Top 7 Bible Verses For Those Feeling Ashamed

Top 7 Bible Verses For Those Feeling Ashamed February 12, 2016

Here are seven Bible verses for those who might be feeling shame.

Psalm 37:18-19 “The Lord knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever; they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.”

God knows your rising up and your lying down (Psalm 139:2) and knows the exact number of hairs on your head (Luke 12:7), so God Who knows absolutely everything there is to know about us, sees us as “blameless” and will never need to be “put to shame” in good times or “in evil times.” Since God has declared us blameless in Christ, we have no reason to be ashamed…at anything, because even when we sin, we can go to God for forgiveness and cleansing (1st John 1:9).

Romans 9:33 “As it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

It seems that the Apostle Paul quotes Psalm 69:6 in part, which says “Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord God of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel” and again, Paul writes in Romans 10:11 “For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” The idea is that whoever believes in Jesus Christ never need be ashamed, particularly at His coming for we have been made the very righteousness of Christ (2nd Cor 5:21).

First John 2:28 “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.”

I think what the Apostle John is writing here is that some may be living ungodly lives at Christ’s appearance and for that, they will shrink back in shame when they see Him. Jesus once warned that “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38), however, for the child of God, “This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him” (Eph 3:11-12) and boldness is the nearly the opposite of shame.

Instead-of-your-shame

Romans 5:4-5 “Endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and 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.”

What I see happening in these verses is the believer having the ability to endure and that produces godly, patient character and that character produces hope and this is the hope that never disappoints or puts us to shame but only for this one reason; “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has bene given to us.” What kind of love is this? It is a love that, “while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom 5:6).

First Peter 3:15-17 “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”

If someone tries to make us ashamed of our faith in Christ, it is they that will feel the shame someday. It’s good to be persecuted for doing good things and living a godly life but we can expect others to slander our name and say all kinds of lies about us, but we, having a clear conscience before God will never be put to shame but those who slander us will at the appearance of Christ Who will judge the world in righteousness.

Luke 13:16-17 “And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.”

When Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, “there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God” (Luke 13:11-13) but then, “the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day” (Luke13:14). Notice he said it “to the people” and not directly to Jesus but when Jesus had healed the woman, he rebuked the leader of the synagogue, “all the people rejoiced” over Jesus saying “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it” (Luke 13:15).

Isaiah 61:7 “Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.”

Isaiah the Prophet is one of Jesus’ favorite authors to quote and this entire chapter seems to be about Him, but also about what He does. When you consider that God “forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy” (Psalm 103:3-4), it should lift your spirits. That verse does not exclude you because you’ve got everlasting life and that ought to give you joy, so whether you’re feeling shame right now or not, whoever God places His love upon, it remains forever.

Conclusion

What a joy to be declared righteous in God’s sight because of the redemptive work of Christ at Calvary. We need never be ashamed again and if we feel shame for sinning, that’s the Holy Spirit convicting you; not to shame but to repentance and so we simply have to confess our sin and rid ourselves of any lingering shame for “whoever believes in him will not be put to shame” (Rom 9:33b).

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 Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.


Browse Our Archives