Mark viii. 38. Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation ; of him also shall the So?i of Man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
A SENSE of shame would never have been ex- perienced, if man had abode in innocence. There is no room for shame in heaven, because there is no sin. But since man has become a guilty and corrupt creature, it is highly requisite that he should blush and be confounded before God. His shame should rise even to self-lothing and self-abhorrence. But so strangely has Satan blinded the eyes of men, that sin appears to them rather an object of glorying; and religion is regarded as the only thing of which we need to be ashamed. Hence iniquity is applauded, and piety decried. The Gospel, more especially, is made a butt of reproach and ridicule ; and every method which the wit of man can devise, is used to bring vital godliness into disrepute and contempt. But our blessed Lord cautions his followers against yielding to the impressions of fear, or disguising their attachment to him through a wish to conciliate the esteem of men. I. Who they are that are ashamed of Christ —
Though the "generation" amongst whom our Lord sojourned were distinguished for their wickedness, yet the present generation may with no less propriety be called " adulterous and sinful," because the affections of men are almost universally alienated from God, their proper Lord and Husband, and the world with all its vanities is received to their embrace. That many among them should be ashamed of Christ and of his words, is the natural consequence of such a state of things. To determine who they are that answer to this character, we shall arrange them under distinct heads :
1. Those who openly disclaim all regard to Christ —