But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator. 1 Peter 4: 15-19

Are you ashamed of your Lord Jesus Christ? Millions , perhaps Billions of people identify their religion as Christian, but how many of them could you actually know are a Christian if they didn’t tell you? Have any of these people ever shared the gospel with you, or have you shared the gospel with any stranger lately? We claim to be unashamed of Jesus, however when it comes to talk about Jesus, we don’t. We are too afraid we might offend someone or lose a “friend”. This is being ashamed of your Lord and Savior

Jesus said “Anyone who is ashamed of me before others, I will be ashamed of you before my Father” (Luke 9:26, Matthew 10:33, Mark 8:38,Luke 12:9) Think about it, Jesus Christ died for you, not only did He suffered a horrendous death, but he was humiliated and persecuted in public for You, can you not suffer some humiliation or persecution for Christ?  You refuse to share the gospel with others because your afraid they might make fun of you, do you understand what your Lord suffered for you? Do you understand your importance of work as a disciple of Christ? 

The Apostle Peter says “Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this behalf” When you are mocked or persecuted for sharing Jesus Christ, you are bringing glory to God! Most Christians are too busy evaluating what is the cost for themselves if they do this or that, but as Jesus said “Anyone wants to be my disciple they must deny themselves, carry their cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24) If you are more worried if people are going to mock or laugh at you, you already failed as a disciple of Christ. 

The Apostle Peter goes on to say “For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God, and if it begins first with us, what shall the end be for them that do not obey the gospel of God” Some might say I’m being too harsh with my words, but even the Church will be judged on whether they are truly Born Again or not. And if God is going to judge even the Church, then how much worse will it be for those who rejected Christ? This is why its critical for us to fulfill the Great Commision (Matthew 28:19) and share the gospel with everyone!

So if your not ashamed of Jesus Christ, what are you doing to bring him glory? Have you told anyone today about the good news of Jesus Christ and what he’s done for us? Don’t be ashamed of the One who was never ashamed of You! Amen!