AREN'T YOU ASHAMED?

Anchor Scripture:  Romans 1: 16

Introduction

The power of choice is given to man by God to choose whatever he wishes for himself because God had decided not to impose anything on man again (Gen. 6:3). Man therefore, has since, gone after many devices, inventing and re-inventing without restrictions from the Maker.

Likewise, in religion today, man has the right and power to choose where he wants to belong. Equally, he is at liberty to choose what he wants to believe or not believe. Yet still, he has the liberty to choose what he wants to do or not; including the way he wants to behave. To this end therefore, there are many sects, many of which are actually of the devil, the deceiver, but who masquerades as churches of the living God (2 Corinthians 11: 13 – 15).

The Holy Bible is unambiguous as to what constitutes a Christian lifestyle. God is magnanimous enough to variously outline, in the Scriptures, how a Christian is expected to live their life; the admonitions cover eating, drinking, dressing, communication, friendship and associations, etc.

The in-thing in the world today is that the people who belong to the other divides, who hold no glamorous hopes (Psalm 16: 6; Ephesians 2: 12) of a happy ending like us, flaunt their religion and their practices, even up to their dressings, but could we say this of us Christ-followers?

In today’s sermon, God wants to open our eyes to ways by which we, though professing Christians, have been going about, being ashamed of Him and His Christ. May our hearts of understanding be enlightened and every fleshly opposition to the Word be deadened in Jesus Name. Amen.

Message

In our anchor Scripture, the Apostle clearly declared how he saw the Gospel of Christ, the Power of God unto salvation. Therefore, he was not ashamed of it! The Apostle did many things in the course of the Gospel that showed us that he was not at all ashamed of the Gospel. For example, he preached the true Gospel undiluted, in season and out of season. He hungered and was beaten severally, just to mention a few of the ways that showed that he was actually not ashamed of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 11: 24 – 27). That was why he was bold enough to tell us that “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin (Hebrews 12: 4).” Are we also not ashamed of the Gospel today?

The concept of being ashamed or not, of something, stems from our association and identification with that thing. In this context therefore, what will determine whether we are ashamed of the Gospel or not will be how well and how far we are ready to be identified with Jesus Christ and His Gospel. Let me say that there are many factors that come into play here, from which individuals could choose and or know whether they have been or are ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Let us examine some of these factors, here now.

Available statistics show that out of every four people in the world today, there is one Christian. The question arising from that is: what impact is that one Christian making to save those remaining three souls? So many people raise their hands to answer the call of being Christians; ditto, children of God. However, how many open their mouths to declare God’s kindness and love in salvation to the lost? In Romans 10: 17, the Bible says: “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” So, how will they have and grow their faith in God if we all decided to keep our traps shut? By keeping quiet about the grace we have received and not declaring it, we are been ashamed of the Gospel? Jesus Christ says in Luke 8: 16 that “no man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or puteth it under a bed . . . .” Is this true of us Christians, today? Jesus Christ says “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” Is that also true of us today? Are we not covering our lights? You as a Christian, are the people around you where you are feeling your impact? Are you not covering your light? Are you not hiding yourself, just because you don’t want people to make jest of you? Are you not hiding just because you don’t want the people of the world to see you as being odd? If you are not manifesting as a Christian, brethren, you are being ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.

Another thing is that most people in certain sects or religions are easily identified by their dressing. Yes, Christianity has no “uniform”, but we do have the minimum standard of or in dressing by which we could be easily identified as Christ-followers. The question again is: how many of us adhere to this standard, even as laid down by the Holy Bible? The worst culprits of this are our women. The Scripture makes it clear that: “In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; NOT WITH BROIDED HAIR, OR GOLD, OR PEARLS, OR COSTLY ARRAY; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.” (1 Tim. 2: 9 – 10) My sister, how much do you adhere to that? My brother, how well does your wife adhere to that? Many of our women won’t adhere because they would feel odd among their peers. This kind of consideration clearly shows how broken we are yet. Are we supposed to conform to the world’s standard or the world is supposed to conform to our own standard? I said it recently in a forum that the mandate is for us to subdue the earth (Gen. 1: 28). Unfortunately, the reverse has become the case; Christians have been subdued by the earth which they supposed to subdue. When you live like that, there is no two way to it: you are ashamed of the Gospel and its power of salvation. 

