Articles
I Am Not Ashamed
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For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. (Rom. 1:16)
For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. (2 Tim. 1:12)
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The world does not need to destroy God's people to win. All it has to do is make us ashamed of who we are and what we believe. Ridicule, mockery, and lies are just as effective as bullets and beatings, if they succeed in getting us to be quiet about our faith.
Paul was all too familiar with this strategy. Everywhere he went preaching the gospel, he encountered stiff resistance. Some of it was physical, but most was verbal abuse designed to intimidate and silence him.
- In Philippi, he was hauled before the local authorities and accused of "troubling our city" (Ac. 16:20). The charges got him thrown in prison.
- In Ephesus, the impact of his preaching stirred up a backlash among the local idol makers, whose fiery words of protest incited a riot (Ac. 19:23-29).
- In Jerusalem, his defense of his career was met with a violent mob chanting for his death (Ac. 22:22-23). Only the intervention of a Roman commander saved his life.
- In Caesarea Maritima, he was accused of being a "ringleader" (i.e., a mob boss) of a seditious cult (Ac. 26:5). The governor hearing his case labeled him a madman (v. 24).
This is not the kind of track record that qualifies someone as Man of the Year. Most people would be embarrassed to have that kind of rap sheet. But not Paul. People could call him a kook, a radical, a troublemaker, a scoundrel, and whatever other names they could fling, and it didn't bother him at all. "I know whom I have believed," and that confidence outweighed all the hate the world could throw at him.
There was a time in this nation's history when believers in God, Jesus, and the Bible were pillars of the community. That belief system was almost a prerequisite for maintaining a good reputation in society. But in recent decades that assumption has been turned upside down. Now the prevailing ideology holds that people of faith are threats to social order. We are radicals, bigots, and religious fanatics whose influence must be silenced. The law protects us from physical violence (in most cases), but not from malicious smears, and the enemy is ramping up the outrage.
The easy response is to keep quiet. Hide our faith. Don't oppose the evil that is taking over our culture. But that is the one thing we cannot do. We must not be silent.
If we are not ashamed of the gospel, now is the time to show it.
--David
