Shame, Shame, Shame (Part 7)

Shame, Shame, Shame (Part 7)

Secondly, you must act against your shame. 

 

Acting against your shame means you must repent of everything that produces it.  True repentance is an inward decision that results in the outward act of turning away from sin.  David said in Psalm 38:18:

"I will declare my iniquity; I will be in anguish over my sin." 

He asked God to search his heart, know his thoughts and ways, and cleanse him from secret sins in Psalm 139:23, 24:

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." 

When you act against shame by repenting of the sin that breeds it,  you take an important step in shattering the shackles of shame.

-The Apostle Paul confronted his inherited shame, came out from under condemnation, and became the greatest advocate of God's grace in New Testament times.

-David acknowledged his individual sin and repented.

-The incessant shame passed on to David’s sons was reversed and from his bloodline came our Lord Jesus Christ.

-The woman caught in adultery dealt with her imposed shame by seeking forgiveness and changing her lifestyle.  Jesus didn't deny her shame, but forgave the sin that generated it.

-Rahab acted against the institutional shame of her  harlotry when she acknowledged the God of Israel.

Continue to act against your shame by refusing to engage in shame-producing conduct.  Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to, "Go and sin no more."   1 Peter 2:16 says you should live  "as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God." 

Your shame will control your mind, body, and spirit unless you go to war against it. Take your authority over it by declaring that you are more than a conqueror in Jesus Christ. Your will to win through Christ will be greater than your shame!