Boldness
JKS
23 July 2007
Bold: not hesitating or fearful in
the face of actual or possible danger or rebuff; courageous and daring.
Confident: sure of oneself; having
no uncertainty, trusting in the truth of God's Word, the sufficiency of God's
promises and God's provision for every need, and having diligently prepared
oneself for a task through adequate training and practise.
Self-confidence is confidence in
one's own ability, correctness or success:
Jeremiah 17:5 ¶Thus saith the LORD;
Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose
heart departeth from the LORD.
Psalms 118:8 It is better to trust
in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
9 It is better to trust in the LORD
than to put confidence in princes.
Self-confidence is not what a child
of God should have. Our confidence and boldness is in the one who gives us
eternal life and power. It is boldness and confidence in the resources which
God gives us and in His person which we should be characterized by. It is a
confidents which comes through daily application of the truths of God's word as
we are trained and disciplined by it.
God's first command had a component
of it which dealt with boldness, that of taking dominion. You can't take
dominion of anything if you are timid. The scriptures thus begin by showing us
that our boldness is based upon the very authority of God.
Genesis 1:26 ¶And God said, Let us
make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over
all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them,
and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and
subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the
air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Proverbs 28:1 ¶The wicked flee when
no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.
Proverbs 14:26 ¶In the fear of the
LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.
Zechariah 4:6 Then he answered and
spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying,
Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
We may even come confidently or
boldly to God for gracious help, not because we deserve it but because of the
price paid for this access to god by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to
help in time of need.
1Samuel 17:40-46
40 ¶And he took his staff in his
hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a
shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand:
and he drew near to the Philistine.
41 And the Philistine came on and
drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
42 And when the Philistine looked
about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and
of a fair countenance.
43 And the Philistine said unto
David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine
cursed David by his gods.
44 And the Philistine said to David,
Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts
of the field.
45 Then said David to the
Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a
shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the
armies of
46 This day will the LORD deliver
thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and
I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls
of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know
that there is a God in Israel.
David's boldness is in stark
contrast to the thousands of the Israelite soldiers and indeed King Saul! His
boldness is twofold; it is in His God first and foremost. He knew history; he
knew that God was the God of Israel and that the Philistines had no right or
place in
As with every Godly character trait,
we should find that one of God's characteristics is Boldness. The Lord Jesus
indeed was Bold. God is the only one in the entire universe who can be
self-confident, for He defines truth, correctness, success:
John 7:26 But, lo, he speaketh
boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is
the very Christ?
The more we know our God, the more
bold and confident in His trustworthiness we become:
Acts 4:13 Now when they saw the
boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant
men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with
Jesus.
Peter and John prayed for Boldness
to preach when faced with opposition:
Acts 4:29 And now, Lord, behold
their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they
may speak thy word...
Acts 4:31 And when they had
prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were
all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
When Paul was converted and put his
faith and trust (confidence) in the Lord Jesus Christ, after meeting the Lord
face to face on the road to
Acts 9:27 But Barnabas took
him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen
the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached
boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
Acts 9:29 And he spake boldly in the
name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to
slay him.
Philippians 1:20 According to
my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but
that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my
body, whether it be by life, or by death.
Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas
waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have
been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves
unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
Acts 14:3 Long time therefore abode
they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his
grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
Acts 19:8 ¶And he went into the
synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and
persuading the things concerning the
Acts 28:30 ¶And Paul dwelt two
whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
31 Preaching the
Prison, scourgings, shipwreck,
starvation, cold, mocking, nothing at all stopped Paul from being bold. Why?
This was his testimony to Timothy as Paul also wrote:
Romans 8:28-39
28 And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose.
31 ¶What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
32 He that spared not his own Son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us
all things?
33 Who shall lay any thing to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
34 Who is he that condemneth? It is
Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we
are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
Apollos, even though his knowledge
of god's Word was incomplete, he still preached with boldness.
Acts 18:24 ¶And a certain Jew named
Apollos, born at
25 This man was instructed in
the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught
diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
26 And he began to speak
boldly in the synagogue: whom when
We gain boldness through:
1. Being saved:
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not
given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8 Be not thou therefore
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou
partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
9 Who hath saved us, and
called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began,
10 But is now made manifest by
the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
11 Whereunto I am appointed a
preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
12 For the which cause I also
suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have
believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day.
2. Knowing the power and
trustworthiness of God (David's testimony, Paul's testimony).
Hebrews 13:5 Let your
conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye
have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
6 So that we may boldly say,
The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
1 John 5:14 ¶And this is the
confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his
will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear
us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of
him.
3. Prayer: Paul asked for others to
pray for his boldness:
Ephesians 6:18-20
18 Praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all
perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 ¶And for me, that utterance
may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the
mystery of the gospel,
20 For which I am an
ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
4. Tribulation: It was through
tribulation (both personal and also hearing of others who were in tribulation)
that one became bold:
Philippians 1:14 And many of
the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to
speak the word without fear.
5. Serving: As a deacon (minister,
servant) one becomes bold:
1 Timothy 3:13 For they that
have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and
great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.
6. Keeping our walk pure:
1 John 3:21-22
21 Beloved, if our heart
condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22 And whatsoever we ask, we
receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are
pleasing in his sight.
7. Training through exercise and
study: Just as David practised his use of the sling, we must exercise ourselves
in Godliness (1 Tim 4:8, 2:15, Ephesians 6:17).
1 Timothy 4:8 For bodily
exercise profiteth little: but godliness is
profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that
which is to come.
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth.
Ephesians 6:17 And take the
helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Boldness is not rudeness but it may sometimes
involve sharp words, contention:
1 Thessalonians 2:2 But even
after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know,
at
Normally, our manner should be
gentleness as it says in 2 Timothy 2:24-26, however, there are times when we do
need to use a stronger manner. (Galatians 2:11, 1 Thessalonians 2:2, Jude 1:3).
It will take discernment, prayer and self-control to determine when a stronger
manner is necessary. In any case, boldness is what gives us the confidence to
do or say something, it is not necessarily the manner in which we say it. We
may be bold to confront someone about something, confident that it is the right
thing to do by the authority of God's Word and unafraid of what man might
think, yet do it gently.
Speaking or acting with confidence
or boldness should be the norm for God's children. Hebrews warns us not to
"cast away" our confidence:
Hebrews 10:35 Cast not away
therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
Boldness is linked to faith
(trustfulness in God) since timidity leads to double mindedness which is the
outworking of a lack of confidence (faith) in God, i.e. lack of boldness:
James 1:6 But let him ask in
faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven
with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think
that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
In conclusion, boldness is the
sureness of a believer in the integrity of God's character, the truthfulness
and the certainty of God's Word and the confidence in God's promises which
leads them to act and speak decisively. Boldness is not necessarily the manner
in which one speaks but rather the confidence with which one speaks. Boldness
may at times involve contention but the norm is gentleness. We get boldness
through:
1. Being saved.
2. Knowing the power and
trustworthiness of God.
3. Prayer.
4. Tribulation.
5. Serving.
6. Keeping our walk pure.
7. Training through exercise and
study: