The Christian Virtues - Boldness

We are going to take a look at something specific today, a topic again. You know that's not our normal way of doing things, but we're going to do a few of these.

And I'm going to start out with a little bit of church history. It's been a while for me. I don't go to church history a lot, but I was thinking about this particular story this week. A particular reformer in the church, not as famous as Martin Luther

or John Calvin or anyone like that, but maybe you've heard of a man called John Huss. John Huss was born in 1372 in Bohemia. And that's over in Europe. Bohemia. He received his

theological education at the University of Prague where he taught as a professor for several years before going into pastoral ministry. He became a pastor. And John Huss was a thoughtful, practical man. And the more he studied

the Bible, the more troubled he became with the abuses in the church. He was especially troubled by the hierarchy and what he thought was the overreach of the papacy.

Huss insisted that Christ was the real head of the church, not the Pope. And the Bible was the ultimate authority. I mean, that resonates with us, right?

But understand back then, this is before Luther. It's before the Reformation. He was especially upset about the ethical abuses of the clergy, most of which were financial, like the selling of indulgences, which is basically where you get to buy forgiveness for your sins by giving the church money.

How's that? It's wrong. Most priests were also charging fees. Get this, those of you with little babies, you want to dedicate your baby? Well, there's a fee for that.

You want a prayer offered for you? Well, there's a fee for that too. These were common practices in the day. And Huss didn't like them. The last straw for him came when the Pope himself, or actually at the time one of the two popes, because there were two rivals, one of these popes decided that he needed to raise

money for a war. And the way he decided to do it was by a special campaign of selling more indulgences. He said, no. Huss said, that's wrong.

We can't take up the sword in the name of the church, much less tell people that they can obtain forgiveness by pulling out their wallet and not repenting of their sins.

Well, the church authorities did not take too kindly to this. They didn't like being challenged. And before anybody knew it, they were on to Huss.

First thing they did is they forbid him to preach. But that didn't stop him. He kept preaching anyway. So next, they made the move of excommunicating him from the church.

That didn't bother Huss much either. Finally, they called an ecumenical council in the year 1414. And you know what they did? They tricked Huss into showing up by promising him safe conduct.

Apparently, people who have ethical struggles don't mind lying to heretics, or at least people they think are heretics. They reneged on their promise and had Huss arrested and imprisoned.

And at his trial, they said, Huss, this is the only thing you need to do. We need you to recant. Recant your views. And you know what he said?

Show me from Scripture where I'm wrong, and I'll recant. They pressed him. They threatened him. They formally charged him with heresy. Heresy carried a death sentence, by the way.

But again, it was, convince me from Scripture, and I'll recant. By July 6th of 1415, the sticks and the brush were piled high, and they chained John Huss by the neck to a stake in the middle of this pyre, and they set it ablaze.

As he died, the last words heard from this great reformer were this, Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy on us.

Last week, if you were here, we started this series on Christian virtues, and we looked at kindness. Virtues, we described them as commendable or morally excellent qualities.

And kindness was a good place to start. But today, I want to take a look at another virtue, and I think it's one that John Huss embodies really, really well.

And that virtue is boldness. Boldness. But before we go any further, let me ask you, let's just pray. Bow your heads with me, if you will, and let's go to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for a chance to gather together again as we enter a new season this summer. We thank you for those you've brought here, Father.

We pray that you would help us and teach us from your word. Lord, for those who are not able to make it, for those who have loved ones that are not doing well, we pray for them.

We pray for them physically. We lift them before your throne. And Lord, we ask that you would be glorified in all that we say, in all that we pray, in all that we sing.

And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. You know, as great as church history is, and there are a lot of lessons to be learned from it, I think an even better place to go to learn about a virtue like boldness is to the Bible, right?

And in the Bible, there's a story that gives us a pretty incredible picture of boldness. And if you'd like to turn there, you can. I'm going to have most of the scripture on the screen for you, but you can still turn to Acts chapter 4.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

So turn with me to Acts chapter 4. And as you're finding it, let me kind of set up what's going on here in this book of Acts journey. It's post-Pentecost, after Pentecost, the spirits come.

