Reasons for Shame
Notes
Transcript
Have you ever felt shame? I think all of us could admit that we have! We might feel shame for any number of reasons. We might feel shame at having missed an assignment at work, or for being late to an appointment, or forgetting an important event in a loved one’s life, or for breaking a promise. There are many reasons we may feel shame. It’s not an enjoyable sensation, is it?
More all the time, our culture is rebelling against the need to feel shame. There are fewer and fewer things that our society thinks are shameful! Some people may feel liberated at this move toward greater acceptance and fewer reasons for shame. Is this a good change? On the other hand, is there any special virtue in feeling shame? Couldn’t shame be described as merely one form of social pressure to conform? Is this social pressure a good thing?
On today’s broadcast, we’re going to discuss reasons that people might feel shame, and we’re going to see if they are good reasons. The Bible gives us some good reasons to be ashamed, and it also gives us some good reasons to NOT be ashamed! Stay with me, and in a just a moment we will consider “Reasons for Shame.”
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Good morning, and welcome to Truth for Today, a weekly radio ministry of Bible Baptist Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. My name is Ethan Custer, and I serve as the assistant under Pastor Mike Custer, the regular host of this broadcast. We at Bible Baptist Church desire to be a spiritual help to you in any way that we can. Our church building is located at 6367 Gateway Drive, on the west edge of Grand Forks. We meet several times each week to worship God, and our highest desire in life is to obey and please the Lord Jesus Christ in all that we do. Our source of truth and guide for living is the Authorized King James Bible, the Word of God in the English language. In the Scriptures, God offers solutions for every one of life’s problems! If we can help you in any way, please let us know. We would be glad for that opportunity. I’ll be giving our contact information at the end of the broadcast, so I hope you’ll stay with me.
A moment ago, I stated how our society is rejecting the need to feel shame. Those of you who can remember back 30, 40, 50 years and more will remember many behaviors that were viewed as shameful then, are not considered shameful now. Is that a good thing? Is shame helpful to our lives? I’m sure if I took a poll, I would hear many differing opinions on that.
However, I’m sure we could all agree that the feeling of shame is not enjoyable. It is unpleasant, and so we want to avoid it! Because it is so distasteful, it can be a powerful motivator. And just like anything else, this motivating influence can be turned in a good or an evil direction. Let’s take a few minutes and see some things that the Bible says about shame.
First, I want us to see that the Bible does not condemn shame itself. Shame is not an evil thing on its own. In fact, it is a natural result of certain behavior! Listen to these verses from the book of Proverbs.
When pride cometh, then cometh shame:
But with the lowly is wisdom.
A predictable companion to pride is shame!
The wise shall inherit glory:
But shame shall be the promotion of fools.
Fools don’t receive glory. Instead, their recognition is due to their shame.
He that gathereth in summer is a wise son:
But he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.
We’re all aware that farmers cannot waste time during the harvest. If they are lazy, they will fail to reap their crop. As this verse says, this laziness brings shame.
Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction:
But he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured.
A person that cannot be taught or corrected will end up in poverty and shame. These are all behaviors that bring shame. And in all these instances I’ve just read, the Bible does not condemn shame or say that it is wrong. It is normal in cases like these; it is to be expected.
The Bible doesn’t stop here, however. It goes on to describe behaviors that prompt God to bring shame upon the wicked.
As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us. But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord.
Just as a thief should be ashamed when he is caught in his crime, so Israel was ashamed to have their sin and folly revealed. Israel had turned away from worshiping the one true God in Jehovah, and had turned to worshiping false gods carved out of wood and stone. They claimed that these false gods had delivered them and done miracles, though Jehovah had actually done those things. In response, God warns them that when trouble comes to Israel, the false gods will be unable to help them. This misplaced trust in false gods would bring shame.
We find a similar passage in Micah 3:1-7.
Micah 3:1–7 (KJV 1900)
And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, And ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment? Who hate the good, and love the evil; Who pluck off their skin from off them, And their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, And flay their skin from off them; And they break their bones, And chop them in pieces, as for the pot, And as flesh within the caldron. Then shall they cry unto the Lord, but he will not hear them: He will even hide his face from them at that time, As they have behaved themselves ill in their doings. Thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that make my people err, That bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; And he that putteth not into their mouths, They even prepare war against him. Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; And it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; And the sun shall go down over the prophets, And the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: Yea, they shall all cover their lips; For there is no answer of God.
