The Boldness of the Believer
Read Acts 4:13-37
How bold would you and I be if we were summoned before the council to defend our faith? How Christian men need boldness in this day when so many Christians cringe before the enemy and fail to stand up for Christ! Where did this boldness come from?
It came from being with Jesus (v. 13). “Unlearned and ignorant” does not mean stupid or dumb; it means “not taught in the schools.” Peter and John did not get their message or their power from some rabbi; they received it as they walked with Christ. The more we abide in Christ, the more He puts his strength in us and enables us to be bold in our witness.
Boldness also comes from prayer (v. 29). The apostles hastened back to their fellow Christians, and together they prayed for boldness. Not that it was not boldness to argue or to fight, but boldness to witness for the Lord in the face of ridicule and persecution.
Finally, boldness comes from the Spirit’s fullness (v. 31). “The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own,” warns the hymn writer. Only the Holy Spirit can take hold of your mind and heart and lips and make you a bold witness for Christ. How eager the Spirit is to use you as His witness! If you are grieving Him in any way, He will never fill you and use you; but if you are surrendered to Him, He will make you a courageous witness for Christ.
Take time to read Hebrews 4:14-16. You will discover that the Christian can have boldness on earth because he has boldness in heaven at the throne of grace!
(Copyright, Warren W. Wiersbe. First appeared in Thoughts for Men on the Move. May not be copied or reproduced without express written permission of the author.)
Dr. Warren Wiersbe (1929-2019) was an internationally known Bible teacher, author, and conference speaker. He graduated in 1953 from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. While attending seminary, he was ordained as pastor of Central Baptist Church in 1951 and served until 1957. From September 1957 to 1961, Wiersbe served as Director of The Literature Division for Youth for Christ International. From 1961 to 1971 he pastored Calvary Baptist Church of Covington, Kentucky south of Cincinnati, Ohio. His sermons were broadcast as the “Calvary Hour” on a local Cincinnati radio station. From 1971 to 1978, He served as the pastor of Moody Church in Chicago 1971 to 1978. While at Moody Church he continued in radio ministry. Between August 1979 and March 1982, he wrote bi-weekly for Christianity Today as “Eutychus X”, taught practical theology classes at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and wrote the course material and taught a Doctor of Ministry course at Trinity and Dallas Seminary. In 1980 he transitioned to Back to the Bible radio broadcasting network where he worked until 1990. Dr. Wiersbe became Writer in Residence at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids and Distinguished Professor of Preaching at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. In his lifetime, Dr. Wiersbe wrote over 170 books—including the popular Be series, which has sold over four million copies. Dr. Wiersbe was awarded the Gold Medallion Lifetime Achievement by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).
