Rich Wilkerson, Jr. — The Book of Romans: Confidence From Clarity

Have you ever lacked confidence? In his letter to the Romans, Paul writes “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” He always seemed so confident, yet this was a man who went through obstacle after obstacle. He was shipwrecked, stoned, and persecuted by so many. Despite the challenges, he was still able to profess “I am not ashamed of the gospel.” Where did his radical confidence come from? If we go back to the start of his letter, we find Paul makes a bold declaration in Romans 1:1, “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God.” 

In a new collection of talks based in the book of Romans, Pastor Rich Wilkerson, Jr. explores Paul’s self-proclaimed identity in a sermon titled “Confidence from Clarity.” Without clarity, we lack the confidence to proclaim God’s word but there are three things we need to clearly define in our lives to walk in confidence.

The first is to know who we serve. We should serve God but oftentimes we allow good earthly things to compete with God’s position. The second is to know what we are called to do. We all have an occupation or vocation but we’re called to proclaim the word of God in those positions. The third is to understand why you’re set apart. Sometimes we think God is punishing us when He removes people or things from our lives but He sets us apart to speak to us and use us. Ultimately, the information we receive by having a relationship with God combined with applying it to our lives will result in a transformation.