God was pointing out Israel’s terrible sins, and warning them that because they persisted in living wickedly, they could not rely on Him for help when destruction came to them. And when He refused to deliver them in time of need, they would be ashamed. They would finally understand the results that their sin was causing.
We’ve seen some examples of shame as a normal result of wrong behavior. Next, we’ll see some examples of a lack of shame. First, we’ll see that God describes people who don’t need to feel shame.
For the Lord God will help me;
Therefore shall I not be confounded:
Therefore have I set my face like a flint,
And I know that I shall not be ashamed.
The last part of Isaiah 49:23 says, “...And thou shalt know that I am the Lord: For they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.”
The psalmist says in Psalm 119:6, “Then shall I not be ashamed, When I have respect unto all thy commandments.” In verse 80, he says this: “Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; That I be not ashamed.”
So we’ve seen that wrong action brings shame, and that right action prevents shame. However, some who do wrong are not ashamed as well.
Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.
Isaiah 3:9 (KJV 1900)
The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; And they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
This describes many people today! We hear of many scandals on a regular basis, and it seems that most people feel no shame. They love sin, they commit sin, and they don’t try to hide it. When they are confronted about it, they are not ashamed. And a growing number of people applaud this lack of shame.
There’s one more possibility as it relates to shame. We’ve seen shame as a result of sin. We’ve seen no shame as a result of Godly living, and we’ve seen no shame after wickedness. Sometimes, a person may feel shame after doing right. Why would this happen? In our text today, we’re going to see some reasons why a person may feel shame for doing right, and we’re going to see what the proper focus ought to be.
Our text this morning is found in the epistle of Paul to the Romans, chapter 1. We pick up in verse 7.
To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end you may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
First, we find that Paul is expressing his thankfulness to God for how these believers were living to serve the Lord. We praise others for many reasons—their career expertise, their orderly lifestyle, their disciplined work ethic, and more—but how often do we praise God and thank others for their faithfulness to serve Him and others? To many people, this part of life is unimportant.
In verse 10, Paul tells his readers that he greatly desires to travel to the city of Rome to see them.
Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end you may be established; That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.
Paul desires to help them spiritually in any way he can. This includes the gospel!
I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Paul makes it clear that he desires to preach and minister not just to the Jews, but also to the Gentiles. Paul had focused on preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Jews wherever he went, but they resisted and rejected the message at every turn. After years of this refusal to listen, Paul had turned his focus to preaching to the Gentiles. This made him much despised by the Jews! However, Paul was not ashamed, and more specifically, he was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. What reason could he have had for being ashamed?
To help us understand shame a little bit better, here is its dictionary definition.
Shame: “A painful sensation excited by a consciousness of guilt, or of having done something which injures reputation; or by of that which nature or modesty prompts us to conceal. Shame is particularly excited by the disclosure of actions which, in the view of men, are mean and degrading. Hence it it is often or always manifested by a downcast look or by blushes.”
In other words, we feel shame when we feel guilt. This is how a person may blush without anyone confronting them. They know they are guilty, and they feel shame. Shame also comes when our reputation is injured. A person may blush simply because they were called out in front of a crowd. A person may feel shame because their body was accidentally exposed, and their modesty was violated. A person may also feel shame because their “dark secrets” were made public.
So why might Paul be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ? It’s clear that some were ashamed of it, otherwise Paul would have had no reason to say that he was NOT ashamed.
Paul was subjected to pressure to feel shame because he was often persecuted for the gospel of Christ. Listen to this example from the lives of Peter and John in Jerusalem, who had been arrested for preaching the Gospel.
And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
The religious Jews had great hatred for Jesus Christ and His message, and they were determined to stifle the preaching of the gospel! For most people, being arrested is shameful. In the 1st century A.D., it was common for Christians to be arrested, imprisoned, and often whipped just for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ! These punishments were often very public, and were considered shameful. But since their devotion and service to Christ was the reason for this shame, the apostles rejoiced that they were counted worthy of it! Jesus Christ had been so hated that He was crucified. If these apostles were similarly hated, that must mean that they were preaching like Christ did! Instead of bringing shame, this realization brought them joy.
