No Shame in Good News

Shame can be a powerful force. It can be good, and lead to repentance. It can be bad and lead to death. In a society that praises greed, power, self-reliance, and all sorts of immorality, shame can also be used by the devil to keep us away from God. Saint Paul thought otherwise.

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to know, brethren, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish: so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Romans 1:1-7,13-17

Saint Paul lived in a society that was much more antagonistic to the Church than we do. Roman society was not only pagan, but it fought against anyone considered dangerous to their power or way of life. Jewish elites were also the Church. It threatened their allegiance with Rome.

We can learn more than theology from Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans, which we read daily in the Church following the Feast of Pentecost. We also learn from his courage to see the Gospel as power and not shame. That can come in handy in our current times.

Like Saint Paul, we live in a society that is antagonistic to the Church. Although not openly pagan, our modern society fights against anything that ‘gets in the way’ of pleasure and power. The Gospel of Christ is considered as limiting to pleasure and power and thus must by mocked.

The pain and suffering of our modern society are mostly self-induced. Rather than step away, or at least fight against, passions that lead to death, our society glorifies them. Our society, misled by the devil, pretends that ignoring what causes the pain will make the pain go away.

In other words, if living in sin leads to death, then redefining behavior as ‘not sin’ is believed to cure the pain and suffering. In the end, with increased depression and mental illness, ignoring sin only leads to greater pain. Since the Gospel teaches us to defeat sin, the Gospel is shamed.

Here’s the deal as Saint Paul teaches. “For everyone who has faith,” the Gospel is power to change our life. It is power to fight against sin. It is power to live lives of joy rather than pain. The only shame in the Gospel is the shame of sin. Eliminate sin and we eliminate shame.

The difference between how the world uses shame, and how God uses shame is love. The world uses shame to push away anything, or anyone, that gets in the way of pleasure and power. God uses shame to fight against sin. Eliminate sin and we eliminate shame.

The reason worldly shame is not effective, is because it is not based in truth. Sin is real and it leads to death. The Gospel offers us a way away from sin and a way toward life with God. If you feel pressure by others to stop fighting against sin, it isn’t your shame they are worried about.

Society wants you to stop fighting against sin because it creates shame in others. Seeing Christians lives a life fighting against what society glorifies makes society uncomfortable. It creates an atmosphere that competes with pleasure and power. Don’t give in.

You don’t have to ‘preach it from the mountaintops’ to live the Gospel. Start by fighting your own passions and sins. Start by having the faith in God to embrace the Gospel and stop fighting against it. If others notice you are no longer ashamed of the Gospel, they’ll ask you to preach.

Until you are asked, “How did you stop that behavior,” don’t bother being a teacher. The power of the Gospel is the power to repent. Repentance gains the attention of others. THEN MAYBE you will be asked to share your story. Until then, just live the Gospel and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

For a complete study on the Book of Romans, check out our Bible Study on Romans.