We want the mindset that Paul demonstrated when he wrote, “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. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” (Rom 1:16-17) Paul stood boldly against the spirit of self righteousness (which still exists) that states, “I am justified by my good works.” Many hated (and still do) the Good News that states that all hope, salvation, and true life is dependent on what God accomplished through his Son, Jesus. Our part is to put full faith and trust in the One who died while we were yet sinners. Abraham was credited with righteousness… and so are those who receive the gospel. “The words ‘it was credited to him’ were written not for him (Abraham) alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness – for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead…. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand… You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly… But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (see Rom 4, 5) This preaching got Paul into a lot of trouble… but he was not ashamed of God’s message.
But there’s another angle to this word ‘ashamed’ that gives a different twist. We don’t want God to be ashamed of us! “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (Heb 11:13-16)
So do I ‘admit’ (in a way that impacts my living) that this world is not my home? Do I long for another country? Am I one of those God can point toward and say, “I’m not ashamed to be his God”?
Not surprisingly, Jesus brought both these thoughts into the same teaching… which begins with an important question:
“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 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.” Luke 9:25-26