Jesus Is Not Ashamed of Those Who Opposed Him

Once Enemies

“Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table, Jesus, thank You.”¹ These words punctuate the chorus of a familiar hymn sung in many churches. As you read these words, which part is more difficult to believe? The fact that you were once an enemy or that in Christ, you are welcome, like family, at God’s table? It depends on how you see yourself and how you think God sees you.

Were we really enemies of God? And, if so, does God indeed welcome us in the most intimate setting of fellowship with him? I think so. The song gets it right. And when we understand this, then things begin to change for us. When we know what we deserve and what God gives us instead, we start to experience increasing gratitude, humility, security, and evangelistic zeal. God is not ashamed of welcoming and identifying with his former enemies. Such people stand out as monuments of his grace.

Theological Framework

Minimizing sin has a dangerous side-effect. It minimizes grace. By downplaying how lost we were, we run the risk of underappreciating how staggering the rescue is. It’s one thing for me to tell you that I got lost in a shopping mall and couldn’t find the way back to where I parked. But it’s quite another matter to be lost in the mountains of Colorado before being dramatically recovered by a mountain rescue unit. When thinking about how sin separates us from God, we have to be clear on the degree of the problem. Otherwise, we risk downgrading the gospel to a friendly volunteer at a kiosk giving directions rather than a breathtaking rescue mission.

He Is Not Ashamed

Erik Raymond

In He Is Not Ashamed, Erik Raymond takes a close look at the “family portrait” of God—filled with imperfect people throughout Scripture—and shows that God is not repelled by their shameful past, but delights to redeem and receive those who believe in him.

The biblical teaching is clear, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Every single person who has ever lived, except for the Lord Jesus, has sinned. A sin is a violation of God’s word (1 John 3:4), either by failing to do what God says or by doing what God says not to do. But that’s not all. Our natural disposition is opposition to God. We were born into this fallen state of rebellion. All of us are “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3). And this fallen state leads to sinful actions. Sin and separation from God don’t lie dormant. Sin is active. Therefore, all people are sinners both by nature and by choice.

The language the Bible uses to describe people in their unconverted state can be jolting. I think that’s the point. The words are meant to rattle us. Some of the descriptions of unbelievers include “wicked” (Ps. 10:3); “a slave to sin” (John 8:34); “full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness” (Rom 1:29); “haters of God” (Rom. 1:30); “inventors of evil” (Rom. 1:30); “enemies” (Rom. 5:10); “hostile to God” (Rom. 8:7); “evil” (2 Thess. 3:2); and “foolish” (Titus 3:3). This language doesn’t reflect ambivalence but rather active opposition to God. In terms of our status before God, we are all sinners, but the degree of expression may differ. As Spurgeon says, “They are all in the mire; but they have not all sunk to an equal depth in it.”2 While some people’s sins may be more pronounced than others, all people—even you and me—-stand naturally opposed to God.

In a summary form, the apostle Paul writes that we “once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds” (Col. 1:21). You can see the progression here. Alienation refers to a status; by nature we are separated from God. Hostility in mind is a mind at war with God. This translates into the action Paul labels as “evil deeds.” Even though he hadn’t met the Christians in Colossae and the surrounding regions (Col. 2:1), Paul confidently labels them this way. How could he do this without knowing them personally, without sizing them up morally? Because this is the common condition for all people. Our natural state is helplessly and hopelessly depraved. This is what it means to be lost.

But God acts. He pursues us. He rescues the rebels. Those who were enemies are reconciled through the death of Christ (Col. 1:21–22). Those who were alienated, hostile in mind, and doing evil deeds are now reconciled to God. And one day they will be presented “holy, blameless, and above reproach before him” (Col. 1:22).

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Now and then, we come across a scene in a book, in a film, or in the news that reflects this type of radical reconciliation. And when we do, it shakes us and brings with it a mandatory moment of silence. One example came in a courtroom in 2019. After an off-duty police officer killed his brother, Brandt Jean was allowed to give a victim impact statement. He addressed Amber Guyger, the woman who shot his brother:

If you truly are sorry, I can speak for myself, I forgive, and I know if you go to God and ask him, he will forgive you. And I don’t think anyone can say it—again I’m speaking for myself—but I love you just like anyone else. And I’m not gonna say I hope you rot and die just like my brother did, but I presently want the best for you.³

Then he asked the judge if he could hug Ms. Guyger. The judge permitted, and the image of a grieving, yet forgiving, brother hugging the woman who took his brother’s life flooded the news. It challenged the limits of forgiveness and the possibility of reconciliation. To forgive and embrace someone who caused such pain is not common. It’s extraordinary. It’s shocking grace.

