Boldness
Guest Article Written by Will
Jacobs
When one reads through the book of Acts, it is quickly
discovered that the early church was a unique group of individuals, a group
like no other. So moved by the event of the resurrection, these early believers
could not withhold the things that their eyes had seen. As Peter proclaimed to
the Jewish council, “We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts
4:20). The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus had changed the early church
forever, and they would not stop until the whole world knew of the Gospel (i.e.
“the good news of Jesus”).
One particular area of interest concerning the early
church is there courageous and fearless proclamation of the Gospel of Christ. A
running theme in the book of Acts that seems to sprinkle throughout the
narrative involves the extreme boldness of the early Christians. The word
“boldness” (from the Greek parrēsia) appears several times in the book of Acts.
One lexicon captures the essence of these early Christians by defining parrēsia
as, “The absence of fear in speaking boldly” (A Greek-English Lexicon of the
New Testament by Joseph Henry Thayer). The Christians as described in Acts
feared no man. Even in the midst of death itself they stood their ground,
boldly proclaiming the message of the Gospel. Their confidence in the
resurrection was so real, so alive, and so profoundly true, that they feared
nothing!
We see this boldness exemplified in Acts 4 when Peter and
John are facing the Jewish council. The Jews, annoyed at their message of the
resurrection, threatened them to no longer speak of Jesus. However, Peter and
John, with great boldness, looked them in the eye and spoke evermore
passionately the resurrection of Jesus. So filled with the Spirit, the educated
Sadducees were astonished of how Peter and John, uneducated men, could speak
with such authority!
We see it again when the seized Stephen stands
confidently in front of the high priest and the hostile crowd. Eloquently
Stephen articulates the continuity of the Old Testament Scriptures with the
person of Jesus. Stephen’s message creates such uproar that the hearers begin
to grind their teeth at him, unable to accept the convicting message.
Nevertheless, Stephen remains bold; so bold and so in tune with the Father, in
fact, that he is able to look into their hate-filled eyes and say, “Lord do not
hold this sin against them!”
We see it in beloved Paul, possibly the boldest of them
all. We read time and time again of how Paul would preach and in return be
physically mutilated. So much so, that on one occasion in Lystra, Paul was
stoned so severely that the people left him for dead (Acts 14:19). But, he kept
on preaching, he would not stop boldly proclaiming the story; it was that
important.
And then, there is you and me. Decades separated from the
time of those faithful early Christians. Their work is now simply words on a
page and at times it is difficult to recapture the fire that resided within
those bold believers. So, we replace confidence with complacency,
courageousness with cowardliness, and boldness with fear. We shriek at even the
thought of inviting a stranger to church, let alone telling them about Jesus.
And our concept of evangelism has shifted from proclaiming the good news of the
resurrection to simply being a “silent witness.” Thus, we pass them by,
hundreds of people, who need to hear the most profound and life-changing
message on the planet.
But Why? Why does the boldness described of those early
Christians seem to be less evident in today’s Christians? Doesn’t the same
Spirit who empowered the early church empower us today? Surely Joel’s prophecy
concerning the indwelling of the Spirit for all believers is still true now as
it was on Pentecost Day. If so, why the lack of zeal and courage to spread the
Gospel to the entire world? Maybe it’s because we have been distracted by an ever
growing culture of materialism and consumerism. Desire to reach the lost has
been substituted with desire to reach our personal goals. Or maybe the pressure
of subjectivism, relevance, and tolerance that invades our culture, prevents us
from proclaiming a message that is counter-cultural; a message claiming to be
the only true worldview. Whatever the case, there is no doubt that the boldness
for the Gospel as seen in the book of Acts looks much different than
contemporary American Christian evangelism. Perhaps it is time to set aside our
many reservations and simply proclaim the message of Jesus with boldness!