Boldness and the Disciple
God has given us a Spirit of boldness and we see this thread run throughout scripture (e.g. Joshua 1:7; 1 Chronicles 28:20; Proverbs 28:1; Acts 4:31; Acts 14:2; 2 Corinthians 3:12)
From Abraham to Daniel, Esther to Peter, Gideon to Timothy, boldness has always been a characteristic of God’s people. This is just as important for you and me.
But also, throughout history, the people of God have faced challenges to walking in boldness: persecution, intolerance, liberalism, individualism. But no matter what culture may throw at God’s people, boldness has always been a core characteristic.
It is important to say that I do not believe that boldness is a personality trait. We have seen throughout history and today, as expressed by the diversity of our church, that God delights in unity rather than uniformity. To be bold does not mean being loud, risk-taking and assertive. So, what is biblical boldness?
Jon Bloom writes “Biblical boldness is acting, by the power of the Spirit, on an urgent conviction in the face of some threat.”
For us to operate as bold disciples we need these three things: Spirit-empowered conviction, courage and urgency.
Conviction
A biblically bold disciple is shaped by the things of the Kingdom; not leading from a place of preference, but from what Pete Scazzero refers to in his book Emotionally Healthy Leader as ‘indifference’. What this means is that we have laid down our own preferences and desires and instead are being led by the will of the Lord. Jesus is not interested or impressed when his Church ‘boldly’ leads on unimportant things, he wants them to be bold with the important things. Standing for Truth, Holiness, Service: these are the things biblically bold leaders feel deeply about.
Courage
Secondly, boldness is expressed through courage; that our convictions go further than our prayers. I’ve had more meetings than I can count with people who have strong convictions, yet when I encourage them to move that from the private into the public, often unwilling. Courage is what moves us from being ‘keyboard warriors’ to Kingdom warriors. James 2:7
To see the kingdom break-in, the power of God breakthrough and change to occur in those areas where we feel convicted to change, we must recognise that God will be calling us to be part of the solution. Courage is the fuel for following our Holy Spirit convictions.
Urgency
To live bold lives on this earth we need to have an eternal perspective, recognising that our lives are short and yet what we do with them really matters, with eternal consequences not just for yourself but for countless others. Apathy and comfort can stop us from walking in the call to boldness. Whether that be sharing the gospel with friends and colleagues, stepping out in gifts, taking on responsibility or speaking up against an injustice, we can slip into the mindset that it can wait until tomorrow. James 4:14
Bold disciples recognise the need is great and that time is short and trust that humble and weak attempts at sharing Jesus and living as salt and light to this world really do matter. Do not bury your talents but use them today, as we do not know what tomorrow will bring.
So bold disciples are driven by godly conviction, fuelled by God-given courage and shaped by the urgent need of this age in light of eternity. Jesus lived his life with these 3 dynamics, He lived a bold life, being shaped by his godly convictions, fuelled by his courage and with great urgency. He was led by conviction where something needed to be said or done. Jesus operated with courage, never shrinking back, despite knowing there would be serious consequences coming his way. He knew his mission was great and his time on the earth was limited. Jesus was urgent, he arose early, he travelled constantly and ministered continually.
How are we doing on this? Would we say we are bold in our lives? Would those we come into contact with within our homes, the workplace, the church consider us bold? Are we shaped by God-given convictions or worldly-driven desire? Are we courageous in following Christ or is our courage for other things? Are we living with a sense of urgency or have we settled believing the lie that we can wait until tomorrow?
Fear
Verses like 2 Timothy 1:7 and Romans 8:15 make me think the Lord wants to show us that to live bold lives we must be aware that it is a battle. Boldness does not just happen, it goes against our natural leanings. What happened when Adam and Eve sinned? They hid from God out of fear. Ever since that day, we are by nature driven by fear.
Where is fear entangling your heart and thinking? How does fear show itself in your life?
Fear of Rejection
Stay silent?
Slow to love or forgive?
Lack Conviction?
Fear of Failure
Stay still?
Slow to apologise?
Lack Courage?
Fear of the Unknown
Stay the same?
Slow to listen?
Lack Urgency?
God, by His Spirit, empowers us to walk boldly but we do need to address our fear as we ask for that spirit of boldness to grow within us.