I am aware that some so-called churches encourage these kind of dressing in that they never preach against it so that their customers will not go to another church of perdition of their kind. So, on a Sunday morning, when one sees a woman-Christian, one can hardly tell where she’s going to or coming from; whether a night club or a disco party. The worst is when there is a wedding or any kind of celebration, anniversary, harvests, etc! Little wonder then that the spirit of seduction has taken over their disco houses which they call churches. Jezebel is their ruler, Babylon is their city!

I am equally aware that most of you ladies do this because women of high statures in the Christendom are doing them, by which you are not so convinced that it is a sin. My question to you is: which of these women who do these abominable things died for you on the cross of Calvary? But the Bible says “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The person to copy isn’t that Jezebelic wife of your Pastor. You are to follow the teachings handed down by God through the Holy Spirit to the Apostles. In Philippians 1: 27a, the Bible says: “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ:”, (the Greek word translated “conversation” there is “Politeumai”  which means behave or live”), and Philippians 2: 5 says: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” So, if God says it is wrong, then, it is wrong! 

 The last I will talk about is in Christian communication these days. This is another salient area by which Christians show their shame at and of the Gospel of Christ. The book of Philippians 1: 27 quoted above asks that our conversations (behavior, ways of life, including spoken words, eating, drinking, etc) conform to that of the gospel of Christ. But what do we have in the Christendom today? You hear preachers using slangs on the pulpit. What of us their congregation? The manner of speaking of some Christians is not different from that of unbridled sinners; in that, they curse, speak slangs and other abominable utterances of the world.

But as Christians, we are admonished to speak to ourselves with hymns and Psalms (Ephesians 5: 19; Colossians 3: 16). How many hymns and Psalms do you know as a Christian? Let me point out that this admonition does not mean that we should be singing hymns and Psalms to ourselves, but that our utterances and conversations should be as seasoned with grace as these hymns and Psalms are. The moment we deviated from this, there’s no two way to it; we are definitely ashamed of the gospel.

Conclusion

Let us end this sermon this morning by relating to us the consequences of being ashamed of the gospel of Christ in any of the ways we have mentioned or in any other way(s) not mentioned here.

The first consequence is that by doing anything that shows that we are ashamed of the Christ, and the gospel, being the Power of God unto salvation, we have lost our salvation, if we had been saved at all before (because there are many unsaved Christians all over our churches today). You may be deceiving yourself that you are saved or have not lost your salvation, if you were once saved, but Galatians 6: 7a says: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked:” While you may be deceiving yourself and people around you, but the Bible says the Lord will show those that are His (Numbers 16: 5). You see, many people are quick to and actually relish deceiving themselves today just because of the availability of grace. But just know that as you do those things that God says you must not do, you are being ashamed of the gospel and you show that you have lost your salvation.

The second consequence is that as you are being ashamed of the gospel of Christ by doing things abominable to God; you are denying the Power of the gospel which is unto salvation. In Daniel 11: 32b, the Bible says “but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” The key to our exploits is our salvation. If as a Christian, you are not saved yet, you don’t have any claims to the Power of God (John 1: 12; Acts 1: 8; Romans 8: 14). You may be prospering in your endeavours; it is just by grace! If despite prospering in your endeavours you don’t manifest any of the signs the Master mentioned in Mark 16: 17 - 18, you should please know that you are not operating in the Power of God.

The last consequence is that you are just a passer-by in the Christendom. Thus, you have joined those mocking Christ on the cross (Matthew 27: 39). Let me be blunt here by saying that passers-by have no inheritance in His Kingdom because they are like dogs and are among those that are without (Revelation 22: 15).

Conclusion

As we round-off here this morning, brethren, Jesus Christ says in Matthew 8: 28 and Luke 9: 26 that “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.”

Therefore brethren, it is not enough to answer the name, Christian, or be going to church (whichever you may be attending), these are not what God requires from us. God wants us to identify with His Son, Jesus Christ, His Word and the fellowship of His suffering and be conformed unto His death so that we may experience Power of His resurrection which is unto salvation. After all, it is written: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

I pray the grace and the Power of the Holy Spirit to abide be released upon us today in Jesus Christ’s mighty Name. Amen.

 Till we meet again, keep keeping on in Him!