Acts 4 · chapter mention

And Peter and John have just healed a lame beggar, and it attracted a lot of attention. And in the stir of the attention that got created after this miracle, Peter took advantage to preach the word.

He indicted the Jewish people, and especially their leaders, for denying and murdering the Son of God. He then went on to tell them that, I know you acted in ignorance.

You obviously didn't know what you were doing, but you kind of did. Either way, you need to repent. And so as Acts chapter 4, verse 1 begins, we kind of enter the story where we're getting to see the reaction to Peter's words.

Acts 4:1

Here's what the religious leaders do. They are not happy. Acts chapter 4, verse 1. And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

Acts 4:1

And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed.

And the number of men came to about 5,000. The story goes on. The mighty Sanhedrin gathers the next day, we're told. The very same body of people, think about this, the very same body that condemned and had Jesus executed and murdered.

And they've got some questions for Peter and John. So we pick it up in verse 7. And when they, the Sanhedrin, had set them in their midst, they inquired, By what power or by what name did you do this?

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders, If we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, By what means this man has been healed, Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that, By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,

Whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, By him this man is standing before you well. Talk about boldness. These words from Peter are bold as brass, as they say, aren't they?

I mean, can you almost hear the hint of cynicism in his voice when he says, Somehow we're in trouble for healing a guy? Okay. You want to know by what name?

Well, we'll tell you how we did it. It's that innocent man that you crucified about two months ago. It's by his name, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, that we healed him.

Peter goes on to quote from a psalm. It's a psalm about builders and about the all-important, indispensable cornerstone. A cornerstone was absolutely essential to stabilize any building.

It's essential for any construction project. And he points right at them. And he says this in verse 11. Take a look. Verse 11. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.

And, get this, there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Exclusive.

Some would say outrageous. Even audacious. These are probably some of the thoughts that are floating around in the heads of some of those high almighty Sanhedrin members.

You common guys are going to teach us, the theological experts of the day, about salvation. We think, you think that uneducated guys like you are going to help us understand that salvation is by this one narrow path.

And that it's through the guy that we just railroaded through a sham trial and murdered. In verse 13, we're told that they saw the boldness of Peter and John.

Two bold men speaking some very bold words. And, frankly, they're impressed. It had an impact on them. And we're told that they took note that these guys have been around Jesus.

And so, they decide that they're going to push Peter and John out of the room and go into, I guess, what you call executive session, right? It's interesting how we know what goes on in executive session of the Sanhedrin.

How did that ever happen? There's some interesting theories. One theory is that Gamaliel, the great Pharisee and mentor to the apostle Paul, that maybe he relayed this stuff later to Paul.

Or maybe just the Holy Spirit did it. I don't know. But, anyway, here's what they're going to do. Their decision is we're going to make some really scary threats.

Check it out in verse 18. Verse 18. So, they called the apostles and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them.

Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you, rather than God, you must judge. For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.

And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them because of the people. For all were praising God for what had happened.

The chapter goes on to tell of how these two apostles, they leave the Sanhedrin and they return to the rest of the believers. And we're told that they, together as a whole group near the end of the chapter, they offer this powerful prayer.

It's a prayer where they acknowledge God's sovereign hand in all of these events. God has been guiding all the events of Christ's crucifixion and the resurrection.

And all of it is a fulfillment of prophecy. And I want you just to listen to what they say at the very end of their prayer, picking up in verse 29.

Acts chapter 4, verse 29. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.

Acts 4:29

While you stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, imagine this, when they said amen.

The place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Boldness. And what better, or maybe I should say who, better to connect this boldness to than the Holy Spirit. Filled afresh with the Holy Spirit, the believers speak the word of God with boldness.

Boldness. That's a pretty powerful demonstration of this virtue, wouldn't you say? Acts 4. You know, I wonder if there's more to it. And I wonder if we could be helped by going to some other places in Scripture where we learn a little bit more about boldness.

