保罗说「我不以福音为耻」，为什么他不说「我以福音为荣」呢？与其说「我不以福音为耻」是一种宣告，不如说这是保罗对世人的提醒──不该以福音为耻。因为，「这福音本是神的大能，要『救』一切相信的。」人都陷在罪中，都需要被拯救；然而，以福音为耻的，正是故意不要被救的那一群人。

神借着大自然向人启示他自己，人借着宇宙万物就可以「了解看见」有一位神。但人如何回应这位神呢？人并没有因为知道有一位神存在，就全心全意信靠祂。相反的，「他们虽然知道神，却不把他当作神荣耀他，也不感谢他。」这就是一种故意。从故意开始，人发展出一连串的罪，拜偶像、放纵情欲、逆性行为、一切的不义……

在这一段描写人类罪恶的经文中，同时记载了三次上帝的「任凭」。人们既然故意不认识神，神就用任凭回应他们。人一切罪行的根本就是「故意」，因此保罗在罗马书的一开始就明白的说，他传福音的目的就是要使人「信而顺服」。

很多人都信有一位神，却是故意「信而不服」。保罗提醒我们，除了信还不够，因为真正的信是加上顺服的信。我们需要在信仰生活中，给予「信」与「顺服」这两者同样的份量，否则我们就跟未信者差不了多少。

简体圣经 | https://www.bible.com/bible/140/ROM.1.RCUVSS

繁體聖經 | https://www.bible.com/bible/139/ROM.1.RCUV

Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel." Why didn't he say, "I am proud of the gospel?" Rather than being a declaration, "I am not ashamed of the gospel" is more like Paul's reminder to people. For "the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." Everyone is trapped in sin and needs to be saved, but those who are ashamed of the gospel are the ones who deliberately refuse to be saved.

God reveals himself to people through nature, and people can "understand and see" that there is a God through all things in the universe. But how do people respond to this God? Just because they know that God exists, it does not mean that they wholeheartedly trust in Him. On the contrary, "although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him." This is a deliberate choice. Starting from this choice, people develop a series of sins, worshipping idols, indulging in lust, engaging in sexual immorality, and all kinds of wickedness...

In the passage describing human sin, there are three instances of God's "giving up." Since people deliberately do not acknowledge God, God responds to them by "giving up" and letting them continue in their sins. The root of all human sins is a "deliberate" action. Therefore, Paul states clearly at the beginning of the Book of Romans that the purpose of his preaching is to make people "believe and obey."

Many people believe in God but deliberately choose not to obey. Paul reminds us that faith alone is not enough, for true faith is combined with obedience. We need to give equal weight to both "faith" and "obedience," or else we will not be much different from non-believers.

Reading the Bible | https://www.bible.com/bible/59/ROM.1.ESV