Not Ashmed

I am not ashamed of Jesus or the gospel message. Twenty-nine and a half years ago my life was suddenly changed when a man introduced me to Jesus Christ. I have never been the same. I have struggled with sin. I have had some doubts along the way as well. I have questioned the ways of God in my life. I have not been perfect but I am not ashamed.

As a teenager I witnessed to my friends wanting them to experience the new life I found in Christ. I did not know anything about religion. All I knew is a man named Eli introduced me to Jesus and Jesus not only forgave my sin but transformed my life as well. We shared Christ with our friends in our youth group going out on Friday and Saturday nights in local parking lots. Many of my teammates on the football team questioned my zeal for the Lord. Some thought I gone off my rocker including some in my own family. I never dreamed Jesus would set me apart to preach for Him yet He did on July 4, 1985.

As a young preacher all I knew to preach was Jesus. I showed no shame in those early sermons. They were simple and saturated with the gospel message. They were not deep but they were gospel sermons. I lived in depression if someone did not get saved each time I preached. It bothered me then and still bothers me today when the gospel is preached or shared and people do not respond. Nearly three decades later I may have more understanding of the Bible but the gospel message is still declared. Once again this past Wednesday night God used that message to save a sophomore football player.

My entire life changed one October Thursday night back in 1983. He who began a good work is completing that work in me until the day of Christ Jesus. [Phil 1:6] And to this day I am not ashamed of the gospel message for it is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek. [Rom 1:16]

The pressure to tone down this message or to hide our faith from a world in defiance against God is relentless. Many Christians live their faith undercover. They work hard at blending in and would never share their views or the gospel for fear it might offend someone. Many preachers have turned away from preaching the pure gospel message in favor of practical talks on issues more relevant to everyday life.

Are we ashamed? I am a sinner. The truth is I was born into sin and have been sinning for the past forty-six years. I needed a rescuer. My deliverance did not come from my performance. My deliverance did not come from trying to do better for I failed again every time. My deliverance came through faith in the message that Jesus came to earth and lived sinlessly. He lived perfectly on planet earth. His perfection made Him the only acceptable sacrifice to atone for my sin and the sins of the world. Perfection died for imperfection. Holiness died on the cross for filth. The Righteous One died for the unrighteous. The spotless Lamb of God died for the defiled and defamed. Jesus died for you and me.

The story did not stop there. Death could not hold Him. The grave could not keep Him down. The soldiers could not put an end to Him. The tomb could not conceal Him. The authorities could not get rid of Him. The sting of death could not exterminate Him. He is raised from the dead conquering the power of sin. He is alive and I am not ashamed. Hallelujah!

It is my privilege to speak for Him. It is my joy to serve Him. It is my honor to proclaim the gospel from  behind the pulpit as well as out in the highways and byways of life. It is my duty and delight to love Him. It is my task to write of Him. I am not ashamed! I hope you are not ashamed either. The world desperately needs to hear this truth though they often turn a deaf ear to it.