The truth of it is that most of us are not in circumstances quite like Peter or John. It's not likely that you're going to be dragged before some authority and put on trial and have your life threatened.

Maybe, but it's not likely. And so I wonder how people like us, like normal people, are supposed to learn about boldness. What are we supposed to understand boldness to be?

And what exactly are we to be bold in? I guess I'm asking where and when, what circumstances call for boldness? And I think it might also be worth considering what are some of the challenges to us being bold.

Because sometimes it's not easy. So those are some of the questions I'd like to walk through together with you and bring in some other parts of Scripture to help us.

And I think we'll do it the same way we did it last week with kindness. We'll structure this with a series of questions. Can we do that? Let me offer you three questions.

Our first one is pretty straightforward. And that question is this. Question number one. What is biblical boldness? What is biblical boldness?

I've been watching some of the NBA playoffs, me and my boys, the last few nights. And we have loved the Indiana Pacers versus New York Knicks series.

I really liked it when the camera zoomed in on a t-shirt. It said Hicks versus Knicks. I thought that was, I thought we were Hoosiers, but Hicks, that works.

The Hick from French Lick, right? Larry Bird. So if you've ever watched pro sports, and I think especially pro basketball, then you know that boldness is not hard to find, right?

On the court, gestures, signals. Sometimes bold words are spoken. Usually the cameras and the recording devices try not to catch all the bold words because they're not suitable for television.

But you see an NBA star make a great play, and often there will be a gesture or a bold statement. And I know when I was growing up, the thing to say was, in your face.

Remember that? And when we were growing up, people my age, I mean, that was like pretty close to cussing. Okay? In your face. It's a whole lot more than that now, I know.

But we ask ourselves, is that boldness? Is that what we're supposed to do? Run around with the truth and say, Jesus is the only way, sinner.

Repent or burn like John Huss. Is that boldness? No. I mean, you could say it's a form of boldness, but it's not a good one. And it's not the boldness that the Bible prescribes for us.

Biblical boldness, let's get this out of the way, right out of the gate, is not being obnoxious. It's not being rude or disrespectful. And it's certainly never off color or needlessly insulting.

So what is it? Well, let me introduce you to a couple of words, Greek words. I know how much you like Greek, probably as much as you like church history.

A couple of Greek words behind the English word for boldness. The root word, parresia, parresia, is the most popular word. It occurs like 31 times in the New Testament, most of which are right here in the book of Acts.

What does it mean? It means boldness, confidence, a frank fearlessness, a plainness of speech. To speak boldly, to preach fearlessly. 2 Corinthians 3, verse 12.

2 Corinthians 3:12

Here's the Apostle Paul. He says, since we have such a hope, we are what? We are very bold. And he uses this word, this Greek word here. Very bold.

Paul says, empowered by hope. What's he talking about? He's talking about the hope that he has because of the gospel. His hope in the gospel.

The very gospel that made an otherwise unqualified, very unworthy man like the Apostle Paul to be a sufficient minister is how he describes himself.

Paul says, that hope that I have makes me very bold. That hope that we all have in the faith should make all of us very bold. In fact, the way Paul talks about it, it's literally like we make use of it like a tool or a weapon.

We employ boldness. And in many ways, whenever we see boldness throughout the pages of the Bible, we see that it has an effect. It has like ripples, reactions, like a motorboat in the water.

There's a wake behind boldness. And what do we see in the wake of biblical boldness? Well, the book of Acts shows us a bunch of it. We see everything from astonishment.

Remember, verse 13, they were astonished, impressed. See that from the Sanhedrin. Sometimes we see negative reactions. We see things like division.

The boldness in later when Paul and Barnabas are speaking in Iconium in Acts chapter 14 shows a split reaction. Some are impressed. Some are drawn to the faith.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

And others react negatively. There's a division. Sometimes there's even persecution, which quite honestly shows up all over the book of Acts.

Boldness can trigger all of these different kinds of reactions. But there's a second Greek word for boldness. And the second word that's used is thareio.

