Being Ashamed
I remember my first car accident. I was driving down I-20 in Dallas headed home from school in my Champagne colored ‘97 Nissan Pathfinder. All of a sudden the car in front of me swerved to the right to avoid something and I didn’t have time to react and follow suit in time. It happened so quick it’s hard to remember exactly how it went down, but what I do remember is a old mattress falling from the air and landing a few feet in front of me.
The next thing I knew, it was under my wheels and the mattress springs were tightly tangled to everything on the bottom side of my car. My car slowed, sparks flew, and the fire department had to come. Did I just run over a old mattress on the freeway son? When I arrived at the dealership the next day to get my car after they towed it and untangled it, every single dude who worked there was outside laughing at me. I couldn’t believe they were heckling me, “Are you the dude with the mattress?” It was a real long walk to the check out desk.
I say all that to say that there are some things that we should be ashamed of. The Gospel is not one of them.
The Power of Shame
Often people feel ashamed when they are exposed as doing something (or being associated with something) that is viewed negatively by others. They know that the association will be detrimental to the way they are viewed, and of course none of us want that. All of us have felt shame at one point or another, whether we should have or not.
But do not be fooled. Shame is a powerful feeling. In many cases shame can cause fakeness and dishonesty, and it can keep people from standing by things that they value. Especially when the people you rub shoulders with everyday don’t share your values. Although our society doesn’t value the Gospel, I am not ashamed of it in the least bit. And I don’t think any of us should be. Here is why.
The Power of God
In his letters, Paul the Apostle always had to defend himself and he was aware that some thought he was ashamed to bring his strange new message to the big city. But this is what he said to the Romans:
“I am not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe, first to the Jew then to the Greek.”
Romans 1:16
The reason Paul was unashamed is because his “strange new message” happened to also be the power of God for salvation. If I was going to be ashamed of a message it would be because it was weak, but the Gospel is powerful!
The Power of the Gospel Alone
The Bible is clear that God saves people by grace through faith in the Gospel. Jesus is the object of our faith; and the Gospel is the means God uses to bring about our faith. Many have been deceived into thinking we are saved by persuasive messages, altar calls, or sinners prayers, but the Bible makes no mention of these things as God’s power to save. Only the Gospel.
Conclusion
So if I was asked why I am unashamed, I would probably respond with my own question. How could I be ashamed of the most powerful news in the universe? God uses these words to bring life from death, to bring light from darkness, to make new creatures. With them He calls men to repentance, calls women from the grave, and calls souls to God. I am anything but ashamed. And when I have a lapse of judgement, I simply remind myself why I should remain so confident in this news. My words have never created life, but God’s have- and they do. Being unashamed of the Gospel isn’t a cool slogan, it’s being in touch with reality.
“...you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.”
1 Peter 1:23
“So faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
Romans 10:18
Further reading:
James 1:18, Ephesians 1:13, Acts 10:44
Comments
Lord please instill that boldness in each of our hearts
Cheers
Evah from Wahington,Seattle.
***Jessica Harden***
J.B. got faith in JC/so by grace im HIS baby boi
Amen Hallelujah fo dat real true Love
JESUS on da cross givin up HIS Blood!
MuchLove Lee *14 24 34 TWWID*
Surfing the internet the other day, I found an article about science which was talking about how scientists think they've learned more about matter and antimatter and such. Pretty much, they tried to say they're coming closer to explaining 'why' we exist. (sounded more to me like 'how' rather than 'why'). Anyway, this isn't what struck me. What did strike me was the comments left by the readers. As anyone could guess, the comments were a heated debate over science vs God. This didn't surprise me whatsoever. It was nothing more than what I expected. I noticed something, though, while I was looking through and reading some of these comments. Beside every comment there were two buttons for others to click. One was a thumbs up button if you like what the comment said, the other was a thumbs down button if you didn't like what the comment said. What I noticed was that for many of the comments from people saying that God created everything and God is the answer, there were more thumbs down responses than thumbs up responses. But, why? It seems to me that people aren't opening their eyes and seeing. Now, the last sentence that you just read says: "It seems to me that people aren't opening their eyes and seeing." No, this isn't an incomplete sentence. I know you're probable thinking, "Seeing what?" Well, everything! The world, people, living things, everything! I agree, science can show a great deal of things. But all it shows is the 'how' and not the 'why'. It may tell 'how' man was created, but it cannot explain 'why' the things happened that caused it. The only answer is that there is a God: the God. But people don't see this. The ones who say there isn't cannot prove otherwise, yet want to tell us that say there is that we cannot prove there is one. If only they'd open their eyes and look around the proof is right in front of them everywhere they go. Everything that is here is so detailed, so complex, so pin point and perfectly crafted to work that something, someone had to have created it. How could something so complex be a result of an explosion or be a product of chance. It can't; it's impossible.Where is the science that proves otherwise? Sure, maybe this matter and antimatter that was spoken about in this article had something to do with human life, but who made it? Where did it come from? Why did it react or do something in such a way as to cause something so complex to be produced? It had to have came from somewhere. And then to go farther, whatever these things came from had to have came from something as well, and so on.
Now, back to the fact that there were more thumbs down responses. This tells me that there are more people out there that are willing to stand up for what they think and say that there is no God than there are people that will stand up for Christ. This is a scary thought! We Christians need to unite and work for Christ. It breaks my heart to think that there isn't an outstanding number of Christians that will step up and take a stand. Many of us say, 'Yes, I would stand up for Jesus' or 'I argue with people like the ones in that article and tell them God is real'. Okay, great! But it shouldn't take something like an article striking a nerve for us to say something. I mean, how many people speak about God to others regularly? We need to get out and say something! Many people's idea of standing up for Jesus is saying 'Yes, I believe in Jesus' when someone asks them. I say we need to stand up for him by speaking up and spreading the Word without being asked about it. Tell others. Then, if they don't want to hear it and want to argue and such, that's their choice. That's where free will comes in. At least you can say that you did your part. The Bible tells us in Matthew 28:19-20, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." In Mark 16:15 it says, "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." And again in Mark 13:10-11 it tells us, "And the gospel must first be published among all nations. But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost." We need to get out there and do something about this. Fight against those who say there is no God. There may be someone out there that isn't sure what to believe. You never know, one of these nonbelievers may tell them there isn't a God and they may believe it because no one was there to tell them otherwise. You could be the one to win them over for Christ just by simply telling them about Him. Christians, come on! Stand up for Christ! Don't be the minority under the nonbelievers like in the comments on the article.
-Jared Skinner
'J Skin'
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