Naming and Shaming: ashamed of the Gospel

I am ashamed of the Gospel. I don’t want to be and I know you’re not supposed to say that, but I think maybe a lot of other people are experiencing this too so let me explain.

When somebody asks where I’m going on a Thursday evening I'm pretty sure I say the word ‘Union’ noticeably louder than the word ‘Christian’. I’m the sort of person who, when asked what I believe in, tries to explain the Gospel without the words sin, love or grace. Impossible, I know. But shamefully those words make me cringe. This is absolutely, unrequitedly, totally and completely wrong. They are words which represent the red-hot molten core of the Christian faith, and I hardly ever speak them aloud, even to my Christian friends and family.

So having read Romans 1:16-17 where Paul says he isn’t ashamed of the Gospel (and he didn’t need to tell us, his actions make it perfectly clear), I did some serious thinking to try to get to the root of the matter.

The conclusion I came to is that to some extent we are conditioned by society to be embarrassed by religion. Think of the nutters screaming spiritual abuse in the streets, or the corny Sunday schools where the Bible is simplified into stories devoid of meaning, or the many pointless wars fought in the name of Jesus. Think of watery squash in brown glass mugs. Who wants to be associated with that? With all the stereotypical things which we know the Christian faith is not really about but which we also know society associates us with.

When the name Jesus instantly makes you think of beards and sandals and kumbaya it can be hard to repress a cringe, and even harder to tell people about the Gospel. Having been conditioned to be embarrassed of the Christian community I find myself thinking that people aren’t interested in joining it. Society tells us that being ‘religious’ is unnecessary, it’s looking for something more when there’s no need; we should be content with the distant, hopeless gods society gives us (money, celebs, careers) and its arid spiritual landscape.

What an ingenious way for the Devil to stop us spreading Jesus’ good news: make us feel ashamed of it, as if it’s not relevant. But in fact, the lack of spirituality in our society is the very reason that we can and should speak the Gospel. People are not stupid (as we are often led to believe). Most realise that something is missing from their lives, and many know what it is: spirituality. I have a feeling that a lot more people are interested in hearing what we believe than we think.

So, what can we do? First off, if like me you’re scared of saying words like grace or talking about Jesus in front of others then learn what these words really mean and who Jesus really is. That means learning from the Bible, from online sources and from people in the church. These true meanings need to take the place of the Jesus-freak meanings coined by society so that we can talk about them without feeling embarrassed.

Next, try to talk about this stuff more! You DON’T need to throw yourself in at the deep end and start street preaching or praying for strangers on trains. I find it helpful to begin by telling a Christian friend a way in which God has shown himself in my life recently. Easy-peasy, and that will encourage them too.

Pray that God will give you opportunities to discus him with other people, and for the courage to take those opportunities. Don’t stress if you miss them though, God doesn’t have a three-strikes-and-you’re-out rule; there will always be another chance.

Finally, if you aren't a Christian, or if you're not sure if you are, or if you are but would like to know more, please don't be afraid to ask! Christians will admire you for having the guts to question the faith that I bang on about all over this blog and they'll probably be glad that you brought it up first and saved them that awkward question: "soooooo, what do you believe?"

Remember, God isn’t ashamed of you, whether or not you call yourself a Christian, no matter how good you think you’re doing, even if you're ashamed of what you believe in sometimes.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

Fin.

So I've basically been trying to work out why I can't just strike up a conversation about my faith with a stranger on a bus (or even someone I know) and thus forth save them and lead them to the path of righteousness or whatever it is I'm supposed to do. What do you guys think of this? Am I way off the mark here or do other people find it hard to talk about Jesus and stuff?

I've also been told that it's difficult to post comments. There should be the words 'no comments' under this post which you will click on and reach a page where you can post your wonderful thoughts to me.