Ashamed of Christ: Trust, Shame, and Faith in Mark 8:38

When Shame Reveals Misplaced Trust

Placing our trust in someone who then abuses that trust often brings feelings of shame. We feel foolish for trusting an untrustworthy person. We feel shame over our poor decisions: we married the wrong person, got the wrong degree, or were friends with the wrong people. Some of us feel ashamed over our own sinful behavior. We can't even trust ourselves. Others are ashamed of their children's decisions. Shame exposes the fact that we trusted someone, or even ourselves, when we shouldn't have. But have you ever been ashamed of Christ?

"If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels." Mark 8:38

Shame exposes what we have trusted. If we are ashamed of Christ, it is because we are trusting the world more than we trust Him.

Ashamed in an “Adulterous and Sinful Generation”

Do we feel a sort of shame or discomfort when people talk about Christians as uneducated and stupid? Do we wish we could hide our faith a little so no one has to suspect that we belong to Him? Because we are not like the world we will experience people making fun of us. This should never make us feel shame.

Jesus calls the generation He preached to "adulterous and sinful." The adultery He is referring to is spiritual. The people say they are following God but it is not with their heart; it is only with their lips. Their sin and lack of love, was evidence of this. Certainly this description could be applied to our generation as well. How many of us claim Jesus as our Savior but lack the love for Him and others that we claim to have? God wants our hearts.

When He doesn't live in our hearts, He becomes a "stumbling block," something that offends or causes rejection, to those who don't believe. They could only see this uneducated man from the backwaters of Galilee, unmarried, itinerant, most likely illegitimate (or so they thought). He was "despised," Scripture tells us. To them it was ridiculous to believe that He was the returning Messiah, because they were expecting a great political power. To believe in Him would be shamefully stupid they thought.

Paul: Not Ashamed of the Gospel

When we believe in Jesus, we are told we will never "be put to shame" (Romans 10:11). It means that those who trust in Him will never be disgraced or rejected at the final judgment. Jesus will never let us down, His promises are always true. Breaking free from shame is only possible through Jesus. A life that continually rejects repentance reveals a heart that is ashamed of the Gospel’s transforming power to change hearts and lives. Because if we truly believe in the message of salvation, we will not just talk about it; we will live it.

Paul writes from prison in Philippians 1:20 and declares, "...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." Paul is confident that he will not fail to lift up Christ above all. Whether he lives or dies, he will glorify Christ. Paul’s boldness wasn’t just talk—it stood firm against a world that ridiculed the Gospel as weak and foolish.

And he is also not ashamed of the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16) because it alone has the power of God to save the world. To the world the gospel seems like weakness (1 Corinthians 1:23). It looks like foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18). When Paul went to Rome with the gospel he went to the center of power and wealth. Standing against him were philosophies, prejudice, and ancient religious practices. If Paul believed as the world did, he would have been ashamed.

What does Paul actually mean by ashamed here? The Greek word he uses, epaischunomai, carries the idea of shrinking back in fear or disowning something because of disgrace. Paul was not ashamed because he knew the Gospel was true, powerful, and eternal, and no suffering could change that reality. The Gospel is utterly trustworthy, in fact we can trust the whole Bible.

Paul could not possibly be ashamed of Someone he knew was the salvation of the world. Paul understood that he would never have to experience shame because the word of God would never fail. This same confidence in God’s Word is what Paul encourages in all who labor for Christ.

In Paul's writings to Timothy, he pleads with Timothy to be a worker who is not ashamed (2 Timothy 2:15). Paul's encouragement is that Timothy will never give up his efforts to present the truth of Christ the very best way possible. Are we workers that are not ashamed? Have we given Christ our best effort or are we half-hearted in our attempts to serve Him?

Once more in 2 Timothy 1:12 Paul, in the midst of suffering, explains he is not ashamed because "he knows whom he has believed." Paul was suffering the abuse reserved for criminals, but he felt no shame because for him any price he paid was worth it to bring the message of Jesus to the world. Paul agreed with the Psalmist, "What can man do to me?" (Psalm 118:6).

If we undergo suffering for Christ's sake, we too should never feel ashamed. Do you truly know whom you have believed? Paul’s courage is a model for us, but the earliest followers of Jesus also wrestled with shame and fear as we sometimes do, even after walking with Him for years.

The Cross and the Failure of the Disciples

The disciples were called to put their trust wholly in Christ. That trust led them to see Him crucified like a criminal. This was their King? But they discovered that Christ would never cause them shame. The world mocked Him. Rome crucified Him. Religious leaders rejected Him. Yet He endured the shame of the cross for them so that they would never have to experience separation from God. Even those who loved Jesus most struggled with shame.

The disciples, especially Peter, had expressed shame in knowing Jesus when he lied about being His follower after Jesus' arrest. The shame Peter experienced fed his fears that if he had admitted being a disciple of Jesus, the same thing could happen to him. But Peter's shame was momentary. His heart belonged to Jesus, and as we see when Jesus looked at him after the third betrayal, Peter remembers everything that Jesus had predicted and weeps bitterly in repentance.

This should teach us something. No matter how close we are to Jesus, we can sin. But just as Jesus prayed for Peter, He has also prayed for us (John 17:20-23). We can be forgiven and renewed. However, there is a shame that leads to repentance and there is a shame that rejects truth. One draws us toward Christ. The other pushes us away from Him. The choice to respond rightly to shame is ours today, just as it was for Peter and the first disciples.

Ashamed of Christ or Follower: The Choice Before Us

Jesus’ warning means that those who rejected His Word and His gift of salvation here will be rejected at the final judgment before God. Our choice is here and now. Will we believe, repent, and obey our Lord or will we choose to let the world rule us?

The world will tell us to be ashamed of Christ. They will say He is a liar, an imposter, a nobody who said nice things like many others. They will tell you that He is not worthy to follow. But without Him we have no hope. Without Him we follow a path to destruction. Will you be ashamed of Him today or will you stand with Him?