Going on the Unashamed Podcast with Phil and Al Robertson is an experience I’ll never forget.
I remember riding in the truck with Phil, slowly making our way down the backroads. No matter where the conversation started — fluctuating riverbanks, changing land ownership, the history of the area — it always found its way back to the Gospel. Every topic landed in a place that brought honor and glory to Christ.
Later, I had the privilege of sitting next to him as he opened God’s Word. One thing immediately stood out: how worn and marked up his Bible was. It wasn’t something he occasionally referenced. It was clearly the source from which everything flowed.
He knew Scripture. And he didn’t flinch under cultural pressure.
That refusal to bend has gotten him into trouble more than once. He has never accepted worldly standards as the measuring stick. Instead, he has chosen to live fully surrendered to Christ — completely unashamed of what he knows to be true. Many have mistaken his boldness for provocation or offense.
But that led me to realize something I had overlooked:
The Gospel is offensive.
It’s offensive because it confronts our pride. It declares that there is nothing we can do to earn right standing with God. It cannot be bought. It cannot be achieved. It is a gift — freely given. And the fact that we cannot control it or accomplish it on our own unsettles many people.
That reflection forced a harder question on me:
Am I truly living unashamed of the Gospel?
For the first two decades of my discipleship journey, the honest answer was no.
Sure, I went to church. I got baptized. I attended youth trips. But living publicly and boldly identified with Christ? Not even close.
About ten years ago, God got my attention in a profound way. I haven’t gotten everything right since — far from it — but the trajectory changed. There are still moments where I step backward, but men like Phil remind me to keep the main thing the main thing.
To say you are “unashamed” goes far beyond private belief. It signals alignment. Loyalty. Public identification. It means, “This is where I stand, regardless of the cost.”
Paul captures this in Romans 1:16:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel…”
He isn’t saying, “I intellectually affirm it.”
He’s saying, “I am identified with it.”
That clarity is desperately needed today.
The culture around us encourages a passive faith — keep it personal, keep it quiet, don’t offend, don’t stand out, don’t make waves. But when we read Scripture, that isn’t the posture we see modeled by the men God used powerfully.
This isn’t about being abrasive or argumentative. It’s about refusing to live as if the Gospel is optional or secondary.
So let’s stop hiding our heads in the sand.
Let’s stop pretending quiet agreement is enough.
As men, we are called to stand — firmly, humbly, and unashamed.That’s how the Kingdom advances.
That’s how faith becomes visible.
And that’s how we unleash the Lion Within.
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