Says Bunyan in his Pilgrim's Progress, "Of all the men that I met with in my pilgrimage, SHAME, I think, bears the wrong name: this bold-faced Shame would never have done; I could scarce shake him out of my company; he would be continually haunting me and whispering me in the ear; indeed this Shame is a bold villain."
Have not you found the same? Lord, pardon thy servant, that this shame still cleaves unto me. Lord, I am ashamed of myself, that I ever should be ashamed of thee and thy Gospel. Lion of the tribe of Judah, drive away this shame from my heart.
Consider its origin. It is begotten by pride. We are proud of our good name, fair character, our reason and understanding, among the men of the world. If we openly profess the Gospel of Christ, and live and walk under its influence, we cannot act like the rest of the world. Hence we shall soon be reproached, and perhaps deemed fools, madmen, and enthusiasts. Pride cannot bear this: it is ashamed of it. Then it works by fear. Fear says, take heed to yourself: do not go too far: keep your Gospel to yourself: you will surely suffer for it: you will lose your friends, character, and business: you will set all the world against you, and then, how will you live.
Hence you see that pride and fear are the offspring of atheism and unbelief: they banish the Providence of God and the promises of his grace from our mind. Hence it is plain that faith, a living faith in the Gospel of Christ, will drive pride, fear and shame out of the heart. O consider the dishonor it is to Christ to be ashamed of his glorious Gospel. Does it bring to our souls the glad tidings of the pardon of our sins, peace with God, justification before him, and eternal enjoyment of him through the salvation of Christ? Did he make himself of no reputation for us? Did he endure the cross and despise the shame of hanging upon it as an accursed malefactor to save us? And shall we be ashamed of him? Where then is our faith in him and love to him?
It is one thing to be beset with shame and another to give way to it. A lively faith begets warm love. Then shame dares not show his base head. Without thee, O Jesus, we can do nothing. Through thy strength we can do all things. Lord, strengthen our souls in the faith and love of thee. O suffer us never, never to be ashamed of thee and of thy cross. But let us ever glory in thee, and of thee. And, dear Lord help us, that we may never be a shame to thee and thy Gospel, by an unchristian life and unholy walk.
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