“I’M NOT ASHAMED TO OWN MY LORD”
“For whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed” (Lk. 9.26).
We sing this hymn, Sunday 8th March 2020, as we begin our worship service which starts with an Adult Baptism. In Baptism we declare that we are not ashamed to own our “our” Lord. In our worship we seek to be inclusive and use hymns both OLD & NEW.
A much-loved hymn which presents the idea of not being ashamed of Jesus is “I’m Not Ashamed To Own My Lord” (#645 in Church Hymnary 4th Edition). The text was written by the great British hymn-poet, Isaac Watts (1674-1748). It first appeared in his Hymns and Spiritual Songs of 1707.
The song presents several reasons why we should not be ashamed of Jesus.
Verse 1 begins by saying that we should not be ashamed of Jesus because He is our Lord.
“I’m not ashamed to own my Lord, Nor to defend His cause;
Maintain the honors of His Word, The glories of His cross.”
- Both at His birth and at the establishment of the church, Jesus Christ was proclaimed as Lord: Lk. 2.11, Acts 2.36
- Because He is Lord, we must be ready to defend His cause by maintaining the honor of His word, the gospel: Phil. 1.17
- And we must uphold the glory of His cross, the symbol God’s plan for our redemption: Gal. 6.14
Verse 2 says that we should not be ashamed of Jesus because His name is all our trust.
“Jesus, my God! I know His Name, His Name is all my trust;
Nor will He put my soul to shame, Nor let my hope be lost.”
- The name of Jesus means Savior: Matt. 1.21
- Therefore, trusting in the name of Jesus is important: Acts 4.12
- There is nothing about Him concerning which we should be ashamed if we serve Him: 2 Tim. 1.8
Verse 3 says that we should not be ashamed of Jesus because His promises are as firm as His throne.
“Firm as His throne His promise stands, And He can well secure
What I’ve committed to His hands, ‘Til the decisive hour.”
- Through Jesus Christ, God has granted to us many exceeding great and precious promises, including the promise of eternal life: 2 Pet. 1.4, 1 Jn. 2.25
- And these promises are said to be as firm as His throne: Heb. 8.1
- Therefore, we can trust that He can well secure what we have committed to His hands: 2 Tim. 1.12
Verse 4 concludes that we should not be ashamed of Jesus because He will own us before the Father
“Then will He own my worthless name Before His Father’s face,
And in the New Jerusalem Appoint for me a place.”
- Jesus has promised that if we have the conviction and courage to confess Him before men, He will confess us: Matt. 10.32-33
- This He will do before His Father’s face: Rev. 3.5
- And the result will be that He will appoint for us a place in the New Jerusalem: Rev. 21.1-5
Paul determined that he would not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1.16). And he encouraged others to have the same attitude of not being ashamed of the testimony of our Lord (2 Tim. 1.8). Therefore, every Christian should have the courage and conviction to say, “I’m Not Ashamed To Own My Lord.”
