“I Am Not Ashamed”

During one of the interviews I had with a reporter from a secular news outlet during the opening of the Creation Museum, I was asked, “What are you really trying to do here? What’s your real motivation?”

I answered: “To stand on the authority of the Word of God and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ—to see people saved so that they can be in heaven with us!”

The reporter replied: “So you admit it then?”

“Admit what?” I responded.

He said: “Well, that you’re deliberately trying to get people converted to Christianity.”

“Yes. Absolutely,” was my reply.

The reporter then looked at me and said: “Well, that’s refreshing!”

I was somewhat surprised. “Why do you say that?” I inquired.

The reporter stated something similar to the following: “I’ve interviewed many Christian leaders who are involved in issues such as creationism, prayer in schools, abortion, and so on.” He then went on: “When I ask them what their ultimate purpose is in tackling the issues of the day, most would not admit that their involvement had anything to do with Christianity. These leaders usually say it’s because of ‘traditional family values’ or ‘what the Founding Fathers believed’—or something similar.”

The reporter added: “Why don’t they just come right out, as you did, and admit they’re involved because their real motivation is to see Christian thinking permeate the culture?”

The account above highlights what I consider to be a major problem in Christendom in America—and it has even greatly contributed (unwittingly) to the secularization of society and led to an increasing ineffectiveness of the church to impact the culture.

Many Christians have been duped into accepting a false idea: that there is a “neutral” position they can take in regard to social issues. Some Christians even accept the myth that the U.S. Constitution declares that there should be a separation of church and state, and, thus, they don’t want their Christian beliefs to influence politics.

God’s Word, however, makes it clear that there is no neutral position. Matthew 12:30 states: “He who is not with Me is against Me.” Thus, people walk either in “light” or “darkness.”

When creation, prayer, and Bible readings were eliminated from the public schools, many people (including some Christians) thought that the system is now “neutral” or “religion free.” But is it? All you have to do is read the main biology textbooks used in public schools to see that students are taught how the entire universe and all life can be explained by natural processes! These textbooks promote the religion of “naturalism” (atheism).

A small minority of people has forced its anti-God religious views on the whole culture, and they have even succeeded in capturing the hearts and minds of children from church homes. About 90% of today’s youth in our churches attend public schools; so, we should not be surprised that they often don’t think biblically!

Most Christians simply don’t know how to defend their faith against even “softball” attacks on the Bible. They freeze and avoid talking about the Bible; they don’t want to risk being confronted with tough questions and be forced to attempt a defense of their faith. And sadly, most of them have already accepted evolutionary ideas, and this has undermined the authority of the Bible in their own lives. They lack the ability to take on even the most blatantly unbiblical social issues.

God’s people need to unashamedly and uncompromisingly stand on the Bible. Like the apostle Paul, we need to boldly state: “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). We need to unashamedly proclaim a Christian worldview and the gospel, all the while giving answers for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15).

The following admonition Paul gave Timothy is just as relevant for each one of us 2,000 years later: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

To this end, our theme for 2010 is “I am not ashamed.” To emphasize that it is God’s Word that we unashamedly stand on, and it is His Word that convicts and saves, we will—through TV ads and other media (e.g., billboards)—promote this “I am not ashamed” theme.

As we do so, we will quote passages of Scripture that relate to cultural/moral issues of our day. For example:

• Regarding the “gay marriage” debate, our wording will be: “I am not ashamed . . . ‘He which made them at the beginning made them male and female’” (Matthew 19:4).
• On the abortion controversy: “I am not ashamed . . . ‘You knit me together in my mother’s womb’” (Psalm 139:13).

There are many other social issues we can deal with like this.

As we are mocked by our enemies, Answers in Genesis will not be ashamed of what God’s Word teaches concerning biblical truths, including the accuracy of the book of Genesis and the doctrines that are found there (e.g., marriage between man and woman, the sanctity of life, origin of sin, creation, etc.).

My prayer is that you will likewise be challenged to “not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord” (2 Timothy 1:8).