The word “ashamed” must have great significance for it is found in our English Bibles one hundred and twenty-two times with some twenty-six occurrences in the New Testament. The word is used by Jesus and the apostle Paul more than any other speaker or writer in the New Testament. In this brief article only two of those instances will be noted in a superficial way.
In Romans 1:16 Paul, by the Spirit’s inspiration wrote: “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” (Romans 1:16). Used here in the negative, the great and loving apostle declared that he was not ashamed of the glorious Gospel – God’s power to save mankind. The word “ashamed” comes from epaischunŏmai and means, as Strong pointed out, “a feeling of shame arising from something that was done.” It is a self-humiliation resulting from something done. For example, a Christian, meaning no harm, may repeat something he has heard about a brother or sister without investigating to see if the “gossip” is true. He may say, “Oh, I feel so ashamed for taking part in the spreading of such a rumor.” Paul emphasized that he preached with no sense of humiliation or embarrassment because what he preached was the Gospel of Christ. What he was repeating was not gossip; it was the soul-saving Gospel. It was not some tale that might hurt someone or their reputation. He stood by the message of Jesus and was no talebearer. Sometimes, however this kind of shame can be good in that it leads one to repentance and to resolve never to repeat such things again.
Paul’s second use of the word “ashamed” in the Book of Romans, and the word occurs there five times in our English Bibles, is found in Romans 5:5 in which he wrote: “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.” (Romans 5:5 KJV) The NKJV uses the word “disappoint” here, but ashamed seems to be a more accurate translation because the Greek word is kataischunō; we can see a relationship with the word above. This word means “to put to shame or to disgrace.” Paul is telling us that the hope we have in Christ will in no way disgrace or humiliate us, but will make us spiritually strong and prepare us for heaven, as the Holy Spirit through the apostles revealed. The hope we have in Christ Jesus is a result of the love of God; furthermore, that love is a demonstrated one according to Romans 5:8. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NKJV). The hope we have of being with Christ when life here is over will in no wise disgrace or humiliate us, for it is acquired through the love God has for us, which He demonstrated through the death of Christ on the cross. No greater love can be demonstrated. He laid down His life for us. How can that possibly disgrace us or put us to shame?
