"Sin and Shame"
September 2, 2017
1 Corinthians 6:11b - ... But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
Here's a quote for you: "We have fallen on evil times and the world has grown very wicked. Governments are corrupt and even children are no longer respectful to their parents."
Would it surprise you to find out that this is not a quote from a modern-day politician who is running for election? Nor does it come from a preacher on a Christian radio broadcast like The Lutheran Hour. No, that quote is taken from a clay tablet which is kept in a Turkish museum: a clay tablet which is more than 4,000 years old.
Truly, we live in a world which is evil.
Drug dealers are not ashamed of the profits they reap from the addiction of little children. The wads of cash they flash justifies their sin. Pornographers, hiding behind freedom of speech, are not ashamed of the smut and sexual sewage they spew forth across the internet. A politician convicted on receiving bribes admits that he may have made some improper choices. A gang member gives a gold-toothed smile to the cameras when he is arrested for having killed an innocent child in a drive-by shooting. He makes it clear that he is not at fault: "That kid is dead because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time."
There is one thing missing from all these news vignettes. That one thing is shame.
Watch the news and you will see a wealth of wrongdoers making excuses for their sinful excesses; you will hear justifications, explanations, clarifications, and rationalizations. What you will not hear, what you will not see is shame. It is not there because ours is the age which elevates evil and immortalizes the immoral. And today I want to know where is the shame?
Where is the shame for a society that prides itself in open-mindedness to everything and everybody other than the Savior? Where is the shame for our sins and shortcomings, our transgressions and our indiscretions?
Where is the shame? Well, folks it's simply not there. It's easy to understand why.
If we admit we are ashamed, we are also compelled to confess that we have sins and shortcomings. If we have sins and shortcomings, then we need to find an escape. And finding an escape on our own is difficult. No, that's not right. It is impossible for us to find an escape from sin and shame.
This is why we so desperately need the Savior.
It is the Christ -- and the Christ alone -- who not only understands our sins and our shame, He has done something about it. To keep His Father's promise first made to our original parents, He entered this world and gave Himself as our ransom. He, who had no reason to be ashamed, carried our sins to the cross and died the death that we deserved.
Because of Him sinful souls are made white, and our sin and shame are removed.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, may I be given a repentant heart and a spirit which recognizes all You have done to win my forgiveness and salvation. By the Holy Spirit's power, may I rejoice in the joy that comes from being part of the family of faith. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
