Sunday, March 1, 2020 pm
WITH ALL BOLDNESS
a.
Defined – courage and
confidence in approaching God and others.
Speaking with frankness, especially when it is unpleasant,
unpopular or uncertain.
b.
The Bible calls for us
to be bold and courageous –
i.
Philippians 1:20, “with
all boldness”
ii.
1 Corinthians 16:13 – be
brave and strong
iii.
2 Timothy 1:7 – God has
not given us a spirit of fear.
iv.
In a few moments we are
going to notice some examples that show the importance of boldness.
c.
Where we need boldness
i.
As we defend the truth – cf. Philippians 1:14, Hebrews 13:6.
It takes courage to expose error and stand up for right when in
the midst of the ungodly.
ii.
When going to a brother in sin – it is never a pleasant thing to go to a brother who is in
sin, but if we love them, we will do just that.
Galatians 6:1-2, James 5:19-20; cf. Galatians 2:11-14 – Paul confronted
Peter for his hypocrisy.
iii.
As we deal with our struggles – it takes boldness to admit we are wrong and confess our
sins – James 5:16.
It takes boldness to admit we need help.
This is not an easy thing to do or say, but it is something that
is often the first step to true repentance.
iv.
As we approach God – when we have faith, we can boldly approach God. This is a
blessing of the Christian.
Ephesians 3:11-12, Hebrews 4:16, 13:6
a.
Peter and John
– Acts 4:13. Shortly after the church began on Pentecost, the apostles
were on a daily basis teaching in the temple – doing signs and preaching
Jesus. Jesus was
gaining followers through their efforts.
Out of concern, the Jewish leaders took Peter and John into
custody. As they stood
before the council the next day, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,
credited Jesus with the works being done.
Furthermore, he charged them with the crucifixion of Jesus and
noted their failure, because God had raised him from the dead.
Acts 4:13, Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and
perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.
And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
After this they were threatened to stop preaching Jesus and released.
But in the next chapter they were arrested again.
This time they were beaten.
But that did not stop the apostles and they continued to boldly
proclaim Jesus in Jerusalem and beyond.
That is the message of Acts.
There was a confidence and truthfulness to the message as they exposed
their corruption. This is an
example of boldness.
b.
Nathan the prophet
– 2 Samuel 12. After David’s
sin with Bathsheba and its cascade of sinful results, Nathan was sent to
David. He told of a rich man
who took the only ewe lamb of a poor man to feed a traveler.
David was indignant and declared that the man should die and
restore fourfold what he had taken because of his lack of pity.
Nathan in vs. 7 said, “You are the man” and proceeded to rebuke David’s
sinful actions. This was a
bold declaration considering the power a king had to put to death or
punish anyone whom he disliked for any reason (right or wrong).
But the truth needed to be stated and Nathan obeyed God rather
than fearing man. Matthew
10:28 – Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul…
c.
John the Baptist – preaching in the wilderness about the coming Jesus, John was gaining
many disciples. The Jewish
religious leaders were investigating him which prompted him to call them
a “brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come.
Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance...” (Matthew
3:7-8). The boldness of John
would result in his being put into prison and executed because he
condemned the marriage of Herod (Matthew 14:4, 3-12).
d.
Stephen
– Shortly thereafter, in Jerusalem, Stephen was preaching Jesus with
great wisdom that could not be resisted (Acts 6:10).
So Stephen was falsely charged with blasphemy and arrested.
Acts 7 - Instead of defending himself before the council, Stephen told
the history of rebellious Israel and then charged them with corruption
including resisting the Spirit of God and murdering Jesus.
In anger they cast Stephen out, garnishing on him with their
teeth and stone him to death.
He becomes the first recorded martyr for the cause of Christ.
It was a bold message that did not fear what man might do
e.
Paul and company
– Acts 14 finds Paul and Barnabas in Iconium on Paul’s first preaching
trip. They are met with
success and opposition almost everywhere they god.
Acts 14:3 says,
Therefore, they stayed
there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness
to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their
hands.
Acts 19:8, in Ephesus,
on his third preaching trip Paul boldly spoke in synagogues for 3
months. It was another
audience with mixed reactions.
He would stay in Ephesus for 2-3 years continually preaching,
even in the face of rejection and hardships.
