70. Not Ashamed
Romans 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
The promise that you shall not be ashamed does not sound like a great promise; it seems like faint praise. But the positive and opposite side of “not ashamed” is “you will be proud; you will be vindicated.” You can be proud that you believed in Jesus for He makes all His promises come true; you will be happy you placed all your eggs in the Easter basket; it will be good for you that you trusted in Jesus for life and eternity. You will be vindicated; it will be proved that your trust is well placed; you will be proved to be right.
It is more than what we say to the Atheist: “If you are right and I am wrong then I have nothing to lose, but if I’m right and you’re wrong then you have everything to lose.” There is no “if I’m right.” I know I am right; I will not be ashamed. I will not be ashamed of Jesus or ashamed of believing in Him. I can stand with confidence in the face of any challenge; I can stand strong in the face of any opposing force; I can stand firm in the face of false accusations; I can stand up in the face of a flood of worries and fears.
“Not be ashamed” also means not being disappointed. I will not be disappointed in God; Jesus will not let me down; He definitely will keep His promises; He will do what He says. I can count on it; I can pray on it; I and live on it; and I can die on it. This kind of confidence in God and His Word is a big deal. Many people become disappointed in God when bad things happen or when things don’t all seem to work out the way I wanted. This disappointment leads many away from the faith and even away from salvation. But this promise says that we can be patient and that if we hold on and wait long enough with faith everything will turn out right and good, just and fair, happy and pleasant. Disappointment is a lie and everyone at some time can be disappointed with God and tempted to ignore, forget or deny faith in God. But the Word and Promise says: You will not be disappointed!