Thareio seems to be the preferred word that the Gospels use. And namely, Jesus himself. Jesus, when he's around people and he's trying to call them to steady themselves, he'll often use this word.

It sometimes is translated, take heart. Or sometimes he'll say, take courage. Remember when he's walking on the water and the disciples are freaking out?

He says, take heart. Take courage. It's me.

John 16, verse 33. This is what he says about facing tribulation. In this world, you will have tribulation. But Jesus says, take heart. Take courage.

John 16:33

I have overcome the world. What he's telling us is it's a confidence. It's a security. It's a security. It's staying unmoved. And in many other instances throughout his ministry, Jesus will tell people to do just that.

To take heart. Take courage. Stay unmoved. So that's a basic definition, if you want one, of what boldness is. But let's get a little bit more practical now with this next question.

Next question, question number two, is to ask ourselves, where is biblical boldness called for? Where is biblical boldness called for? We're asking what situations, what circumstances call for us to be bold?

And honestly, I think this is a really important question for us to think about. Because if we get this one wrong, we can actually do a lot of damage with our boldness.

Because while there are definitely times and situations where we need to be bold, we have to remind ourselves it's not every time. It's not all the time or in every situation or area of life.

Maybe you've known someone, maybe even a fellow Christian, who was really, really bold about something that was needlessly offensive. I remember I had a boss back when I was in college and I worked over the summers.

And to say that he had a preference for buying American, buying American-made products would be an understatement. More than a preference, it was his insistence.

And he was very, very bold about it. It got to the point where he made it a principle. He principalized buying American like it was the right thing to do.

Like you're somehow un-American if you don't buy American. And he would try to compel all of us employees from what boots we wore to the clothes we wore.

You got to buy American. In fact, he would go so far, he would pay the difference. He'd say, tell me what it is, that foreign product. How much more for the American boots?

And he would pay it to us to go buy it. That was boldness. But it's also a preference. Buying American is not a biblical conviction. Did you know that?

It's a preference. And we're supposed to save our boldness for biblical convictions. And there's a difference between the two. We do realize that not everything that we think, not everything that you think, not every view that we hold rises to the level of a conviction.

Sometimes things are just preferences. You've got preferences. I've got preferences. You could just ask the people here at the church that work with me.

The staff. They know I have preferences. They often say, Jason has an opinion about everything. And I do. From the music to the decor. I mean, I have no talent at either, but I have opinions.

I've got opinions about the church bulletin. I've got opinions about the swing set outside. That will get swings, by the way, at some point.

But my preferences, please understand, my preferences are not based in deep convictions. And now the staff's going to remind me of this, right?

They're not. They're not based in deep biblical convictions. They're just my preferences. And I would extend that to all of us. So whether it's, say, somebody's choice of clothing and attire that they come to church in.

Casual, formal. What country it's made in. What's on the label. It's a preference. Honestly, the kind of music that we sing. The volume of the music.

These are preferences. I would even go so far as to say, how a church celebrates communion. I've been places where you walk up and get it. Here we pass it among the seats.

These are preferences. And we want to save our boldness for things that are convictions. And when it comes to those, our convictions, I want to suggest that there are some specific areas where the Bible actually does call you to have boldness.

First area is in our faith. In our faith. Your personal faith and belief in knowing, if you're a Christian, in knowing that God has accepted you, that God loves you, and that God wants you to come to Him and approach Him anytime,

did you know that we're supposed to be bold in that? That's what passages like Hebrews 4, verse 16 say. Hebrews 4, verse 16 says,

Hebrews 4:16 Hebrews 4:16

Another translation, the CSB actually says, with boldness. Draw near with boldness. It comes from the same Greek word, that parasia.

You and I are encouraged to come before the throne of our sympathetic great high priest without fear, without hesitation, and we're called to actually do it boldly, with confidence, like we belong there, like we're wanted there,

like we're always wanted there. I don't know about your house, but our kids are at that point where they're coming and going, and I don't mean like for the afternoon, like they go away for a few months.

