Overcoming Shame

 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

‭‭(Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

The Word of God, to the people of this world, is nothing more than nonsense. The gospel, to the people of this world, is nothing more than foolishness. It’s no surprise, then, when they react to it in a negative way.

God’s Word is mocked. It’s scorned. And it’s held in contempt.

Those who hold to his Word are seen as ignorant. They’re seen as stupid and uneducated. They’re viewed as lacking intelligence.

As we, then, live in this world as people of faith, this can lead to an unwillingness to speak of our faith. It can lead to an embarrassment of our faith. And it can lead to a sense of shame, when it comes to our faith.

This, of course, is nothing new. In 1 Corinthians 1:22, Paul says that the Jews demanded miraculous signs and the Greeks looked for wisdom. But he preached Christ crucified, which was a stumbling block for Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. So even then, believers encountered the same derision.

However, as we see in the above passage, Paul was not ashamed of the gospel. He was not ashamed of the message of Christ. And he was not ashamed because it’s the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

It’s through the gospel that the lost are brought to faith in Christ Jesus. And it’s by this faith that they’re enabled to receive the blessings of God. For this reason, then, it’s nothing of which he felt ashamed.

Now, this isn’t a matter of me telling you how you should feel. It’s clear that, as believers, it’s not right that we should be ashamed of the gospel. It’s clear that something is seriously wrong if we are ashamed of the message of Christ. But this alone does nothing to change the way we feel.

The effects of the gospel are what does so. It’s through the power of the gospel that you and I have been saved. It’s through the power of the gospel that anyone is saved. And, because of his desire for the salvation of the lost, we have been called to proclaim this message to the whole creation.

Having received the salvation of God, I am not ashamed. Knowing his desire for the salvation of the lost, I am not ashamed. And knowing his call, to proclaim this message to all, I am not ashamed.