The Apostle Paul experienced persecution at every turn, and no doubt felt great pressure to just keep quiet and not preach the Gospel. But he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Why? How could he go on preaching it, when he knew that it would bring him ridicule, injury, and shame? We see some important reasons in his words in Romans 1:16.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
First, Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ because it is the power of God unto salvation. I ask you today, do you know this power in your personal life? I’m not asking if you have ever heard of Jesus Christ, or even if you believe in Him to some extent. I’m asking, have you experienced the power of God unto salvation? Do you KNOW that Jesus Christ is your personal Saviour? Do you KNOW that you will be in Heaven when you die, whenever that happens? Most people in the world do not know that they will go to Heaven. They hope they will; they assume they will; they do their best to end up there. But they don’t KNOW that they will. Do you know that if you died today, you would awake in Heaven? The Gospel of Christ is not just another option for a person to try in their attempts to get to Heaven. The Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation. Paul was not ashamed of something so powerful and so wonderful!
Second, Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ because it is inclusive. We hear a lot today about tolerance and inclusivity. Sadly, there is much prejudice in our world, over things that are not important! But God is not a prejudiced God who shows favoritism to some, and withholds blessing to others. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The Gospel of Jesus Christ, as Paul says, is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Anyone may believe on the Gospel, because God loves the whole world! Every one may experience the power of God unto salvation, because the free gift of salvation to extended to all! Paul cared for the souls of men, and he knew that God would save any that believed. This is why Paul was not ashamed of the Gospel!
Even though unbelievers try to stop the preaching and spread of the Gospel, Paul and many others refused to be ashamed of this wonderful message of God’s love and grace to sinners. No matter what kind of pressure the devil and his followers brought to bear on them, they continued to preach the Gospel with joy, because it is a wonderful message of deliverance and peace to all who will repent of their sin and trust in Christ alone for forgiveness of their sin!
When we’re talking about reasons for shame, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is never one of them, because it is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” However, the world is putting more and more pressure on those who preach the Gospel, trying to get them to stop. The world is still not a friend of Jesus Christ. The world is still trying to turn the Gospel of Jesus Christ into a shameful thing. And in so doing, we are given real reasons for shame in Romans chapter 1.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Did you notice the downward progression? Paul began by referring to the pressure he was under to be ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, as though the Gospel is something wicked and hateful. But then Paul begins to describe those who try to heap shame on the followers of Jesus Christ and preachers of the Gospel. After describing their perversion and foolishness, it’s not hard to see who should be ashamed! Yet, even though their wickedness is terrible, these enemies of the Gospel are not ashamed. But one day, to their own grief, they will be judged.
But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
God is the righteous Judge, and He always judges according to truth. Truth is not your standard or mine. Truth is God’s Word; it is God’s law. That is the standard by which God judges sinners.
Lost sinners rebel against feeling shame for one’s actions, and so they work to make sin more acceptable and more tolerable. It’s no longer shameful, but tolerated…then it is accepted…and then it is celebrated. There is no shame, and that seems to solve the problem. But one day the righteous Judge “will render to every man according to his deeds,” and on that day, there will be plenty of shame to go around. No lost sinners will be unashamed on that day!
What is reason for shame? Sin is a good reason to be ashamed. We would do well to blush under the guilt of our sin, and beg for God’s mercy and forgiveness. The world wants to shame those who believe and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but a wise person will seek to know the Gospel, because it is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
Friend, have you believed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ for salvation? Has Christ become your Lord and Saviour? Have you experienced the power of God unto salvation? The Gospel is nothing to be ashamed about. It is a wonderful message of God’s all-encompassing love for all of mankind, and a free gift of eternal life extended to all who will repent of their sin and believe the Gospel. I assure you, once you repent and believe the Gospel, you’ll see that it is not a reason for shame, but for great rejoicing. I encourage you to seek Christ today!
If you have any questions about this broadcast or about other truths from the Bible, we at Bible Baptist Church would be glad to visit with you! You may contact us in a number of ways. First, you may contact me via email by writing to truthfortoday@bbcgf.org. You may also find our website at www.bbcgf.org. Bible Baptist Church is located at 6367 Gateway Drive in Grand Forks, and we have regular Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening services. You are welcome to attend any of them. If you would rather watch the livestream of our services, or if you would like to watch archives of past services, you may find them on our website as well.
Thank you for listening today! Please tune in again next week at this same time for more truth from God’s Word, on Truth for Today.