I began an expository preaching series through the book of Romans this year, and just finished assembling the 30th message. It has been an incredible journey thus far – but one that has been extremely convicting. The seemingly obvious over-arching theme of Paul’s letter is “UNASHAMED”, with each facet of Paul’s message pointing in some way back to this underlying attitude of being unashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether it be the unchristlike behavior of those in the church who stir up strife and division, the jockeying for power and position, or even the fundamental understanding of what it means to no longer have condemnation (chapter 8), all points back to the testimony of the Gospel.

Interestingly enough, as part of my duties as the elected President of the BMA of Arkansas, I am tasked with coming up with a central theme for the annual meeting (November 2 & 3, 2023), and I was drawn over the past year to what I have seen unfolding in American Christianity, and even hinted at in some of our churches – and that being a focus on mechanics, trends, pragmatism, and trying to be attractional by adopting the world and its ways – quite possibly making much of what passes as American Christianity even more problematic than the church at Ephesus Jesus dictated His message to in Revelation 2. So the theme of our annual meeting is “Remember Your First Love” (Revelation 2:1-7). And all of this planning, discussion, and wrestling in conjunction with my ongoing preparations and preaching from Romans has continued to convict me on this matter of not just “forgetting” our First Love (Jesus Christ and His Gospel), but functionally – being ASHAMED.

From the Romans text, we find descriptions of those who turn a blind eye to sound teaching, to those who work out of selfishness instead of love, and we find warnings regarding those who return to or never really turn loose of their sin and pursuit of the flesh. So – in writing of the greatest blessing we can experience in this life – the removal of the condemnation each and every one of us deserves (a literal death penalty), he actually is pointing to what the truly redeemed recipient of the gospel SHOULD display and receive – really as verifications of what they claim. Are we walking by the Spirit or by the Flesh (what are we seeking to please?). Have we received that spirit of adoption that removes all fear, as those who can truly call God “ABBA!”?

I ask because I look at the exponential growth of what I refer to as “popcorn churches” – churches that spring up with little doctrinal certainty, that cater to the growing statistical group of “un churches, x-churched, and de-churched”, and the adherents (or the formerly biblically-based groups that jump on the pragmatic chase after those who, as 1 John 2:19 describes as having gone out from us, because they were never really OF us… Don’t get me wrong – we should pursue every apparently lost soul with the gospel. But – by what means? And our methods will tell us if we are truly ashamed of the gospel.

If your idea of hitting people with the gospel is trying to attract them with loud, obnoxious and unapologetically secular music, lights, fog, and programs, even as in some recent cases I have seen with my own eyes: scantily-clad women practically twerking to lyrically-crude secular songs – as part of their “worship”, you are ashamed of the gospel. If you spend 99% of your time trying your best to help sinners to feel comfortable in their skin, in their chosen sinful identity, with the aim of bait-and-switching them with the gospel when they trust you – you are ashamed fo the gospel. You believe the gospel is insufficient and needs your help. This is no less absurd than the suggestion by one popular, “hip” megachurch pastor, in response to being asked why they have fog machines in their worship, that it “helps the Spirit to move”. Or the dumping of glitter into the climate system by Bethel Church and calling it “God’s Glory Cloud” as a way of promoting just how close to God they are.

If your pastor tells you that the Old Testament is unnecessary – even hurtful. If he (or she… that’s a whole other problem) insists that the church must unhitch from that record of God’s revelation of His preparation for Christ to fulfill it all – you are ashamed of the gospel. If your church feels it has to host conferences to help parents comfort and accept their children’s homosexual desires, or to accept their chosen gender because it is unloving to speak contrary, you are ashamed of the gospel. You are directly denying its power to transform the lost.

But we shouldn’t be surprised – this is just the next logical step when we also demonstrate that we are ashamed of the gospel by treating sin as the Corinthian church did – turning a blind eye to it. That church had many serious sins that were described as shameful even to the pagan culture around them. But American churches have practiced this for longer than I have been alive. Divorce for no more reason than “I’m tired of her” or “he just doesn’t love me like he used to” is coddled and even promoted. We have seen sexual abuse, even rising to national prominence among Baptists – all because it was swept under the rug – or the victim was actually further victimized and smeared for even bringing it to light. We see churches and even denominations ordaining people to pastoral and even higher leadership who are practicing homosexuals or even pretending to be a different gender from their biological sex. And we are told it’s the right thing to do to show how much we love these people.

