Free From Shame - How the Gospel Redeems Our Past and PainSample

Shame is a familiar feeling to all of us. Though you may not have always known what to name it, you have likely sensed it. Shame is the feeling of intense sadness, humiliation, or guilt in response to wrong behavior. It is more than just feeling embarrassed about something. Rather, shame is an overwhelming feeling that makes us feel grieved, outcast, and alone. More than anything, shame makes us want to hide. Sometimes we experience shame because of our own sin, and sometimes we experience it due to sin committed against us. No matter the cause, shame is something that all experience at one time or another.

Scripture tells us that the first humans were created without shame. Though they were naked and exposed, they lived with freedom and fellowship with their Creator. However, shame entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God by falling prey to the serpent’s deception. They then sought to cover their nakedness with fig leaves and hid from God when they heard Him approaching in the garden. Their sense of safety faded as they realized their sin was visible to the holy God.

When we sin or when someone sins against us, we experience this same shame. We feel exposed and naked, and we try to hide ourselves from God. We attempt to cover our shame, not with fig leaves but with popularity, or substances, or with the love of another person. Yet, none of these are sufficient to relieve us from shame. No matter how hard we try, we cannot get rid of shame on our own.

However, God’s intent is still that people would live without shame. God wants us to live just as Adam and Eve first lived in the garden—unashamed in perfect fellowship with Him. For this reason, God sent Jesus to die for our sin, covering our shame and sin. To live free from shame, we must look to Jesus—the One who took our shame and put it to death. Only in Him can we live truly unashamed before God and others.

Reflect and Respond

In what ways do we repeat Adam and Eve’s response to sin?