Now this is no new thing in the church of Christ, and the words of the text are a clear recognition of its existence in the days, and even in the heart, of St. Paul. He was not “ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.” But the temptation was there; the sense of shame _did_ arise in his heart, and _did_ struggle there; but the grace of God overcame it. So that in allusion to this victory, he makes the declaration of the text. Now what does this declaration imply? and what is the full force of the sentiment contained in it? Clearly that he was not ashamed of confessing Christ, and of acknowledging, before both Jew and Gentile, that his whole life was wrapt up in Christ. Nay, more! that he was not ashamed of preaching Christ, of consecrating his every power to the holy work of proclaiming Christ before the world. The text, therefore, appears well suited for an address to the Church of England Young Men’s Society, as I trust it may be said of the great body of young men composing it, that they are not “ashamed of the Gospel of Christ;” not ashamed of confessing Him before men, nor of uniting together, as a holy band of faithful labourers, in the earnest endeavour to spread His Gospel through the world. Let us examine, then, into the reasons why St. Paul was not “ashamed of the Gospel of Christ,” and we shall find three especially mentioned in the text—the Divinity of its origin, the blessedness of its end, and the magnificence of its terms. * * * * * I. _The Divinity of its origin_. “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the _power of God_.” By which he means that it is no human system, but a Divine scheme, divinely planned and purposed; a scheme contrived by no human wisdom, nor carried into effect by any human power; a scheme Divine in its plan, Divine in its execution, and Divine in its application to the soul. The purpose was His, arranged in His own eternal counsels; the execution was His, and His alone to perform the vast work by which atonement and mediation could be provided for the sinner; the application again is His, for who but Himself can really bring home the Gospel with appropriating power to the soul, can really touch the hard heart, and soften down the rebellious sinner into the humble and believing child of God? The whole, therefore, is Divine; from first to last it is the work of God; and thus it stands out, far above every other system, as the most marvellous combination, which the world has ever witnessed, of Divine wisdom, Divine love, and Divine omnipotence. There are many practical lessons to be learned from such a fact.