared it in Rome. It worked through every generation of the church. It is working right now in places around the world where people have nothing except the simple message of Jesus Christ crucified and risen. Do not treat the gospel as something that worked in the first century but has grown stale. It is the living power of God. Believe that when you share it, something is happening that goes beyond what you can see.

Prayer Based on This Verse

Father, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know what it has done in my life and I know what it can do in the lives of people around me. The gospel is Your power for salvation and I will not treat it like something to hide or apologize for. Give me boldness to speak it clearly and without embarrassment. Let me see the people around me the way You see them: as people who need exactly what the gospel provides. I believe the gospel is still the power of God. I carry it with confidence. In Jesus name. Amen.