And then they come back. And my kids, when they come back, even my married child, my married daughter, they don't need to knock on the front door.

They don't need to say, Dad, is it okay that I come into our house? We always want them, and they are always welcome, and they can come in boldly, and put their feet everywhere, which they do, and they can eat us out of house and home, which they do,

but you could almost say that like it's their right, it's their entitlement to be there, and I'm not angry about it. I don't resent it. I want it because I love them, and they're my children.

That's how it is with us and our Savior. This is why Paul puts it this way over in Ephesians 3, Ephesians 3, verse 12. He writes, In Him, In Christ, In Christ, our Savior, we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in Him.

Ephesians 3:12

You don't have to sneak in to heaven's throne. You don't have to timidly knock. You don't have to come with fearfulness that you might be rejected.

Even, get this, even when you need to confess something, you belong, because you belong to Him, and He wants you to come and approach with confidence.

So that's one area where we need to have boldness in our faith, and a second area where Scripture very vividly calls us to be bold is in our testimony, our testimony about the gospel.

Acts chapter 4, verse 20. What did those two apostles say to the threatening Sanhedrin? What did they say? They said, For we cannot help but speaking about what we have seen and heard.

Acts 4:20

We can't help it. We are not going to stop. We are going to obey God rather than men speaking this, sharing with you about Jesus. And that becomes a pattern for the church all throughout the book of Acts.

So that by chapter 14 in Iconium, it's Paul and Barnabas preaching, speaking the word boldly. And then again in chapter 18, verse 26, we meet this brilliant man named Apollos.

And what's he doing? Again, he's in the synagogue of Ephesus, and he's preaching boldly. And then again in chapter 19, Paul joins him in Ephesus.

He too is speaking boldly. Even by the time we come to the point where Paul is arrested and in chains and on trial, in Acts chapter 26, he stands before a king, King Agrippa, and he gives his full personal testimony to the king.

Acts 26 · chapter mention

And even says to the king, I know you're a little familiar with my story, and that's why I can speak boldly to you. Even the way the book of Acts closes, it closes on a note of boldness from Paul.

Get this. Here he is at the very end of the book of Acts, chapter 28, under house arrest in Rome. Acts 28, verses 30 and 31. He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ

Acts 28 · chapter mention Acts 28:30

with all boldness and without hindrance. So we're told to be bold in our faith. Second area where we're called to be bold is in our testimony about the gospel.

And I would suggest to you that there is one more. There's a third area where boldness is called for, and that's in the area of our guardianship.

That's the best word I can think of. Our guardianship. Whether it's a person that we're guarding and protecting or a belief. We are to be bold in guarding what's precious to us, in protecting what's vulnerable to attack.

Because our world and the forces that work in it, the dark spiritual forces, we know that it's not a neutral world. There's good and there's bad.

There's light and there's dark. And there are good spiritual forces. And then there are dark ones under the power of the enemy. And we need to remember that when we think about people.

Does the enemy want to attack the weak and vulnerable among us? Yes. Does the enemy plan to destroy those who are young in the faith? Yes, he does.

Does the enemy want to come after our children because they're naive and they're young and they're delicate? Yes. And many of us here, sitting right here, have been entrusted with the care of watching over and raising and nurturing and helping the young ones in our lives grow up.

We pastors do it in some sense with the flock, but many of you parents are doing this in your homes. Or if you're a godly aunt or uncle or a godly grandparent, you have that responsibility.

A guardianship by some extent. I know that when our kids were younger, we would take trips, you know, we'd go to the stores and we'd go to the library.

It was one of our favorite places to go. And St. Joe County is blessed with a really good library system, by the way. But we were very careful about what books they brought home.

We were very careful about what they watched on their screens as the technology kind of developed. We were mindful of their circumstances and even their friends in the neighborhood.

And we, honestly, we were not sheepish or timid about it. We were not apologetic about it. We were bold. I remember one situation years ago when the kids were all really little.

Our scheduled babysitter for the evening called as she was on her way over to inform us that she was bringing along another child with her to watch our kids that night.

