Hope Centre

This powerful message challenges us to examine our relationship with the gospel itself. Drawing from Romans 1:16-17, we're reminded that the gospel is not merely good advice to be considered, but good news to be proclaimed with boldness. The central question posed is simple yet profound: Are we ashamed of the gospel? In a culture that mirrors first-century Rome with its pluralism, moral relativism, and worship of power, we face the same temptation the early Roman church faced—to water down the message, to hide our faith, to blend in rather than stand out. But Paul's declaration rings clear: the gospel has power precisely because it is different from culture, not despite it. The gospel saves everyone who believes, not everyone who behaves perfectly. This distinction is liberating. We see that the power lies not in our ability to present a sanitized version of faith, but in the raw, transformative truth of Jesus Christ. When we dilute the gospel to make it more palatable, we rob it of its saving power—like a pharmacist diluting chemotherapy drugs, we may think we're helping, but we're actually preventing healing. The call is clear: be heralds of the good news, unashamed and unafraid, because lives are literally at stake.