Mark 8:38 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.Did you experience the impact of those Scriptures? Dear reader, that even includes YOU! If you are ashamed of the Lord Jesus and his words among the wicked in your neighborhood, job site, family, friends, etc. he, in turn, will be ashamed of YOU. That is fact, even though you might go to "church," as people say in our day, and live a moral life. Synonyms for ashamed are: embarrassed, uncomfortable and hesitant.Luke 9:26 If 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.
To be ashamed of Jesus 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:
2 Tim 1:8-10 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.Notice those words: Do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord. In many cases, this is why people who have experienced forgiveness of sins are not openly telling others the gospel. If this is you, then you need to REPENT! You are in a very sad and pitiful spiritual condition at this very moment. Wake up before it is too late! To be ashamed of Jesus and his words is bad enough in itself, but it is also just one step away from disowning Jesus. Notice the seriousness of that:
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 their salvation by disowning Jesus. 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 through persecution or just the fear of persecution? Disowning Jesus is how some real Christians have fallen away (Lk. 8:13):
They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.Ponder Paul's attitude about persecution, including suffering over spreading the life-giving gospel:
2 Tim 1:11,12 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.Remember also that it is the wicked who should be ashamed of their sins! But that certainly was not the case in Jeremiah's day:Rom 1:16 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.
Jer 6:15 "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.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 themselves for their own sins are dragging them to Hell (Mk. 9:43-48), even though they are blinded to this.
So part of fighting the good fight for all Christians is to battle against being ashamed of Jesus and his words among the wicked, even in the face of persecution. Never forget that you are in a very intense spiritual battle with eternal consequences. Perhaps it's time for you radically change things in your own life, before it is eternally too late for you. Remember, the grave awaits us all and you are ever getting closer to it, as well as Judgment Day.
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