No Reason to be Ashamed

By Jeff Arnette     Psalm 31:17 reminds us that we have no reason to be ashamed: “O Lord, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you; let the wicked be put to shame; let them go silently to Sheol.”     In Christ, we have redemption—the greatest gift imaginable. There is nothing greater than being certain that we have been saved by grace. To know that our heavenly home has been bought and paid for by Jesus is a source of unparalleled joy and assurance: “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” (Heb. 9:14)     Truly, we are the most blessed people in the world.     Why don’t we have to be ashamed? It is because we have called on the name of the Lord, and our sins have been erased and forgiven by Jesus: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” (Rev. 1:5)     This redemption can only come from God. It is a miracle of the highest order. There is no other way for our sins to be forgiven and for us to be given a new life: “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12)     “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:4)     But who should be ashamed? The wicked—those who rely on their own devices to navigate this life. While their way may seem to work temporarily, it is fleeting. One day, Jesus will return, and they will face eternity in hell. In that moment, they will wish they had trusted in the Lord: “so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 5:21)     Let us remember these truths and rejoice in the hope we have in Christ.

- Jeff Arnette preaches for the Central Haywood church of Christ, Clyde, NC.  He may be contacted through the congregation's website: https://centralhaywoodcoc.com/