2 Timothy 1:8-10 - Wed. PM

Review: Last week we learned 2 major truths from 2Tim. 1:6 & 7:

One thing we SHOULD do * Stir up, Fan into a flame your Gift(s)

One thing we should NOT do * Don't be Fearful (fear is not from God)

Tonight as we cover 2Tim. 1:8, we'll deal with another major problem Christians can struggle with...

Being ashamed.

Read & explain (v. 1) 2Tim. 1:8-11

What is shame or the act of being Ashamed?

"Human shame is a feeling of Distress at our deficiencies, deformities, or absurdities -- real or imagined-- ... and especially at the uncovering of these things."

We all have our areas of Shame, things that embarrass us.

Rom. 1:16, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

Mark 8:38, "For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed"

2Ti 1:16, The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain;

To not be ashamed as a Christian is to live for Christ and as Christ did without considering the rejection and harm you may receive from unbelievers and worldly Christians. To not be ashamed is to be willing to pay the price of standing for God and for the Lord Jesus Christ and all their ways. To not be ashamed is to decrease in your own importance while at the same time magnifying the Lord.

God the Father and the Son are NOT ashamed of us:

Heb 2:11, For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,

Heb 11:16, But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

Now if our Holy God is not ashamed of us what excuse do we have for being ashamed of the Greatest being in the universe? Certainly our many excuses for being ashamed to stand for Christ are melted away when we consider what God is willing to endure in order to make us His children and to allow us to represent Him on earth. I believe the apostles clearly understood these truths and that's why they lived the way the lived, willing to be debased so long as God was exalted. Now that's not being ashamed of Christ.

Shame and Fear can go hand and hand:

Isa 51:7 "Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, You people in whose heart is My law: Do not fear the reproach of men, Nor be afraid of their insults.

Sometimes unbelievers will try to shame you, disgrace you, make you appear to be deformed Socially, but their efforts DO NOT have to impact the way you live. Christians do not have to give in to the distress that Unbelievers want to Cause in their lives. The pagan world and Satan himself would stop at nothing if they can cause a Christian to go silent with their witness for the Lord.

How did the early church saints deal with opposition from the world? Turn to Acts 5:40-42

Acts 5:40, And they agreed with him, and when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41, So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. 42, And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

What happened here? These early church saints were given every reason to be fearful and to run and hide, thus stopping their witness for Christ. Yet that's not what they did. These early Christians wanted to exalt God and His message and they were not concerned about exalting themselves or sparing themselves socially.

I am convinced that the Number one reason why Christians allow themselves to be embarrassed about being associated with the Lord or His Ways and Word is because we as humans tend toward Self-exaltation rather than Exalting God. Just ponder that for a moment. Isn't that true? It may seem subtle at times, but when we have the chance (and we do many times a day) to stand for Christ and proclaim Him, what do we do? Do we freeze up, clam up, shut up and if we do, why? It's because we're concerned about self and protecting self from social harms that may come to us in a number of forms.

Standing for the Lord often involves being debased publicly, being put down, ridiculed and sometimes much worse for being Identified with Christ. In the Flesh, we don't want to be put down. In the Spirit we can allow ourselves to be put down while we're doing all we can to LIFT UP Christ. If we could just see our actions and our speech as either exalting Christ or hiding Christ. If you're constantly hiding Christ in your life, then you really are ashamed of the Lord who bought you with His own blood.

Let's answer a Basic Spiritual Question: Does it really matter what happens to us, as long as Christ is being Exalted and Glorified? Paul said in Philip 1:20, "according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death." The apostle Paul gives us the answer. So long as Christ is being magnified, don't concern yourself as to what happens to you. However, you'll never reach this stage of willingness until you see the purpose of your life from God's perspective. It's easy for us to say, "my life is for God's glory and purpose." It's yet another thing to live that truth out on a regular basis. Yet living according to this understanding needs to be our goal as Christians.

As we look at Paul's life, was he distressed at his deficiencies, deformities, or absurdities? 1. Paul= small, a small man in the Roman Empire

2. weak with his thorn in the flesh

3. not a dynamic preacher from man's perspective

4. preaching a message that most ridiculed and laughed at

5. put in prison, beaten, scorned, stoned...

Gal. 6:17, From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. 1Cor. 4: 9, For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.

1Cor. 4:11, To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. 12, And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure;13, being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.

1Pet. 4:14, If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

Are you Hiding or Exalting Christ in your life Publicly? This is the true test of whether or not you're Ashamed of Christ. May God give us boldness to exalt Him and may we die to self to the point that we're willing to be decreased in this present world in order for Christ to increase.
2Timothy - Outlines & Notes