Listen to the podcast of this article
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…” Romans 1:16
Definition from WordNet Search
ashamed– “feeling shame or guilt or embarrassment or remorse”
Let’s break it down:
Day 1: Shame?
In Australia today, there is an article called TV Sex Shame — where the authors write how some Australian family groups are ashamed of the violence and sex on TV.
- They see the FACTS
“ SEX and violence is shown twice as often on prime-time TV these days as it was 20 years ago.”
- They are EMBARRASSED –
“We have credible research showing violence on television does affect children,” Ms Roberts said. “Networks are chasing ratings and this material is cheap to make and easy to sell.” (Ms. Roberts is the President of Young Media in Australia)
So in using this analogy:
To be ashamed of something is to:
- know the facts about something and
- to be embarrassed of your association with it.
Here is what the Bible says:
Romans 10:11 (New International Version) 11As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
Hebrews 12:2 (New International Version) 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God
Luke 9:26 (New International Version) 26If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
So what can we learn from this today?
- We will not be ashamed if we put our trust in Jesus– (Look at the keyword search on Bible Gateway for more references)
- Jesus endured great shame for us — stripped naked, killed like a dog on a major highway — what is a little embarrassment and lost popularity for us?
- Ultimately if we are ashamed of Him — He will be ashamed of us at the end of time!
Ask yourself as you pray — am I ashamed of Jesus? (Many people who are not Christians are ashamed that Christians even exist!)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
Footnote
I cannot mention shame without mention how I have dealt with my shame over my many mistakes. This quote puts it well.
Quoted from Joe Boot — The Origin and Meaning of Time — excellent essay on the origin of life
“What is it we are to believe? Through Christ’s death upon the Cross for our wrong doing, we can find pardon and forgiveness for all our failures in time. Our consciences can be cleaned and our shame washed away, by putting our trust in Christ Jesus—trusting that he is Lord of the universe who died to bring us to God and was raised to life to give us life eternal. The Bible teaches that this is the most significant and important decision we can make in time. The author of time and the one who will bring time as we know it to an end calls us to come to him for new life. The apostle Paul puts it simply for us, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).”