“according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I shall not be put to shame in anything,” Philippians 1:20

Why We Aren’t Ashamed

Not be put to shame – When we think about shame, we usually have a Greek idea in mind.  Shame for the Greeks was a feeling associated with being made ugly in a public arena.  Shame exposed someone to ridicule.  It turned a psychological trauma into a public spectacle.  Every one of us has probably had this kind of experience.  It leaves wounds that last.

But this is not what Paul has in mind.

The Hebrew idea about shame is not about my private inner world being revealed to the public.  The Hebrew idea is about God’s way of dealing with guilt.  It is a legal issue, not a psychological one.  To understand this, we must first understand how shame and guilt are different.  Guilt is the legal condition when I break a law.  Guilt is about what I did.  Shame is the psychological attack on who I am regardless of my actual behavior.  So, I can be ashamed of how I look even though I had nothing to do with it.  I can be ashamed about my speech or my ethnic background or a dozen other things that have nothing to do with my behavior.  But I can’t be guilty unless I break a rule.

In Hebrew thought, shame is the result of God’s judgment because of my sin.  It has nothing to do with how I was created.  It’s all about my choices and actions.  Unless I deal with my guilt, God will shame me when I am revealed as His enemy.

However, . . . .When Jesus died on the cross, something happened to the relationship between shame and guilt.  Jesus accepted the shame (judgment) that would have been mine because he took on the guilt that was mine.  When he did that, God was glorified in this shame (this judgment).  Suddenly, shame (the symbol of God’s judgment) became the avenue of my forgiveness (the removal of guilt).  The world turned upside down.

This is the reason why Paul can say, “I will not be put to shame”.  It has nothing to do with who Paul was.  It has everything to do with what Christ did.  God rejects the Greek idea that shame is about my psychological unworthiness.  God says that shame is about judgment for sin and His Son took on that shame so that my worthiness as a child of the Father could be restored.  I will never have to be ashamed.  Jesus confirmed how much God values me.  He was shamed (judged) in my place so that I will never be shamed (judged) by God again.