08 Feb Ashamed of the Gospel?

Ron Ramsey, Bishop
When was the last time you personally saw an old honest to goodness scalawag sinner come to faith in Christ as a result of your church’s ministry? I ask that question in nearly every church I visit. I get some strange looks! Like, “What is he talking about?”
In Romans 1:16, Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” If you do not see the gospel message pull pagan sinners to Christ, you can lose your confidence in the power of the gospel to do that. You become timid about sharing the gospel, because you fear, “What if God doesn’t or can’t do it this time?”
Could it be that we United Brethren have become closet universalists? That somewhere in the depths of our being, we think it doesn’t really matter if someone accepts Christ, because we’ve lost touch with the idea that there is an eternity of separation from God?
I know what it is like to see someone under conviction so badly that they simply fall to their knees like a sack of potatoes. Brothers and sisters, it is something to behold when God changes a person by the power of the gospel. At Main Street I saw this happen to drug adicts, alcoholics, Hindus, new agers…when Jesus just got hold of individuals and changed their lives. Trinity UB in Fostoria, Ohio, told me recently of a man who was addicted to cocaine and who was instantly and dramatically transformed by God’s Power…and he is now standing firm in Christ!
Do you not only believe that God can do that, but have the confidence that He can do that? When was the last time you saw a scalawag sinner changed into a dynamic follower of Jesus? Are you seeing this happen as a result of your ministry? (If you’ve seen this happen recently, I’d love to hear the story.)
Have you lost your confidence in the power of the gospel? Just thought I’d ask!