“Jesus, and shall it ever be, a mortal man ashamed of Thee? Ashamed of Thee, whom angels praise; whose glories shine through endless days? Ashamed of Jesus! Empty pride! I’ll boast a Savior crucified, and O may this my portion be, my Savior not ashamed of me!” (Joseph Grigg, 1720-1768)
It’s hard to believe that we who have been snatched from the very jaws of death and hell would be ashamed of Him who saved us!
Peter certainly could not conceive of it when, just a few hours before he would three times deny even knowing Jesus, he adamantly affirmed: “Lord, I am ready to go with thee both into prison, and to death.” (Luke 22:33) But sadly, Peter found himself by the early morning fire—ashamed of Jesus and denying that he even knew Him!
And what Peter did, we’ve probably all done. By keeping silent when we should have spoken up. By watering down what we did so that it would not offend.
Ashamed of Jesus? It’s a sobering thought and a serious sin. Jesus plainly said that if we are ashamed of Him now, He would be ashamed of us when He came back to this world. (Mark 8:38) It’s one thing to sing the song in a Sunday morning worship service—”ashamed of Jesus I never, I never will be”—but it’s quite another thing when “in the trenches” on a weekday to resist the subtle, as well as the blatant, ways of being ashamed of our Lord. We must determine now and each day that we will never—no never—be ashamed of Jesus (1) in our discipleship, (2) in our dedication; and (3) in our difference:
- Not ashamed in our Discipleship
- In our belief—about who His is, the Son of God (John 1:1-14)
- In our belief—about what He does: He is the Savior of the world, I Tim.4:13
- In our belief—about what He teaches, i.e. that there is no other way to the Father but by Him, John 14:6. “Does this offend you?” (John 6:61) “Will ye also go away?” (John 6:67)
- In our baptism—commanded for all believers as a public testimony of our identification with Christ as our Lord and Savior: “Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, Him will I confess also before my Father which is in Heaven.” (Matt. 10:32, 33)
- Not ashamed in our Dedication
- As expressed in our worship of Him—“not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is.” (Hebs. 10:25)
- The presentation of our sacrifices—the fruit of our lips, giving of thanks; doing good and communicating, sharing. (Hebs. 13:15)
- The presentation of our substance. (Provs. 3:9,10)
- As expressed in our work for Him
- We are servants: “Ye serve the Lord Christ.” (Col. 3:24)
- We are sojourners: “by faith (Abraham) sojourned, dwelling in tabernacles….”
- Not ashamed in our Difference!
- Different in desires: “Old things are passed away.”
- Different in decisions: Seeking first the kingdom of Heaven. (Matt. 6:33)
- Different in dress: “Whose adorning let it not be that of outward adorning.” (I Peter 3:3)
- Different in difficulties: patience, hope. (Romans 5:1-5) Fanny Crosby: “Oh, what a happy soul I am although I cannot see!”
- Different in death—we have comfort. (I Thess. 4:18)
One writer referred to “rabbit hole” Christians: “In the morning they pop out of their safe Christian homes, hold their breath at work, scurry home to their families and then off to Bible Studies, and finally end the day praying for unbelievers they are around all day. (Moody Monthly, 11/87)
Isaac Watts, 18th-century hymn writer, struggled with the problem in his day, causing him to write, “Am I a soldier of the cross, a foll’wer of the Lamb, and shall I fear to own His cause, or blush to speak His name?” He answered, “Sure I must fight, if I would reign; increase my courage, Lord! I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain, supported by Thy Word!”
“Till then—nor is the boasting vain—Till then I boast a Savior slain. And oh, may this my portion be, that Christ is not ashamed of me.” (Grigg)
“For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26)
YOU and GOD 