Yet, as riveting as this scene was, our reconciliation to God is ratcheted up a few levels. Our crimes against God are even more heinous because God is so holy. And while people commonly show remorse for the consequences of sin, remorse is rarely expressed for the sinfulness of the sin itself. We hate how sin makes us feel. We fear sin’s repercussions or its punishments in this life, but we do not hate how it dishonors God. Looking through the lenses of God’s infinite holiness and our sin’s ugliness, we begin to better appreciate God moving toward his enemies with the embrace of the gospel. By means of his grace, he says, “I love you. I forgive you. I want you to be part of my family.”

Think again about the above-quoted song lyrics: “Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table, Jesus, thank You.” Perhaps you see more clearly the depth of our alienation from God and the loving grace that sets your place at the family table. But if you’re like me, then you’re prone to forget this, especially when you sin or remember things you’ve done. This is why it’s good to see through the eyes of Christ and understand how he looks at those who opposed him. He’s not ashamed of them. Instead, he loves them. He delights in conquering them with his grace and in welcoming them to his feast. Let me show you a couple of biblical examples to make my point and, in doing so, encourage you about the significance and security of the believer’s position in Christ.

He pursues us. He rescues the rebels. Those who were enemies are reconciled through the death of Christ.

Some Implications

Since every person is naturally born with the status of an enemy of God, everyone can relate in some way to these stories of opposition. Though our experiences and sins may be different, nevertheless, our standing apart from Christ is the same. Therefore, it is good for our souls to revisit these examples of how Jesus prioritizes and pursues his enemies. Consider these brief reflections in closing.

Jesus delights to save his enemies. Everything Christ does, he does for the glory of God. The plucking of one sinner from the path of destruction ignites a chorus of rejoicing in heaven (Luke 15:10). If you have come to Christ, you must know that heaven—even the Prince of heaven—rejoices.

Those who oppose God are prospects for grace. We might be tempted to write off certain people as too far from God. But is this true? What does the family photo of Jesus teach us? To paraphrase John Newton, none are so bad that the gospel cannot be their ground for hope, and none are so good as to have any hope without it.⁴Consider Stephen. The crowd responded to his faithful proclamation of the gospel by pelting him with rocks. How did he respond to that? In his last breaths, he prayed for them, “And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:60). Don’t forget that Saul of Tarsus was a member of that violent mob. The Lord answered Stephen’s dying prayer. Our Lord can cure man’s arrogance. He can lead a man to the knowledge of the evils of his heart.⁵ May God help us to pray, preach, and share the gospel like we believe that God delights to save his enemies.

Our history does not eclipse our status. Paul was a bad guy; there is no doubt. But his past didn’t hang over him. God made him a new person and used him significantly. His former life never defined him but only served as an encouraging example of the kind of mercy people who come to Jesus should expect to receive. In Philippians 3, Paul looks back to who he was (Phil. 3:4–6). Then he reminds himself and his readers of the privilege of the grace of Christ (Phil. 3:7–10). And then he writes words that should be especially precious to those who formerly lived in active opposition to Christ, “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13–14). Even though Paul, you, and I were formerly enemies of God, as soon as we come to Christ, we are welcomed at his table. We forget what lies behind, and we press on toward the goal. With our minds set on the loveliness of Christ (Phil. 4:8), we go out, just as he has sent us, to call others home.

Could you imagine how our churches might change if we looked at people the way Jesus does?

Notes:

Pat Sczebel, “Jesus, Thank You,” Sovereign Grace Music, https://sovereigngracemusic.org/
C. H. Spurgeon, “A Great Gospel for Great Sinners,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1885), 31:231.
Ashley Killough, Darran Simon, and Ed Lavandera, “His Hug of Forgiveness Shocked the Country. Yet He Still Won’t Watch the Video from That Moment,” CNN, December 8, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/.
John Newton, The Works of John Newton, 6 vols. (London: Hamilton, Adams, 1824), 2:278.
Thomas Boston, The Whole Works of Thomas Boston, ed. Samuel M’Millan, 12 vols. (Aberdeen: George and Robert King, 1849), 4:369.

This article is adapted from He Is Not Ashamed: The Staggering Love of Christ for His People by Erik Raymond.

Erik Raymond is the senior pastor at Redeemer Fellowship Church in Watertown, Massachusetts. He is the author of Chasing Contentment: Trusting God in a Discontented Age and a frequent contributor to many websites and periodicals. He blogs regularly at Ordinary Pastor, hosted by the Gospel Coalition.

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