Day 22: When Shame Dies

The resurrected life is not hidden. It is not buried away in a tomb where no one can see it. As Jesus rose from the dead, he brought a new life into this world that was unstable. It was not some kind of idealistic dream, but is transformative and earth shattering.

Now here’s where things get personal. This resurrected life that raised Jesus from the dead is the same life in you. This week, we are learning how to live the resurrected life. The resurrected life is meant to show up in all of your fears, your relationships, your disappointments, and your hopes. The resurrected life is not meant to be kept for you alone, but is meant for others to see it. The resurrected life doesn’t simply help you survive doubt, it puts it to death. The resurrected life doesn’t only comfort you, it empowers you. It doesn’t just reassure you, it reshapes you.

Let’s take a look now at how the resurrected life of Jesus plays out in our life.

Scripture: Romans 8:1-4:
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.  3  For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,  4  in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

Shame has a way of making a home in the human heart. It settles in quietly, like an unwelcome tenant, and before long it begins to rearrange the furniture of your soul. It tells you who you are. It tells you what you deserve. It tells you that your failures define you and your past disqualifies you. Shame is not loud, but it is relentless. And for many of us, shame feels like a kind of death row.

Years ago, a man who survived death row described what it was like to live under a sentence you could never escape. A tiny cell. No sunlight. Roaches scattering as you enter. The same four steps, back and forth, day after day. A life reduced to waiting for judgment. A life where misery becomes routine. A life where you know exactly what you deserve. That is what condemnation feels like. You see, Scripture tells us that apart from Christ, every one of us lives in that cell.

But then Romans 8 breaks in like light through prison bars. These verses contain some of the best news the human heart could ever hear: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” No condemnation. Not less condemnation. Not delayed condemnation. Not “condemnation unless you mess up again.” Not “condemnation until you prove you have repented long enough and hard enough.” No condemnation.

This chapter has been called the masterpiece of the New Testament, the inner sanctuary of the Christian faith, the tree of life in the midst of the garden. And it begins with a declaration strong enough to silence shame forever. And in particular, your shame. Not just your neighbor’s shame, your spouse’s shame, or your child’s shame. Your shame.

The answer to the wretched man in chapter 7 is unpacked here in these early verses of chapter 8. The condemnation that came from sin and the law is answered with the removal of the curse. There are only two groups of you reading this. One group is still under condemnation. You are not yet united to Jesus Christ, and if you die, you will experience eternal condemnation. But there is a hope. It doesn’t have to be this way. You can be free from God’s wrath through Jesus Christ. It’s not your works that will save you, it’s His work on your behalf. You can be united to Him through faith in Jesus alone for your salvation.

The other group reading this are no longer under condemnation. This freedom from
condemnation that you have is both a present and a future reality. You are currently no longer under it. And you won’t have to face it in the future judgment. Sin and death no longer have dominion over you.

Some of you know the gospel, but shame still sits heavy on your heart. Instead of hearing “no condemnation,” the words that echo inside you are “not enough.” Maybe you are deeply disappointed in your marriage. You struggle to respond to your spouse in a godly way. You have a hard time forgiving or loving them. You are…not enough.

Romans 8:1 matters because Jesus does not condemn you. Because He does not condemn you, you no longer have to do the same with your spouse. You are freed to love them despite the difficulties of the marriage.

Perhaps you have been struggling with sexual sin, or past sexual sins. You feel condemned each and every time you look, and wonder if God or anyone else could ever love you for what you’ve done. Your efforts are…not enough. But there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. You can come freely to Him in confession, knowing that He has taken your sin and has freed you from the power of it. So you can change, not by your own efforts, but by His grace.

Or you could be a parent. You are reminded constantly of your flaws and failures. You are…not enough. But your standing before God is not based on your parenting successes or failures. It’s based on Jesus and His work for you. There is then no condemnation in Christ.

Now that you are no longer under condemnation, know that God is always for you. His anger and wrath are no longer towards you, either on your best days or your worst days. They have been replaced by His mercy, grace, and love towards you. You don’t have to wake up tomorrow wondering if God is going to be in a bad mood towards you.

Paul continues: “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free…”The Spirit does what the law could never do. The law could expose your sin, but it could not change you. It could show you how far short you fell, but it could not lift you up. But the Spirit breaks sin’s stranglehold. He gives breath to lungs that feel crushed. He pours life into places that feel barren. He is like cold water on a scorching day when your soul feels as dry as the Sahara.

Some of you feel stuck in patterns you hate. You’ve tried to change. You’ve promised to
change. You’ve begged God to change you. And you feel like nothing is happening. But the Spirit is not stuck. The Spirit is not tired. The Spirit is not defeated. You can change. Your spouse can change. Your child can change. Not because you are strong, but because God has not left you to fend for yourself.

Verses 3–4 give one of the clearest explanations of the gospel in all of Scripture. The law could not liberate you from sin. It could not free you from condemnation. So God sent His Son—fully human, yet without sin—to bear your judgment. Christ took your condemnation so that you never would. He became what we are so that we could become what He is. He fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law so that we could walk in the freedom of the Spirit.

The next time you feel like you are failing God, remember that your freedom from
condemnation is not based on your performance. It is based on Christ’s. Paul says the purpose of Christ’s sacrifice is that “the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.” This is not something we accomplish. It is something God accomplishes in us. Our obedience is imperfect, but Christ’s obedience is perfect—and it is credited to us.

We obey not to earn God’s favor, but because we already have it. We love God and others not by the Mosaic law, but by the Spirit who lives in us. Our works give evidence of this reality, but they do not cause it.

Shame is one of doubt’s closest companions. When shame rises, doubt whispers, “Maybe God is done with you. Maybe you’ve gone too far. Maybe grace has limits.”

But resurrection life silences shame. And when shame dies, doubt loses its voice. Because if Christ has taken your condemnation, then nothing remains to accuse you. If Christ has risen from the dead, then nothing remains to imprison you. If Christ has fulfilled the law, then nothing remains to disqualify you.

You are free. You are forgiven. You are clean. You are loved. You are His. And shame has no claim on a resurrected life.

Pastor Josh

1. Where do you most often hear the voice of “not enough” in your life, and how does Romans 8:1 speak directly to that place?
2. How have you seen the Spirit bring life, freedom, or change in areas where you once felt stuck or defeated?
3. What difference would it make in your relationships—marriage, parenting, friendships—if you truly believed you are no longer condemned?