Be Not Ashamed...

Today I see that we are in times where one is ridiculed for believing that Jesus is the only way.  One is considered unstable for believing the totality of the written word to actually be truth.  For example, a believer today is labeled a simpleton for accepting by faith the written account of creation and rejecting the "scientific" explanation of evolution.

It is a time when even believers ask questions like "Do you really believe that '...there is nothing new under the sun'(Ecc.1:9)?"  I hear others say things like, "I think it would be best for us to not share from our bibles because this will bring offense, instead we ought to show them we love them by our actions."  

A couple of months ago I heard another saint, sharing through tears, that in her eyes, the biggest obstacle that the homeless ministry she described faces is overcoming the messes made in the past by the Bible thumpers.  She is convinced that it does more good to "be Jesus to them" through actions than to actually share the truth with them.  Admittedly, she expressed that in reality this means that in most cases the relationship will never become deep enough in a homeless ministry that one would be confident that the word would not offend and therefore the word is seldom actually preached.  

I fully recognize the imperfections of many within Christendom and the wake of messes that have been made through their good intentions.  The mishandling of past situations is wrong and does indeed taint the present reality.  Yet, one should not willing to throw out the written account of the truth of Jesus Christ and the use of it by the Holy Spirit to convict men of sin.  There is only one way to the Father and that is through the biblical Jesus Christ. Jesus who was; born of a virgin, God incarnate, being found in appearance as a man, without sin and fulfilling all the prophecies of old.  The Son of God, yielding to His Father's plan and taking upon Himself my sin, as well as yours.  Jesus the first born from the dead, who conquered the power of death and nailed it to the cross forever!  The Jesus whom we long to see at His physical second coming.  It is in Him that hope is found, that redemption and salvation is procured.  There is only one story of Jesus Christ shared in the written word, inspired by the Holy Spirit, written for us to embrace as the truth of the gospel.


There are many today who teach and/or believe that in order to share Jesus properly, we must put the Bible down and share exclusively through relationship.  Though relationship is an integral part of walking together in His body, it is not to be used as a replacement for the written word of His gospel story.  Jesus shows by example the value of the written word as He spends a great deal of time quoting the Old Testament and reading from the scrolls in the temple as He teaches.  If anyone had the ability to set it aside while one ministered, it was Jesus and He did not do so.  Rather He told the Jews who had come to believe in Him that if they were ever to be set free from the bondage of the old law, then they would have to press into His teachings and how they related to the things they already knew, being Jews.  "If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." -Jn. 8:31-32  Now obviously, in His physical life He was actively living what would be recorded for us to follow.  While being in appearance as a man, He was also God and therefore He knew what would be written and passed down to us even today when He spoke these words.

May God help us to embrace that it is the truth of Jesus Christ that brings freedom, not the setting aside of the book containing the story of Jesus Christ.  Paul asks in Romans 10 of how someone will ever hear of the good news of Jesus Christ if it is not preached.  In the current environment, I hear a challenge to the church today to not shrink back from sharing the written news of Jesus Christ, because it needs to be heard.  Of course, it must be done appropriately so that whether one is hearing or rejecting, it is Jesus that that he is listening to or rejecting.  God help us to not commit the sins of old creating another wake of messes that have to be redeemed.  Yet may He also help us to stand firm on His word!

My God help us to never be ashamed of the Gospel!  Even when it means that we face ridicule from within or those outside.  Paul is a good example and encourages me in his inspired writing included below: 

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.  Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.  For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.  Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.  That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us." 2 Timothy 1:7-13