If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels. (Mark 8:38)This Is Why The Wicked Should Be AshamedIf anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:26)
To be ashamed of Jesus Christ is a very subtle satanic temptation (like unforgiveness) that many don't tend to readily recognize as a temptation. Notice Paul's exhortation to Timothy along these lines:
So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life - not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. (2 Tim 1:8-10)
But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven. (Mat 10:33)Clearly then, a true Christian can lose his salvation by disowning Jesus and that can happen very quickly as happened to Peter (Mt. 26:34 cf. Mt. 26:69-75). Is it any wonder the devil is constantly working to weaken a Christian and to arrange the circumstances of his life to fatally snare him with this? Disowning Jesus is only possible for real Christians. They alone have been given that warning (Mt. 10:33; 2 Tim. 2:12). Jesus taught a believer can cease believing, at which point he will fall away, and all because of the test of persecution:
They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. (Lk. 8:13)Ponder Paul's attitude about persecution, including suffering over spreading the life-giving gospel:
And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. (2 Tim 1:11,12)I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. (Rom 1:16)
"Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them," says the LORD. (Jer 6:15)The loud-mouth, blasphemous, hell-bound children of the devil, who boast about their wicked deeds, know not what they do. They are a heartbeat away from an eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels (Mt. 25:41)! They are blinded to the fact that their own sins are dragging them to Hell (Mk. 9:43-48).
So part of fighting the good fight for all Christians is to battle against being ashamed of Jesus Christ and his words among the wicked, even in the face of persecution and death. Never forget that you are in a very intense spiritual battle with eternal consequences. Perhaps it's time for you to radically change things in your own life, before it is eternally too late. Remember, the grave is awaiting you, and you are daily getting closer to it, as well as your own Judgment before God! Don't ever be ashamed of Jesus Christ!
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