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.
What does Romans 1:16 mean?
In these verses the apostle opens the design of the whole epistle, in which he brings forward a charge of sinfulness against all flesh; declares the only method of deliverance from condemnation, by faith in the mercy of God, through Jesus Christ; and then builds upon it purity of heart, grateful obedience, and earnest desires to improv...
Key themes
Read with
Keep this verse inside Romans 1:13-17 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed ... - The Jews had cast him off, and regarded him as an apostate; and by the wise among the Gentiles he had been persecuted, and despised, and driven from place to place, and regarded as the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things 1 Corinthians 4:13 , but still he was not ashamed of the gospel. He had so firm a conviction of its value and its truth; he had experienced so much of its consolations; and had seen so much of its efficacy; that he was so far from being ashamed of it that he gloried in it as the power of God unto salvation.
Key words
- the Gospel of Christ
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the Gospel of Christ.
- ashamed
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For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ,.
- gospel
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For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ,.
Context in Romans 1
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Romans 1 belongs to the opening movement of the book, especially the section often described as gospel and the universal problem of sin. Romans is Paul’s fullest sustained exposition of sin, grace, righteousness, faith, Israel, the Spirit, and transformed life in Christ. Read this chapter with the wider themes of justification, grace, and faith in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
Related topics
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Passages on trusting God, receiving Christ, persevering without sight, and the relation between faith and lived obedience.
Bible verses about justice and mercy
Key texts on public righteousness, neighbor-love, social ethics, compassion, and the prophetic refusal to separate worship from justice.
Central texts on sin, grace, faith, Christ’s saving work, and the Bible’s announcement that salvation is received rather than achieved.
Key passages on God's unmerited favour, the grace of Christ, salvation by grace through faith, and how grace transforms the way believers live.
Glossary
- Jew Tribe
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The name derived from the patriarch Judah, at first given to one belonging to the tribe of Judah or to the separate kingdom of Judah.