Holy Boldness for Jesus
Acts 4
Introduction””Alexander Solzhenitsyn: “Must one point out that from ancient times a decline in courage has been considered the beginning of the end?” (Swindoll, 120).
A few years ago, Barna did survey to see how many Christians have a Biblical worldview””defined as believing that absolute moral truths exist and that such truth is defined by the Bible, along with 6 specific views: 1) Jesus lived a sinless life, 2) God is all-powerful and all-knowing Creator and still rules today, 3) Salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned, 4) Satan is real, 5) A Christian has the responsibility to share their faith in Jesus with others, and 6) the Bible is accurate in all of its teachings. The results of the survey of over 2,000 Christians showed that only 9 percent of born-again Christians hold a biblical worldview.
Holy boldness for Jesus. It is clearly lacking in our land””for if only 9 percent of professing Christians in America believe the basics about Jesus and the Bible, it”™s no wonder the church is weak and diluted and ineffective. We”™ll never stand up for something we don”™t believe in. We”™ll never stick our necks out for Someone we don”™t truly know. How bold are YOU?
Acts 4–DON”™T READ
*Every believer CAN live with a holy boldness for Jesus.
By imitating the apostles, we can live with . . .
- Boldness Concerning The Resurrection (1-4, Message)
Act 3:15””“You no sooner killed the Author of Life than God raised him from the dead””and we”™re the witnesses.”
The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection from the dead””they didn”™t believe that it could happen, period. And they sure didn”™t believe that Jesus was the Risen Savior of the world.
Not much different than our society today, is it? Our world is so intelligent and sophisticated and scientific that it has figured out that there is no God and that those who believe there is do so from ignorance of science, using religious beliefs in God as a crutch to support their minds concerning things they can”™t understand. So, clearly, from the world”™s perspective, supernatural, from-God resurrection of the dead can”™t happen.
How do we react to the world? Do we cower in front of their so-called intelligence and so-called scientific arguments against God and Jesus Christ and the power of God to raise the dead?
Or, are we bold enough to proclaim the supernatural truth that Jesus was raised from the dead as THE supernatural Savior of the world because we believe the Bible that God is and that He is, by definition, beyond our understanding and, being the Creator of science and our little pea brains, can and does alter the normal laws of nature in order to glorify Himself at will?!?!
It is the Risen Savior who saves! And until we are bold enough to proclaim Jesus, Risen and Reigning, we won”™t see revival in our community or nation!
- Boldness Concerning The ONE Way of Salvation
(5-12, Message)
I preached on this text 5 years ago and made the statement that “THE major challenge in the next 5-10 years in America” will be the exclusivity of the Gospel””that is, that Jesus is the ONLY Savior for the world. It was true then and it has become increasingly true in the last 5 years. In the name of tolerance, the Gospel has been watered down to the point that many professing Christians speak of Jesus as one of many options of religion, for fear of being labeled “intolerant”.
“Jesus said, ”˜I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me”™” (John 14:6, The Message).
“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
Are we boldly stating the truth that Jesus is the ONLY way to God?
If we”™ve not been accused of being “intolerant”, then we”™ve probably not been bold enough with the truth that Jesus is the ONE way of salvation!
- Boldness for Civil Disobedience (14-20, Message)
We need to start with God”™s basic thoughts on government.
Romans 13:1-2””“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.”
So when is civil disobedience right and necessary?
Acts 4:19-20 [READ]
Acts 5:29””“But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ”˜We ought to obey God rather than men”™.”
Only when government forbids us to do what God has required, OR requires us to do what God forbids is civil disobedience right and necessary!
But rest assured: concerning telling others that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead as the only Savior for the world, the governments of the world have, and will, from time to time, and often with great firmness, forbid such talk. And then we”™ll be faced with a decision: will we be bold enough to remain obedient to God, and disobey the government, and still tell others about our Savior? Or will we obey the government in disobedience to God and keep quiet?
- Boldness in Prayer for Boldness (21-31, Message)
a) Corporate (23-24)
b) God-Focused (24-28)
c) Evangelistic (29-30)
d) Faith-filled (29-30)
e) Fruit-bearing (31)
THAT is what our Prayer Services ought to look like! Do we really want to be bold for Jesus, as a church and as individuals? Then we”™ll make time to join together as the Body of Christ to pray””and we”™ll ask God to make us bold for Jesus!
- Boldness in Love (32-37, Message)
God empowered the early church to be bold in love””love for one another (which was in the form of service and practical ministry to each other”™s daily needs) and love for the world (which was in the form of boldly telling others about the Risen Savior).
And notice””when we get bold enough to truly love, both one another and our world, it”™s evidence that “great grace was upon them all” (verse 33).
Conclusion””What was the secret to their boldness? We just read it was “great grace” being lavished on them by God. But how did they get it?
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.”
THAT was their secret! Have you, have I spent enough time with Jesus that folks realize it by the way we boldly live for Him?
We”™ll never stick our necks out for Someone we don”™t truly know.
Do you spend enough time with Jesus every day to know Him, to know His thoughts (as found in the Bible), to know His passion (as found in the Bible)? So, practically, how do we get to know Him? I mean, Jesus is not physically here. I”™ve given you a hint 2X in the last two sentences. Through daily time with Jesus through reading/thinking about God”™s Word and praying to the God of the Word. You want to be bold like the apostles and the early church? Get to know Jesus through the Bible!