Are You Ashamed of Being A Christian?
These are very exciting times we are living in! Over the years, I’ve heard Christians remark that they wished they could’ve lived during the time Jesus walked the earth. Not me! I’m very excited about the times we are in! We are seeing prophecy unfolding and being fulfilled at an alarming rate! We are seeing the Gospel message in lands where it was once forbidden to be a Christian! The Bible, either whole or in part is available in almost every language spoken on earth. People everywhere are hearing the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Yes, indeed these are exciting times! Yet, these are also trying times, for we are living in a country that once enjoyed God’s blessings and favor, but has since turned its back on God (Psalm 9:17; 33:12) We watched in silence has demon-inspired infidels expelled God from our public schools. In some public schools it is a punishable offense to just bring a Bible to school! Yet the religion of secular humanism is allowed to be taught and pollute young souls. Secular Humanism’s main tenet, evolution is fostered on our children as an established scientific fact, which it certainly is not, whereas the teaching of Creationsim is prohibited and viewed as unscientific, superstitious nonsense. Everywhere we turn Christianity is being attacked and ridiculed. Turn on the television and you will find numerous programs dedicated to “Christian-bashing.” Movies often depict the villain as a Bible quoting religious psychopath and the “good guys” are the ones bed-hopping,or otherwise engaged in some other form of immorality. Rather than giving reverence to the Name of God, it is taken in vain and blasphemed, often many times in just one sentence! Christians are often depicted as “ignorant” and “foolish,” not to be taken seriously. Recently, it was reported that a homosexual activist filed lawsuits against Bible publishers Zondervan Publishing and Thomas Nelson Publishers demanding that they change the Bible to make it present homosexuality in a positive light instead of the sin that it is. Recently, there was also an attempt to pass legislation that would ban the wearing of religious symbols at the workplace. This also would have empowered the business owner to ban his employees from listening to Christian radio stations, read their copy of the Bible, or share their faith with fellow employees during their lunch breaks. Thank God this proposed legislation was defeated! Of course, all the events just mentioned have one goal in common, and that goal is to silence Christians and take away our rights. Those responsible endeavor to make it appear to be a shame for one to be a Bible-believing, Christ-honoring Christian. If you read
2 Timothy 3:1-7, you will find that these events were not to be unexpected. With the anti-Christian attitude that is prevalent in our country, it is easy to see why some Christians are less than enthusiastic about sharing their faith with others. Many Christians are not eager to take a Biblical stand because it would bring them into conflict with others, so they would rather compromise the faith once delivered. After all, it
is easier to stand off to one side in silence while the Name of Christ is being reviled or taken in vain, than it is to stand up against it. There's one problem with this mentality though, and that is the fact that Jesus said,
“Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the clouds in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38). Jesus also reminded us that,
“ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake” (Matthew 10:22). I don't know about anyone else, but I'd much rather be hated by men than to have Christ ashamed of me when He comes for His church at the Rapture! Let's not forget the words of the apostle Paul spoken under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost:
“yea, and all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).
Rev. Jack Howell
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God to salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." (Romans 1:16)
Proper Principles of Bible Study