Romans 15:15 notes that in some of his writings, he was bold in some
points. Anyone who has
studied Paul’s letters knows tis.
PAUL is a great example of boldness.
In spite of everything he endured – from beatings to imprisonment
to attempts to kill him to rejection and being falsely accused - he kept
preaching the gospel of Christ without compromise.
At times, like the other examples he would boldly charge the
corrupt with their corruption, not fearing what they might do to him.
He boldly clung to his faith (cf. 2 Timothy 1:12, Acts 21:13, etc.)
f.
Jesus – the
ultimate example of boldness, both in word and deed.
As you consider the life and teachings of Jesus you find
boldness. For example: The
“Sermon on the Mount” was bold as Jesus taught what would be expected of
them as citizens of the kingdom of God – uncharacteristically good
attitudes (the “beatitudes”), a willingness to suffer, a heart and
conduct greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees, true and humble
worship and actions toward others, etc.
No wonder the people were astonished as He taught with authority,
unlike the Jewish leaders (Matthew 7:29).
He cast out the money changers from the temple twice (John 2:13-25,
Matthew 21:12-17), He healed on the Sabbath even as He was being
criticized, etc.
John 7:26, the people of Jerusalem took note that the leaders were
seeking to kill Jesus, “But look!
He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him.
Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ?”
If you study the teachings of Jesus, He begins boldly, but as His
ministry progresses, He becomes bolder and His messages stronger.
The words He used were often intended to provoke the leaders.
This as He prepared Himself for what He knew must happen – He
needed to die for us – the ultimate act of boldness.
He opened not His mouth as He was led as a lamb to the slaughter
(Isaiah 53:7).
g.
Many other examples
could be added
– these show the actions
and teachings that often accompany boldness.
a.
Understand, the above
are extreme examples, especially considering the results of their
boldness. We likely will not
face execution and persecutions to the degree of these examples (at
least yet) if we boldly proclaim the Lord and live differently than the
world. But there is likely to be
consequences when we are bold – we may lose friends, cause a brother or
sister to become angry with us, be maligned and accused of impure
motives, etc. But we must
still be bold.
So what can we do to develop boldness.
b.
Don’t mistake boldness
for arrogance and unkindness.
Being bold in no excuse for being insulting and hateful in your
words and actions.
Numerous passages speak of our gentleness, kindness, grace and
other qualities that need to govern our conduct (Colossians 4:6,
Ephesians 4:31-32).
c.
Build up your faith
– faith is where boldness comes from.
If you are convicted to the truth it will prompt you to be bold.
That is behind the examples we addressed above – there was a
genuine trust in God above those of the world.
Acts 5:29, Peter with the others
said, “We ought to obey God rather than men”
d.
Keep studying
– the more you
study, the more confident you will become.
1 Peter 3:15 calls for us to give
a defense for the hope that is in us. Often
times our lack of boldness is the result of uncertainty of our level of
knowledge (“What if they say something I can’t answer?”).
We cannot let that keep us from saying anything.
But there is something we can do about.
Keep studying so that you know more and become more confident
(Hebrews 5:14).
e.
Do something courageous
– the idea of boldness is doing or saying something that you know is
strong and may get a negative reaction (thought that should NOT be your
hope) and/or have consequences.
Sometimes, you just have to do it.
Be brave and strong (1 Corinthians 16:13).
Boldness is one of those qualities that when you act boldly the first
time (and you likely survive, MOST of the time the results are not as
bad as you thought they would be), it becomes easier the next time.
f.
Pray for boldness – Acts 4:29, 31, Ephesians 6:19-20 – even Paul requested prayers for
boldness. None can deny that
boldness is a good thing when properly demonstrated.
g.
Don’t take rejection
personally.
If you have a proper attitude and the truth, realize that any
rejection is ultimately against God.
Jesus even warned of this - Luke 10:16, 1 Thess. 4:8, 1 Peter
4:14-16
It
is my hope that in this study we are encouraged to be bold with our
faith. And if we are not
there yet, may we work toward that end.
1
John 4:17, our ultimate goal in this is to have boldness when we stand
before God in the day of judgment.
That can only happen if we boldly surrender to Him in this life.
What about you? Are
you ready to stand before God?
If not, how can we help you?