Romans 1:16 : For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For preaching the gospel Paul had been subjected to many indignities and had endured much suffering. His own nation had cast him off. He had been cast out of Antioch of Pisidia, stoned at Lystra, beaten and imprisoned at Philippi and had fled from Thessalonica to avoid his enemies he had been mocked by the philosophers at Athens, persecuted at Corinth, and a great mob at Ephesus had sought to do him harm. He had suffered all this, and much more; and yet he was not ashamed to preach the gospel "even at Rome; where riches, pomp, and glory are alone held in admiration, where the heights of genius and learning are united with the greatest profligacy of manners; and where, consequently, the humbling doctrines of a religion which demands severe self-denial would be likely to attract derision, and might make the preacher and professor of it as it were ashamed." But why should anyone be ashamed of the gospel? It has God as its source, Jesus Christ and his plan of salvation its subject matter, the Holy Spirit as its Revelator, the highest ideals as its philosophy of life, and heaven as its ultimate goal. To be ashamed of the gospel is to be ashamed of God, of Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. Should a person be ashamed to be a child of the ruler of the universe, ashamed of being a citizen of the glorious kingdom of Christ, ashamed to be striving for heaven and immortal glory? Yet some people are ashamed of the gospel but not so Paul. No sane person, when he considers, will be ashamed of that which brings the greatest possible good to his fellows. He may have many reasons for being ashamed of himself, but not one reason for being ashamed of God. Paul tells why he was not ashamed of the gospel; and, in giving the reason for his not being ashamed of the gospel, he announces the theme of his letter. He does not abruptly announce his theme, but leads up to it in an informal way. He spoke of his long-cherished desire to preach the gospel in Rome, that he was a debtor to all, and that to the extent of his ability he was ready to preach the gospel in Rome, for he was not ashamed of the gospel; and then he announced the real theme of his letter: "For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." But what is the force of that expression? Bloomfield says: "The sense is, For it is the powerful means appointed by God for the salvation of all who believe and embrace it.' Thus the sentence comprehends two assertions: (1) of the complete efficacy of the gospel to salvation; (2) that the extent of this efficacy shall reach unto all who believe and obey it, without distinction, of Jew or Gentile; i.e., as far as concerns the gracious design of God, it shall be universal." A note in the Cambridge Greek Testament "Tr--. 'God's power for salvation' closely together equals God's effective means for saving men. The insertion of the article in A. V. and R. V. only weakens the force of the expression." Preachers have lessened the force of the expression by emphasizing "the"; as a matter of fact, "the" is not in the original. The gospel is God's power for saving men. God's power has been, and is, manifested in many ways for many purposes. In creating the world, he used his creative power; in saving men he uses his saving power. The power by which God saves men is his gospel. If men are saved, they will be saved by God's power. Paul was not ashamed of the gospel for it is God's power for salvation. But many religious people do not believe that the gospel is God's power for saving men. Their whole theory of conversion is built on the theory that man is so depraved by nature that he cannot so much as be-lieve the gospel until he is first regenerated, or made