Of Shame And Shyness

“For whoever is ashamed of me and my words
in this adulterous and sinful generation,
of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed
when he comes in the glory of his Father
with the holy angels.”
Mark 8:38

Most believers would absolutely deny that they are “ashamed” of Jesus Christ. Yet their lives show that this is exactly the case.

Stinging words, but hear me out.

If people were to be asked why they don’t speak of their Lord and Savior, many would say that they’re too shy. But what is shyness? Shyness is fear of criticism. And that’s a lock on the door of the mouths of many.

Jesus didn’t say that it’s ok to deny him if you’re shy.

“Deny him!” you object? Yes, in refusing to speak of him you are denying him. And as the Scripture quoted above says – he is ashamed of those who refuse to speak of him.

Let us take the focus off ourselves and our feelings, and consider the One who hung naked on a cross for us, bearing the judgment on our sins. It’s on the merit of this sacrifice that we are saved for all eternity. How then, would you refuse to bring to others the fact that he hung naked on a cross FOR THEM? Some have never heard this. Some have never considered this, because they may have grown up in a home or a culture that has no mention of spiritual things. Will you let them go to hell when you might have brought them the truth of the Cross of Jesus Christ as it determines their eternal salvation? Will they, in hell, cry “you didn’t tell me?”

You might think I’m trying to motivate you with a scare tactic. But what of it? It’s the truth. It is a fearful thing to deny the Lord Jesus Christ, to be ashamed to speak of him. And it is a fearful thing to refrain from reaching out to someone in the hope that they might not perish. We’re talking of their eternity. Their forever.

Now it must be noted here that it is true that the Gospel is “offensive.”

“Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and ROCK OF OFFENSE,
and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
Romans 9:33

The Scriptures repeat this, and when something is repeated in another place it indicates it’s of vital importance:

“A stone of stumbling, and A ROCK OF OFFENSE.”
1st Peter 2:8

This means that many will be offended by the message of the Gospel and that’s why many believers don’t speak of it. That does not however, justify our refusal to bring the message. The followers of Jesus Christ many times ended up beaten or imprisoned because of the message. Consider deeply what must have motivated them to accept suffering rather than refuse to bring the message of the Gospel: this life is short, and they were determined to bring to salvation as many as possible, because it meant the difference in where those many would spend their eternity.

The value of one human soul is beyond the telling. If all of our work succeeds in winning only one soul, it will all have been worth it. The reward for the messenger will be the same regardless of the outcome; we are not rewarded for how many we brought to salvation, because the decisions are out of our control. We are only to deliver the message.

There is nothing more fearful than to hear the Lord say he is ashamed of a person. Don’t let that be you.


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