What Does The Bible Say About Shame? A Christian Study

Does the Bible have much to say about shame? If so, what can we learn about it from Scriptures?

What is Shame?

Shame can be defined as a negative, painful, social emotion that can be seen as a result of having done something wrong or foolish and can be brought about by being caught in the act of doing something immoral or illegal. Shame is a very common human emotion that destroys self-esteem and makes a person’s self-worth plummet. Shame can result in embarrassment, mortification, humiliation, and chagrin. There different kinds or degrees of this painful feeling causing injury to one’s pride or self-respect. Many who have been abused either physically, emotionally, or sexually have grown up with shame even though they were not responsible for their abuse. The Bible has a lot to say about shame and how to overcome it.

Shame in the Garden

After Adam and Eve had sinned, “they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Gen 3:8). Today we are “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2). Jesus didn’t deserve the shame as we sinners-now-saints once did and as Adam and Eve did but He forgave us of our sins (1st John 1:9) and we have no more need for shame.

The Shameless Society

Today we live in a world that openly exhibits all kinds of evils. There is no shame to what the world will do today. What used to be done in secret is now down in public before all to see. Paul wrote that “For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret” (Eph 5:12) but now they don’t even try to keep these things secret anymore. It was “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error” (Rom 1:26-27) so God finally “gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done” (Rom 1:28). Today even some pastors (called shepherds) “feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever” (Jude 1:12-14).

Overcoming Shame by Forgiveness

For the believer in Christ our “hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:5) because “whoever believes in him will not be put to shame” (Rom 9:33) and again because “the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame” (Rom 10:11). This was achieved by Christ’s one and for all perfect sacrifice and now He has “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Col 2:15). Today we expect Jesus to return at any moment “And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming” (1st John 2:28).

Conclusion

Why do we have no need to live in shame anymore? It’s because “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2nd Cor 5:21) and now God is “not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation” (2nd Cor 5:19). If you have never repented and trusted in Christ, you will have that shame for all time when you are judged (Rev 20:12-15) after you die (Heb 9:27) or at Christ’s appearance, whichever comes first, because you have turned your back on the only name by which you can be saved and that is through Jesus Christ and Him alone (Acts 4:12).

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.