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Romans 1:16 (KJV)
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
That is an interesting verse of scripture. It seems simple but there is actually much being said. The obvious message is a strong statement of faith, unapologetically declaring a position and a defense of it. The gospel of Christ is power and a force for good to all mankind. There is no quibbling or hesitation but there is a suggestion that can be missed. The author claims no shame in his position but this then allows for the possibility of shame. There is, the author suggests, something about the gospel of Christ that can cause people to be ashamed.
Shame is a massive problem in the nature of man. Ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden we have had to contend against this dark specter and accuser.
Genesis 3:8-10 (KJV)
8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, “Where art thou?” 10 And he said, “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
Shame and the desire to hide behind fig leaves is no less powerful today. We expend so much time and energy in posing as something we are not, projecting an image we covet but do not truly deserve. Academy award performances take place every day around us. We are often disappointed to learn that the people we know are not the people we thought they were. There are the sad examples of marriages collapsing that appeared so strong and tragic horror stories of business owners found to be embezzlers, teachers who are pedophiles or pastors discovered to be drug addicted beasts. The list goes on, so much so it is hard to shock us anymore.
I believe there are four aspects of shame that impact the Christian’s confidence in sharing the gospel. The first is this fear of being exposed as less than a Christian than we pretend we are. We fear that while in our attempt to speak authoritatively about Christ something about our knowledge will be called into question. Maybe our understanding of doctrine is wrong and we could be humiliated. Christians argue with each other on interpretations on scripture and application constantly. It is not always easy to know if what we understand is fully true. Christians accept this continued expansion and clarification of knowledge as a measure of growth and maturing faith. As Science works with discovery of new insights into nature, Faith relies on God’s spirt revealing the secrets of the supernatural. It is not easy to speak with both authority and humility about the mysteries of faith.
Another part of shame is the possibility that someone will expose an aspect of our character or behavior that does not fully exemplify a Christian lifestyle. There is an old saying, “Is there enough evidence that would convict you of the crime of being a Christian?” Each of us, no matter our level of commitment or devotion, come up short of perfection. Who are we to make a stand for Christ? Why not leave this to the professionals like Pastors, Evangelists or missionaries? Surly they have better standing and respectability to be God’s messenger. But this argument falls short when we remember that the apostle Paul saw himself as a questionable man.
Romans 7:21-24 (NIV)
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?
The two first dangers of incompetence or hypocrisy are powerful motivations to remain quiet. We can try to justify this by telling ourselves that it is better to not get it wrong and do more damage than good, but let’s be honest. Staying quiet is more about self-protection than it is the noble sacrifice for the greater good.
The third shame is in the gospel itself. Take a step back from your faith and try to see the Bible from the viewpoint of the unbeliever. It really is quite a fantastic and weird story to accept. It has Gods and demons, virgin births and resurrections. The story of Sampson killing 1,000 men with a donkey jawbone or the walls of Jericho falling because of some trumpets is the stuff of science fiction and fantasy novels. Jonah swallowed by a whale, the parting of the Red sea or Jesus walking on water takes a whole lot of faith to accept.
The gospel is just weird and is not easy to defend. There are logical arguments against the Bible and some of them are very persuasive. Knowing how to navigate these waters takes a lot more wisdom and knowledge than just memorized passages of scripture. If your only way to address challenges to the Bible is to refer back to scripture you will not find much success. Beyond the first fear of Biblical knowledge, itself a big challenge, there is the daunting task to defend the Bible itself. This will require the Christian to become a student of history, science, ancient cultures and geography. No one claimed that being a Christian was easy but it is important to know why you believe what you believe.
These three fears; ignorance, hypocrisy and awkwardness of faith; are universal in the community of Christianity. But there is a fourth aspect of shame that can be experienced. To unpack this I want to summon up an image of a beloved character from The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo is invited into a grand adventure filled with risk. He reads the contact and sees words like funeral arrangements, lacerations, vivisection and incineration. He faints dead away! No adventures for me thank you very much he says. But something unexpected happens as he senses the opportunity to join the company of Dwarves slipping away. Desire swells up inside of his heart and he is soon running, sprinting down the road. He has not packed a thing, has no handkerchiefs or cloak and not even a single pouch of tobacco or pipe to smoke it with. His neighbors are stunned and demand to know what is happening. With the contact clutched in one hand, eyes alive with excitement Bilbo shouts “I’m going on an adventure!”
That story reminds me of the time I finally accepted Christ. What an experience that was for me. And I had some understanding of what that decision might cost me. I knew the tragic fates of those martyred for Christ. I had heard the testimonies of many dynamic faithful men and women. I had some awareness that by choosing Christ I was now an enemy to the world powers of darkness. None of this mattered to me, the call of Christ was too strong to ignore. I was going on an adventure!
Now let’s return to Bilbo and imagine this next scene. He rushes into the courtyard breathless and exuberant, almost unable to speak coherent sentences. “Take me with you! See here, I signed the contact! I must come with you!” he cries. And with open arms and much slapping of backs little innocent Bilbo becomes one of the team. And then, after the excitement wanes, the question is asked, “What do we do next?” What do you suppose that Bilbo is expecting? If it was me I would assume these Dwarves had a plan of action and the means to carry it out. My experiences should be filled with effort and the promised danger around each twist in the trails ahead.
But what if the answer was this instead? “Well Bilbo we cannot hope to begin without preparing first. So this week we are going to do some fund raising for new equipment and supplies”. Bilbo considers this and thinks, “Yes that does sound prudent. One need not be rash in facing dragons after all”. What if the next weeks were then filled with training on fire making, basic to advanced sword fighting, animal handling and rudimentary languages. Weeks and months pass, spring turning to summer and then the hint of autumn and still the company has not left the security of the Shire. What would happen to Bilbo’s zest for the entire enterprise?
Sadly many Christians face this very real scenario in their churches and this opens up the last facet of shame. What happens if I share the gospel and this person accepts Christ with the passion I once had but have lost? What shall I do with them? Should I invite them to my church? Will they take a look around and say to me “What do we do next?” and if they do what can I say? Sunday service is at 9 AM and we could sure use more ushers! The church picnic is in two weeks and Bible study is every second Tuesday night.
Is it any wonder why spreading the gospel and making disciples is so freakishly hard to do? Christianity is not for the timid or the ignorant. But it is also not supposed to be risk free. The call of adventure and then the delivery of that promise needs to be unleashed into the Body if there is to be any hope in making a decisive stand for Christ in this generation.
Shame need not be the victor in this fight.
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