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. (Rom 1:16 [KJV])
‘Christ’ is the reason we have the name Christians. He is the object of Christian faith. Could it be that as Christians we have not been as effective in evangelizing the world because we do not believe? If we are ashamed of our faith in anyway, how could we be effective in sharing it? Could we be carrying the name Christians but lack practical faith in the subject of our faith?
The text above, seem to make the whole sense! The statement ‘…to every one that believeth’ is a concluding remark. It qualifies the initial statement ‘… am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.’ Looking at this text from Christ commission, I can now seen why Jesus would elsewhere say, “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38 [KJV])
How could we have faith if we do not spend time in the word of God so that we may understand Him better? Knowing God should be our first priority and as we get to know Him better we become confident in Him; the confidence that would remove the shame. Shame is associated with poor self-confidence, poor self-esteem, poor or lack of understanding, ignorance, ill-perception among others. It is more of internal than external factor. It manifests itself outwardly through some form of withdrawal self reservation, it can be manifested in avoidance, lack of courage in facing certain circumstances; but in all, it is rooted in the mind.
Greater understanding or knowledge of God will remove that shame in us and replace it with confidence. “Be sure that your spiritual life does not become poor, sickly, inefficient. There are many who have need of the words and example of a Christian. Weakness and indecision provoke the assaults of the enemy, and anyone who fails to increase in spiritual growth, in a knowledge of truth and righteousness, will frequently be overcome by the enemy.” – Our High Calling p.279. We will be able to speak of the love of God anywhere, anytime and to anyone. The Gospel of Christ will be in our lips and in our daily living. We will not be ashamed to be called Christians because we believe in Christ our redeemer.
I made my decision to believe in God; and in my salvation through Christ. So I am a Christian by choice. I endeavor to read God’s word and obey, so that my faith, my confidence can be strengthened. I want to be effective with the gospel and I do not want Christ to say I am ashamed of you.
A. Eliamani
Timeless Principles 