How To Come Back From the Burden of Shame

Today we’ll talk about how to overcome your shameful past to experience the freedom we can have in Christ. We’ll look at David’s example in the story of Bathsheba and Uriah.

2 Samuel 11:1-4 In the spring of the year,^[a] when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.² Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. ³ He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” ⁴ Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home.

2 Samuel 12:1-7 So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. ² The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. ³ The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. ⁴ One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.”⁵ David was furious. “As surely as the Lord lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! ⁶ He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.”⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The Lord, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul.

The world delights in bold sinners who flout God’s Word and expect no punishment whatsoever. That’s called “shamelessness,” and it’s nothing new.

Romans 1:24-32

So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. ²⁵ They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. ²⁶ That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. ²⁷ And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.²⁸ Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. ²⁹ Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. ³⁰ They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. ³¹ They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. ³² They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

On the other end of the spectrum is “shamefulness” – getting stuck in your guilt and either living there or trying to work your way out of it with your good behavior. This is also bad. 

David is an example of a person who could have gotten stuck in his shameful behavior. Instead he took God at his word and moved on in life to experience peace.

Psalm 51:1-3,9-10 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. ² Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. ³ For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt.¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.

Shame is only good when it leads us to Christ. He took our shame on the cross and set us free from condemnation.

Romans 7:24-8:1 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.