The Aquila Report

Your independent source for news and commentary from and about conservative, orthodox evangelicals in the Reformed and Presbyterian family of churches

Providence College
  • Biblical
    and Theological
  • Churches
    and Ministries
  • People
    in the News
  • World
    and Life News
  • Lifestyle
    and Reviews
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Opinion
    and Commentary
  • General Assembly
    and Synod Reports
    • ARP General Synod
    • EPC General Assembly
    • OPC General Assembly
    • PCA General Assembly
    • PCUSA General Assembly
    • RPCNA Synod
    • URCNA Synod
  • Subscribe
    to Weekly Email
  • Biblical
    and Theological
  • Churches
    and Ministries
  • People
    in the News
  • World
    and Life News
  • Lifestyle
    and Reviews
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Opinion
    and Commentary
  • General Assembly
    and Synod Reports
    • ARP General Synod
    • EPC General Assembly
    • OPC General Assembly
    • PCA General Assembly
    • PCUSA General Assembly
    • RPCNA Synod
    • URCNA Synod
  • Subscribe
    to Weekly Email
  • Search
Home/Biblical and Theological/Trading Glory For Shame

Trading Glory For Shame

Our shame was never meant to be natural. It only became that when we exchanged God’s glory for a lie.

Written by Chris Thomas | Friday, April 2, 2021

The shame of a life past is oftentimes compounded by the failures of yesterday, and even the battle you still wage today. But the light of Christ is brighter still.

 

“Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame” (Genesis 2:25, CSB).

That hasn’t been my experience.

Healthy body image aside, the vast majority of both men and women have a natural aversion to having their nakedness exposed—not only is indecent exposure enshrined in law, it is embedded in our deepest being. But maybe natural isn’t quite the right word to use here. It seems that our shame was never meant to be natural, it only became that when we exchanged God’s glory for a lie.

In the beginning God would look over all his hand had made and say, “It is good,” but as he watched the crowning glory of his creation discover each other—man and woman unclothed and unashamed—he would nod his head in approval and say, “It is very good.”

But Then Sin

“Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.” (Romans 1:22–25, CSB)

This has been my experience.

At the root of all sin rests the false notion that we may become like God, and in this, the naked body has not escaped. We have desired to stand in God’s stead, where it is we who gaze on another’s nakedness and say, “It is very good.” This is the power of pornography. This is the posture that fuels a multi-billion dollar industry. This is the lie that destroys relationships. This is the lie we’ve worshipped. We’ve willingly traded glory for shame.

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.” (Genesis 3:7, CSB)

“So the LORD God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”” (Genesis 3:9–10, CSB)

Read More

Related Posts:

  • Good Shame, Bad Shame, and Ugly Shame
  • The Oft-Unopened Gift of Shame
  • What Has Happened to Our Sense of Shame?
  • If We Are Not a City of Light That Shines a Light on the…
  • A Society Ashamed of Shame

Subscribe, Follow, Listen

  • email-alt
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • apple-podcasts
  • anchor
Providence College
Kept Pure Conference - 2023

Archives

Books

Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian - by Danny Olinger

Special

God is Holy
  • About
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
  • Donations
  • Email Alerts
  • Leadership
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Principles and Practices
  • Privacy Policy

Important:

Free Subscription

Aquila Report Email Alerts

Special

Letter of Jude
  • About
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Principles and Practices
  • RSS Feed
  • Subscribe to Weekly Email Alerts
Providence Christian College - visit

DISCLAIMER: The Aquila Report is a news and information resource. We welcome commentary from readers; for more information visit our Letters to the Editor link. All our content, including commentary and opinion, is intended to be information for our readers and does not necessarily indicate an endorsement by The Aquila Report or its governing board. In order to provide this website free of charge to our readers,  Aquila Report uses a combination of donations, advertisements and affiliate marketing links to  pay its operating costs.

Return to top of page

Website design by Five More Talents · Copyright © 2023 The Aquila Report · Log in