Where Is The Shame?

    "Open shame belongs to us, O, Lord, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against you."
                                           Daniel 9:9 NASB


     We have been taught that shame is a bad thing; that we need to feel good about ourselves; we need to have high self esteem.
     As a result, we now see individuals within the visible Church proudly living in sinful behavior. They have overcome any guilt and shame that they might have felt over their sin, and instead chosen to flaunt their wickedness.
     We see so much acceptance of sin today. What was once understood as evil, is now openly embraced by many who would call themselves Christians. Things that were once disgraceful  to even mention (Ephesians 5:12), are now common place. We can speak of these things without blushing in shame.  It all has to do with feeling good about ourselves and others. Many believe that this is sharing the "love of Christ" with struggling individuals, but sadly the promotion of self esteem ultimately leaves us outside of the grace of God in Christ Jesus.
     John tells us that if we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, if we say we have not sinned, we are saying that God is a liar, and His word is not in us (1 John 1:8, 10). This is what so many do today. They have chosen to throw away the shame associated with sin, they have hardened their hearts, and openly embraced their sin, as a lifestyle. In other words, people no longer consider sinful acts as sin, but instead excuse things as life choices, or being born a certain way, or going so far as to claim God made them that way. So many modern "Christians" claim liberty. They somehow believe that they have freedom in Christ to do the very things that separate them from Him. The gospel, to them, has liberated them from guilt, while they remain in sin. The very thing that should drive one to the cross of Christ in repentance and faith, has been cast off in the name of self esteem.
     God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Those who openly flaunt their sinful lifestyles may feel no more guilt or shame, but yet their sin remains. If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive our sin (1 John 1:9). To confess sin is to agree with God about our sin, and about ourselves. We agree that sin is offensive to God. We agree with Him, and take the responsibility for our actions. Yes, sin is shameful, and we should be ashamed of our sinful actions. True confession makes no excuses, and does not seek to justify our wicked behavior in any way. The truly humble sinner seeking grace, is willing to forsake his sin, because of the offense it causes God. That is his greatest shame; not the fact that he has done shameful things, but that he has grieved God.
     God never intends for us to remain in guilt and shame. Yet, as a holy, and righteous  God, He will never allow us to cast off our shame, and brazenly remain in our sin. He will free us from our guilt, and not only the guilt, but the power of sin, if we will give up, in humble submission to Him.
    

Conviction of Sin.

     How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!
     How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!
     When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.
     for day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.     Selah.
     I aknowledged my sin to you, and my iniquity I did not hide. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord"; and You forgave the guilt of my sin.
     Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
                                     Psalm 32:1-6 NASB

     The bible records this event in the life of David, to show us the great folly of concealing our sin from God. We may think we can get away with sin, we may think that no one sees, or knows about what we have done, but God sees and knows.
     God desires that we would confess our sin and forsake it. He desires to forgive us, and for us to be reconciled to Him. However, we must be brought to a place of brokeness so that we will truly, and humbly repent, and cast ourselves on His mercy (Psalm 51:17).
     This is what the conviction of sin does in the life of one who has sinned against God. This conviction is initiated by God, as the means of getting our attention, to the fact of our great guilt in His sight. The bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11).
     There is no peace to one who is experiencing the heavy hand of God. Your heart is filled with turmoil and dread. You agonize over your guilt. Carrying the guilt of sin over time will affect your body. Your very bones will ache. You will be consumed by guilt, you will waste away.
     As David found however, if one freely confesses his sin to the Lord, God will forgive. There is no need to carry our load of sin. It is impossible to conceal. God uses conviction to drive us to Him. As this Psalm states, it is a blessing to have one's sin forgiven, to be free from the load of guilt. It is a blessed person who now has peace with God through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1, 8:1). 
     Sadly, a great number of professed Christians fall into sin that they try to conceal. They go on as if nothing was wrong in their lives, but they are carrying a load of sin that is consuming them. their experience is similar to that of David as recorded in this Psalm.
     If this is you, why not confess it to God? Why not run to Him in godly sorrow, and forsake it? He will abundantly pardon the one who comes to Him in truth (1 John 1:9; Psalm 51:1-19; Rev 3:19-20).