This morning we flip the coin over and look at the other side of that message from chapter 1. Not only was Paul not ashamed to be a believer, but he said other believers should not be ashamed either. “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” This is a wonderful proclamation. This is the voice of the divinely-authorized, prophet of God. This is a promise of God into which every believer, no matter how weak his faith, can sink his teeth.
The fact that Paul wasn’t directly quoting verses here, points out something which needs to be understood. Those who trust in the promises of Jehovah will not and cannot be disappointed. For anyone who knows a modicum of the Bible, he knows that this is a true statement. This is the gist of the Scripture even though there may not be a verse which directly declares it to be so. So Paul gives to every gospel preacher the authority to make a summarizing statements like this. If the overall teaching of the Bible says that something is true then it is permissible to say, “the scriptures declare such and such.” For example, the Bible doesn’t contain a specific verse which condemns the use of cigarettes. But that doesn’t mean that the Bible doesn’t teach the principle of abstaining from tobacco. The principle is that the Christian’s body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and should not be poisoned or polluted. Obviously this means that you need to trust the preacher’s Biblical knowledge of the Bible and his honesty. But assuming that these two things are true, he may say, “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed,” even when there isn’t a verse which directly makes that statement.
When the scripture says something, or even when it implies it …
And what does it mean that these believers are not, and will never be – “ashamed?” It means that the hope that they have, which is based upon the Word of God, cannot NOT be fulfilled. They have learned that there is an eternal life of joy and bliss, and they have a hope in that Paradise. Again, that hope is not based on their works, but on Christ, Whom they believe and trust. They have an hope that when they die, or when they are translated from this earthly life, despite their weaknesses and occasional sins, that all the residue and effects of sin will be removed. They have an hope, based upon the promise of the Lord, that they will be glorified. And of this hope, or these aspects of hope, they will not be ashamed.
In other words, they will never have any reason to be ashamed of their faith in Christ Jesus. Notice that verse 11 only gives us the pronoun – “him.” Following that back to verse 9, we return to our messages of last week . The “him” to whom Paul referred was “the Lord JESUS.” Paul wanted to make sure that if any unsaved Jews read or heard this letter to the Romans, that they wouldn’t miss the fact that he was talking about Jesus of Nazareth. That man of Galilee was the Messiah, the Anointed of God, the Saviour, that prophet like unto Moses. This Jesus is the Lord God, the Second Person of the Trinity, Jehovah in human flesh. God sent “his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin.” Let’s not get confused about the divine Object of the believers’ faith and hope.
Ah, but what weak creatures we are – even as believing Christians. As Paul said in chapter 8, it isn’t the law that is weak; it’s our flesh and our faith. There is absolutely no reason to be ashamed of Christ Jesus, because He is perfect and infallible. The problem is in our flesh and our faith. It is true that “whosoever believeth on him should never be ashamed,” but sometimes we are ashamed, proving that we continue to live in sinful flesh. Look at Peter in the court-yard of the High Priest, just hours before the crucifixion. There was no reason for Peter to be ashamed of Jesus, but he was ashamed of his relationship to Him. “He denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest.” “And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man.” “Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew.” The problem was not with Christ, but with the man who should have been willing to stand beside Him. Was Peter ashamed? Yes, he was. But I’m sure that when he came to his senses, he would have confessed that he had no reason to be ashamed of the Lord Jesus. He was temporarily ashamed of his association with the Lord Jesus.
Let me add a couple of other verses before moving on – Not only did Paul say that we have no reason to be ashamed of our Saviour, of our hope, or of our faith, he also was a good example: “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” And because he knew the weakness of the brethren, he exhorted us not to be ashamed: “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God.” “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
It is safe to say that there is no reason to be ashamed of any doctrine of the Word of God. And when the day of glorification comes, and all things are made right and perfect, we will be able to agree. I have no reason to be ashamed of my Saviour, the Lord Jesus. He has kept every promise and there was nothing that He has ever done, which was less than perfect. I am certainly not ashamed that I have placed my faith in Him rather than in myself and my works. There is no reason to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it has proven itself to be the power of God unto salvation. There is no reason to be ashamed of any part of the revelation of God – “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.” There is no reason to be ashamed of anything that I might have suffered for the Lord and His service. I Peter 4:16 – “If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” There is no reason to be ashamed of God’s people, as weak and sinful, like myself, they happen to be. There is no reason to be ashamed of the humble birth of the Saviour. One of the arguments that the Jews had against Jesus, was that of his birth. They expected their Messiah to be born in a palace, or at least in the home of some notable priest. They accused Jesus of being illegitimate, a poor Galilean and therefore a fraud. But they failed to do the proper research and to investigate among the shepherds of Nazareth. They failed to check the genealogies of Joseph and Mary. No Christian needs to be ashamed of the lowly birth of Christ, because in many ways it was far from lowly. There is no reason to be ashamed of the second coming of Christ. There is no reason to be ashamed of talking, teaching and yearning for the second coming. And certainly after He comes and vindicates our pre-millennial, pre-tribulational doctrine, we will not be ashamed. Fortunately, at that point we will have been glorified, and we won’t be filled with pride either. There will be absolutely nothing about which we will be ashamed if it is based upon the Word of God. “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.” “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Of course, a key ingredient towards this absence of shame is BIBLICAL faith. That was a part of Peter’s problem just before the crucifixion – he had doubts. The gospel must be believed and received as the truth, or any other relationship or attitude toward it will be useless. And how infinitely sad is the fact that some people suffer for Christ, but they have no salvation in Christ. Some people erroneously think that their suffering is what makes them Christians. Or what if someone spent his entire life as a member of one of the Lord’s churches…. He believed the Bible to be the divinely inspired Word of God, and that the Lord preserved it in English in the King James version; He was taught about the imminent second coming of the Lord, and he believed it to be true; He was taught about the gospel, and he could define some of its deeper theological aspects… What if someone knew exactly what it was to be a Christian, believed many things like a Christian and behaved like a Christian, but he was not a Christian because His trust was somehow misplaced? Could there be anything more eternally sad than such a person?
This verse 11 breaks down into three parts: the scripture saith, the believer believes, and
What is it to be “saved?” The way in which Paul is using this term, he is talking about deliverance from sin. “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” But the coming of the Lord to die as our substitute – our sacrifice – was not only on the Father’s part. Christ “gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.” He “gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people.” “The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.” “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”
Why is it that those who put their faith in Christ, shall never be ashamed? It is because God is supreme and sovereign over every aspect of salvation. He is the God who cannot lie, and who promised eternal life – Titus 1:2. Therefore that eternal life is guaranteed, and no believer shall never be ashamed. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” – Numbers 23:19.
I’m going to close with a part of Paul’s introductory thoughts in II Corinthians. He wrote, “But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us. Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” Why does Paul tell the Romans that believers shall never be ashamed? Because all the promises and other statements of God in Christ are “yes” and “amen” – “verily, verily.” How can we not put our complete trust and eternal dependence upon the Lord?
Are you one of those people who has attend good churches all your life, but have yet to trust Christ alone? Why? There is no reason to wait. “Behold, today is the day of salvation.” The Lord Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” – guaranteed.