No – we are telling God that we don’t care what HE has to say about the matter. And we are hating that neighbor by NOT warning them and calling them to repentance. And we are causing greater confusion than ever with the direct contradiction and blatant hypocrisy – proving that we are, indeed, ashamed of the gospel. We are now a few generations into the whole “what the Bible means to me” methodology – that essentially tells everyone that their own, personal, private, and feelings-based interpretation of the Bible is as valid as any, despite the clear statement to the contrary to God’s Word as recorded by Peter in 2 Peter 1:20. With no concept of proper hermeneutic (understanding the text in its context), Scripture is bent in more odd angles than a shredded geometry textbook. As Gordon Fee put it in his How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth (Zondervan Academic, 1993), “A text cannot mean what it could never have meant for its original readers/hearers.” This is not a claim, as the Catholic and a few other groups claim -that the clergy are the only ones who can tell you what it means, but simply that the text doesn’t change meanings to suit the reader or hearer.

I am all about relationships – for you cannot engage in meaningful, biblical discipleship (the entire crux of Christ’s Great Commission to the church) without personal relationships. If you spend all your time building relationships (especially at the expense of the truth and the great danger hanging over every soul’s eternity), than you do living, breathing, and sharing the Gospel – then you might be ashamed of that gospel.

Is your idea of church 30 minutes of a rock concert followed by a 15-20 minute exposition of a Hollywood blockbuster film? You might be ashamed of the gospel (or at least believe it is lacking in power). You also may be chasing, as one article I recently read implies, just seeking a dopamine spike as a cheap substitute for a genuine spiritual encounter with the living God. You are saying sincere worship led by the Spirit isn’t enough. You are saying God’s Word is insufficient – and you are ashamed of the gospel.

If your “worship pastor” proudly states that pre-marital sex is “good and helpful” – it presents a confused message to all, but especially the coming generations who are seeking answers to these life questions. And if your pastoral staff are endorsing pre-marital sex – they are indeed ashamed of the gospel.

If you feel like telling the truth of God’s Word, calling people to repent and to believe the gospel – that they might be transformed – will cause people to leave your church – consider John’s gospel account, Chapter 6. It is a lengthy chapter, that begins with Jesus preaching to a huge crowd accompanied by some amazing signs. He then feeds thousands with five little loaves of bread and two dried fish (a boy’s lunch) – and all were fat and sassy, content with it – until Jesus then began speaking the difficult truth about faith, about what must come (His own death and resurrection), and how to have eternal life, one must “eat” (take in – believe – have real faith). At that point, the miracles felt rather distant – because now there was a call to personal engagement with Christ. The expectation was more than just showing up to an external, worldly experience – but to direct, intimate, and costly faith. and the Scriptures say (John 6:66) “As a result of this many of His disciples went away and were not walking with Him anymore.” It is nothing new for those who are not really of Jesus to leave when it gets too real. When it becomes too uncomfortable. But if you are so worried that the numbers will decline – that you will lose the goats – that you turn the church into nothing but a flesh-centered circus and so blur the truth that the devil himself could come and be comfortable – you are clearly ashamed of the gospel.

And if you are ashamed of the gospel, that really tells the world that you deny Christ Jesus! And I believe the LORD Himself had something to say about those who would deny Him…

But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 10:33

And maybe more directly to this post:

For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Luke 9:26

Does your church call people to battle sin (starting with their own mirror), to seek purity and holiness in their daily walk? Or does an objective analysis show us that they are actually loving people right through the gates of Hell? If the latter, then there is no doubt – your church is ashamed of the gospel.

And if you functionally treat the gospel and the Word of God as in any way lacking or insufficient – how in the world can you, as Romans 8:15 says

ABBA! Father!

Let me add just one more, more personal note here. If you are not actively fighting sin in your own life, if you are continuing in sin, content that somehow grace will be multiplied to cover it – you too are ashamed of the gospel…