And this was someone we didn't know. We didn't know who this child was. We didn't know their circumstances or their family. And so we very nicely but very firmly said no.

And we hurt her feelings. She got really upset with us. But they are our children. And who and what they are exposed to is our responsibility.

So we were kind, but we were also bold. And we needed to be. And that extends to, again, the role that I have with you and that Matt has with you as your pastors.

If we need a guest preacher, we don't just open the proverbial like preacher phone book or whatever. We're intentional. Matt and I need to know where a person is theologically.

Do they share our convictions about God's word? Do they share our same commitment to the mission? Because you're our flock. And the Bible is very bold in teaching us that shepherds have a responsibility for the flock.

Here's what Paul once said to a group of church elders in Ephesus. This is also in the book of Acts. I want you to hear this in Acts 20, verses 28 and 29.

Acts 20:28

He says this. He says, Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And get this. Even from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them.

Therefore, he says, Be alert. Be alert. That's pretty bold language, isn't it? And as we guard and protect people, of course, we know that along with that comes a bold responsibility to guard and protect the truth.

So it's people, yes, but it's also the truth, like Paul mentions. We are to boldly guard against error. Boldly guard against twisted things.

You understand what twisted things is. That means there's a lot of truth there. It might all be truth, but it's twisted up incorrectly. One of the enemy's best tactics is to twist the truth.

And Scripture calls for not just bold, but even war-like language. We hear Paul talking to a young protege like Timothy or Titus, and what does he compare the work of the ministry to?

To a fight. He says, Contend. He tells church leaders to guard and to fight. Here, 1 Timothy 6, verse 12, he says, Timothy, Fight! The good fight of the faith.

1 Timothy 6:12

And then his next letter, 2 Timothy 1, verse 14, he says, By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. Or the Apostle Jude, how did he put it in his little letter in the New Testament?

2 Timothy 1:14

He says, Contend for the faith once delivered to the saints.

So that's the answer to the question of where we're called to have boldness. In our faith, in our testimony about the gospel, and in our guardianship.

But I want to wrap up with you with a third question where we look at some of the challenges. Question number three. What makes biblical boldness challenging?

Very quickly, let me suggest three things. The first challenge to boldness is what I would describe as confusion about the interplay of the virtues.

Does that make sense? Confusion with the interplay of different Christian virtues. Let me explain what I mean. Other Christian virtues like kindness, we looked at last week, or like humility, or love.

Sometimes as a Christian, we get mixed up. We're like, I'm supposed to be loving, right? I'm supposed to be meek. That's another one. That's a good one, right?

Jesus says, Blessed are the meek. They're going to inherit the earth. Meekness is a really good fundamental posture for every Christian to have.

But of all the virtues, if you were going to say one is the complete opposite of boldness, wouldn't it be meekness? So how does that work? How do these virtues play together?

Well, you can be bold, and you can do it from a position of meekness, right? You can be bold, and you can be loving. We call that tough love, parents.

You can be bold, and still be kind, and polite. In fact, sometimes showing boldness in our guardianship is the most kind and loving thing a person can do.

And I would just urge you, anytime you're wondering, how does this work out, just go back to the greatest example we ever had. Jesus. Read the gospel.

Study his ministry. Watch him. Because you will see a perfect interplay of the virtues of kindness, and love, and meekness. He's gentle and lowly, right?

And boldness. That's one challenge to boldness today for us, I think I see. Another one I would offer you, a second challenge is seeing sinful versions of boldness.

There's nothing better to ruin a good virtue than seeing somebody use it sinfully, right? You say, people can't do that. They can't take a virtue and do sinful things with that.

Oh no, they can't. Has our culture not seen this play out with a virtue like love? We all know what love is. We want to be loving. But we've seen the enemy come in and twist love and make it impure and twist up what's true in love and create some kind of a definition of love

that simply isn't biblical.

