Embrace the Disgrace of Grace

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share in suffering for the Gospel by the power of God” (2Tim 1:8).

Every family has one. At least one! That one weird relative who causes the rest of you to cringe when they roll up to the reunion. Your uncle in black socks and sandals. Your crazy cat lady cousin. Maybe it’s their awful sense of humor or their bad case of B.O. Every family has somebody who brings more than their share of funk to the dysfunction. By the way, if you don’t know anyone in your family like that, there’s a pretty good chance it might be you! 

In a letter to his own spiritual son, Paul tells Timothy not be embarrassed. “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share in suffering for the Gospel by the power of God” (v8). Never be embarrassed to tell people about Jesus. Never be embarrassed by your friendship with those who suffer for telling people about Jesus. God gives you the power to suffer when telling people about Jesus. 

Embrace the disgrace of grace.

Before we go any further, let’s back up just a bit. In order to know how to apply any passage in the Bible to our lives, we have to understand how and why it was written in the first place. What we call the book of 2nd Timothy is actually not a book at all. It’s a letter from the Apostle Paul to his protege Tim. The author is behind bars at the notorious Mamertine Prison in Rome. He’s on Death Row (2Tim 4:6-7). Paul hopes to see Tim one last time before his execution (2Tim 1:4; 4:9, 21). The apostle uses this letter to encourage the young pastor to carry on the mission of boldly telling the world about Jesus after his own death.

Paul begins verse eight with “Therefore.” As the great Bible expert A.T. Robertson used to day, “Anytime you see the word ‘therefore,’ you have to stop and ask what is it there for?” You see, “therefore” is a conjunction or a connecting word. If your my age, you have to ask the musical question, “Conjunction Junction, what’s your function?” “Therefore” is the little Greek word oun. It introduces a logical result of what came just before it. You can translate it with words like so, accordingly, then, consequently, or in conclusion.

So it’s important to check the scriptural rearview mirror at this point. In the previous verse, Paul reminds Tim that “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2Tim 1:7). By dropping “therefore,” the apostle connects that idea to the next one. There’s no reason a coward for Christ. Live life fearlessly in God’s power, love, and focus. 

“Therefore do not be ashamed” (v8). Paul connects any fearful spirit I might have about following Jesus with any embarrassment I might feel about my faith. That’s the reason “therefore” is there for. The apostle then uses a word translated “ashamed” in just about every version of the Bible. The Greek verb epaischunomai paints a picture of someone who has a sense of guilt or remorse, reluctance, disgrace, or embarrassment about someone or something. It’s the opposite of being bold and wanting everyone to know. You hesitate. You have second thoughts. You lack courage to have your name mentioned in the same sentence. 

Two different Gospel writers drop a quote from Jesus using this very same word. “For whoever is ashamed (Gr. epaischunomai) of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed (Gr. epaischunomai) when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Mk 8:38; Lk 9:26). If I give Him the Heisman now, He’ll be embarrassed of me when He returns for His spectacular encore.

In a letter to Roman believers, Paul makes an incredibly bold statement about his commitment to Christ’s message of grace. “For I am not ashamed (Gr. epaischunomai) of the Gospel” (Rom 1:16) The apostle only uses this word a grand total of five times and three of those are here in his letter to Tim. The man from Tarsus suffers in the slammer for His Savior, “but I am not ashamed (Gr. epaischunomai), for I know Whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me” (2Tim 1:12). When Onesiphorus visited Rome to help Paul in prison and he “not ashamed (Gr. epaischunomai) of my chains” (2Tim 1:16).

The apostle tells Tim NOT to be embarrassed to be associated with two specific things. “The testimony about our Lord, nor of me His prisoner” (v8). Do you treat the Gospel like it a hand grenade with the pin pulled out? Do you avoid talking about it, sharing it, or even claiming it? Maybe you don’t feel qualified to answer all the questions. That’s okay. Neither do I. Just do what Jesus’ first followers did. Simply tell folks about His resurrection. Did you realize it’s the breaking news of the Book of Acts (Acts 2:22-36; 3:13-18; 4:10-12, 33; 5:29-32; 10:27-37; 17:23, 30-32; 23:6; 24:14-16; 25:19; 26:12-18, 23)?

Don’t feel up to arguing about a literal seven-day Creation? Does making the case for Noah’s boat-building skills and worldwide flood make your head hurt? Relax. Take a page out of the apostle’s playbook and talk about “the testimony of our Lord” (v8). God made a perfect universe. We broke it. Jesus left the comforts of heaven and came to our rescue. He lived the completely obedient life we failed to live. He died the death for our sin we should have died. He rose to the glorious new life we don’t deserve. That’s the Gospel. That’s “the testimony of the Lord” (v8). No reason to be embarrassed of that. He did for us what we could never dream of doing for ourselves.

Paul tells Tim there’s no reason to be ashamed his mentor’s death sentence for telling people about Jesus. Notice just Who’s responsible for his being behind bars. The apostle says he is “His prisoner” (v8). And by “His,” he means Jesus. Sure, Paul had his enemies every place he preached. They put a hit out on him. A quick read of Acts will tell you that. But he knows the One who’s really behind it all. That’s His Lord (Eph 3:1; 4:1; Phil 1:13). The apostle goes so far as to conclude“what has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel” (Phil 1:12). He might be in Caesar’s prison but he is Jesus’ prisoner. No matter where I am, I am still His. God puts me where I need to be to tell others about Him. 

Paul doesn’t want Tim to be embarrassed by their friendship. He might be in the slammer but, I mean, the dude did go on to write a boatload of the New Testament. No reason to put distance between yourself and Paul. But I have confession to make. There are other followers of Jesus who make me cringe more than a little. Sometimes it’s a blow-dried televangelist. Sometimes it’s a confrontational street preacher. And I’m sure there are more than a few believers who wouldn’t claim me either!

We need to remember that the Family of God has more than it’s fair share of goofballs, freaks, and weirdos. Don’t believe me? God uses an endless parade of screwballs and misfits throughout the pages of Scripture. Rich Mullins once said, “The thing I like most about the Bible are all the weirdos in it.” Drunken Noah passes out naked in his tent (Gen 9:21). Isaiah stripped and walked around buck naked (Isaiah 20:2). King David embarrasses his wife when he dances in his underwear (2Sam 6:16-22). Then there’s Jesus’ weird bug-eating cousin John the Dunker (Mt 3:4). Paul tells the Corinthians how God specializes in handpicking “what is foolish to shame the wise” (1Cor 1:27). It kinda makes your family reunion look like a episode of Downton Abbey.

But a little social awkwardness is really nothing compared to the possibility suffering for your faith. Paul encourages Timothy to “share in suffering for the Gospel by the power of God” (v8). There’s a pretty good chance the apostle actually invented a whole new term that the folks at the ESV translate as “share in suffering (Gr. sugkakopatheo).” It’s a compound word that literally means “together bad suffering.” Following Jesus is a team sport. We don’t do it alone. We laugh and cry together (Rom 12:15). And even when we feel like we’re flying solo, Christ promises to always be there (Mt 28:20). He gives us His Holy Spirit as an unlimited power source to endure whatever comes our way. 

Here’s the bottom line. God’s family is no different than yours or mine. It’s full of in-laws, outlaws, and scofflaws. There are going to be uncomfortable and cringe-worthy moments. But we need to stand with each other as a family when times get tough. ESPECIALLY when times get tough. And they ARE going to get tough! We can count on Jesus to give us the strength we need when we need it. In the meantime, let’s embrace the disgrace of grace.