You and I probably can also think of just people in our lives who have shown us bad examples of virtues like boldness. It's probably fair to say that all of us have seen a person or two or maybe a hundred who were bold but they were bold in a way that just was not honoring to the Lord, was not good.

And I would just simply remind us that we see that with love too, right? We see bad examples of compromising blind love. That doesn't negate the virtue of love any more than somebody being bold in a sinful way doesn't negate the virtue of boldness.

I don't know about you but I've seen Christians be bold in things I wish they weren't. Like legalism. Some of the boldest Christians I've been accustomed to or I've known in my past have been some of the most legalistic Christians.

Legalistic about maybe a translation of the Bible. Legalistic about things like attire and how we dress or what kinds of songs we sing or how we sing them.

Being bold in legalism is not good.

So that's a second challenge and let me leave you with a third one. Finally, a third challenge to biblical boldness and I would simply call this one the fear of losing.

That's a challenge. The fear of losing. Let me explain what I mean because losing can hit each one of us in different ways. Some of us might fear if we're bold that we'll lose our friends.

I think of all of our students, our young people who are in classrooms every day. The peer pressure. Being in these environments where it's just put upon you to think a certain way, to not think a certain way.

It calls for boldness. And sometimes there's a risk in that. You may lose a friend.

Or fearing losing worldly approval. That one spans all the generations, doesn't it? Whether you're retired in the neighborhood or you're a student or somewhere in between in the working world.

Fear of losing worldly approval. Nobody wants to be on the quote unquote wrong side of history, right? I heard someone say that again the other day.

I want to be on the right side of history. Well, the trouble with that is that history, the view of history that the world thinks is right is constantly changing.

But we should fear the one who holds history and the one who will one day come again to wrap up history. Fear that. Fear him. Maybe for others of us it's a fear of losing something in terms of our reputation.

I can't be bold at work. I might lose that opportunity for advancement. I might miss out on that promotion. I mean, I put in for that job. I put in for that opportunity.

And if I am known for being bold in this area, I might not get it. Fear of losing. I would just remind us that right now there are places in our world where there's a fear, a legitimate fear of losing a lot more than an opportunity.

There are places in our world right now where Christians fear losing their lives. I was just reading this week about places like Pakistan, even a place like Nigeria in Africa with lots and lots of Christians.

But there are parts of Nigeria now. They say that over 3,000, like 3,100 Christians were killed last year alone in Nigeria for what? For being Christian.

Opposite of boldness, of course, is what many of those believers did not do. Deny. Denial. Shrinking back. Being ashamed. This morning, I would offer you the virtue of Christian boldness.

And I would give you the apostle's example. I would give you the example of a guy named John Huss in the flames of a fire in 1415. I would give you the example of other faithful brothers and sisters you might know.

And I would simply urge you to choose to honor the Lord with your boldness. That's my prayer for you. That's my prayer for myself. That with the Spirit's help, we would all have the wisdom and the courage wherever we go, whether it's in our homes, in our classrooms,

in our workplaces, and yeah, even in our churches, to be bold in all the ways at all the times that God's Word calls us to be bold. Can you join me for a prayer in that?

I'm going to ask you if you would stand before the worship team comes and leads us in a song. Let's pray for boldness. Heavenly Father,

your plan of salvation itself was so bold that you would, Lord, not send some archangel or some other person to stand in our place, but you would choose to send your very own Son.

That was a bold plan to send Jesus, the Son of God, to be mistreated the way that He was, to be murdered the way that He was for our sins. We know that there's boldness in the forgiveness we've received.

And Lord, we know from places like your Word in the book of Acts that that is what you call for in your church. So our prayer this morning is wherever it is challenging, help us to be bold.

Father, wherever it is that we might have trouble being bold in a biblical way that honors you, will you check us by your Spirit and help us to be bold in a biblical way?

Because, Lord, through our boldness, your Spirit at work in us, amazing things happen. And we want to see a lost world come to know you, come to find forgiveness of sins in your name, Jesus.

We love you. We thank you for calling us to be your children and for welcoming us into your home, welcoming us continually into your presence.

And it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen.