Bold Belief

​Imagine with me for a moment.
 
You are near the end of your earthly life and have been taken to stand before the President of the United States. Your lifelong enemies have ridiculed your faith in Jesus Christ, slandered your good name, and labored relentlessly and ruthlessly to ruin your reputation. You have been brought before the most powerful person in the country to defend your belief and behavior as a Christian.
 
What would you do? How would you handle yourself? What would you say? What would the news media report about you on their bottom of the hour breaking news alert?
 
Something to think about, huh? While we are thinking, our word for this week reveals to us what the Apostle Paul did when he was dragged in chains before the Roman King Agrippa to give account of his Christian faith.
 
“And so, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He should be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”  Acts 26:22-23
 
Paul stood tall, testifying boldly about his personal belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Read his whole testimony in Acts 26. What stands out to me is that Paul not only stood before King Agrippa, but he stood up to him. He stood boldly and unashamedly as a courageous, confident Christian who almost persuaded Agrippa to become a believer in Christ (Acts 26:26-29).
 
Note Paul says that “to small and great” he gave witness of his faith in Christ. No matter if the crowd was large or small; the person(s) important or unimportant according to the world, Paul stood up and spoke boldly about Jesus.
 
Under immense personal pressure from Jewish religious zealots and powerful Roman governing authorities, Paul could have shrunk back in silence. He could have compromised his convictions. Or he could have denied his faith. He did none of these things. On the contrary, Paul stood up boldly for what he believed in when it was neither popular nor personally profitable to do so.
 
Where did Paul get his boldness? Our verse says he stood boldly with God’s help. Look what he writes in II Timothy 4:16-18.
 
“At my first defense, no one supported (stood) with me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. BUT THE LORD STOOD WITH ME AND STRENGTHENED ME; in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear, and I was delivered out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
           
Don’t you love what Paul says? His words get my spiritual motor running! Though no man stood with Paul, God did. The Lord supported, strengthened and delivered Paul from men because Paul stood boldly for God before men.
 
A man can be bold when he knows God is standing by his side.
 
I believe bold belief produces bold behavior. If ever there was a time for Christians to be bold about their belief, it is now.
 
Our sad, sin-sick, spiritually, morally lost world needs to hear good news from bold believers who trust Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Courageous Christians need to heed God’s call to stand against the high tide of unbelief washing over our culture, country and world. Falsehood, deception, and outright lies run rampant and unchallenged in the daily chatter of our fellow countrymen. Satan has pulled out all the stops in his bold, bullying tactics to steal the souls of men and women.
 
 Christian boldness is the need of this critical hour in history.
 
But barriers to boldness keep too many Christians from standing up for Christ in our society. Some of these barriers include:
           

• Fear of going against the grain
• Fear of being labeled politically incorrect 
• Unwilling to suffer adverse consequences
• Desire for man’s approval over God’s approval
• Try to avoid Satan’s attack against bold believers
• Ignorance of what we believe and why we believe it
• Complacency and apathy in the body of Christ
• Silent faith is the religiously correct position

 
The enemy of our souls and his evil forces are bold, so why aren’t God’s people as bold, if not bolder? I John 4:4 declares “Greater is He (Jesus Christ) that is in us, than he (Satan) who is in the world.”  If the greater One is in us, shouldn’t we be the boldest?
 
Boldness begins and ends with our relationship with God. 
 
Boldness comes from closeness to the Savior who was bold on our behalf when He suffered for us on the Cross and rose again from the dead. When we know Him, we can show Him to the world.
 
Christian faith isn’t for pansies. It’s for courageous men and women who are willing, out of love and devotion to God, to put everything on the line to stand up for their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
           
Fellow believer in Christ, I urge you and encourage you with all the passion in my heart: believe boldly, behave boldly. Pray for boldness. Pray for opportunities to be bold. And prepare to be bold when opportunities come.
 
Don’t two-step with your faith. Stand up boldly. Be counted for Christ. Someone you know needs to hear about Jesus from you, a bold believer.  
 
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and to the Greek.”                               Romans 1:16
 
“Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God.”   II Timothy 2:8
 
“And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with BOLDNESS.”                                                                                                    Acts 4:31
 
A Word For Your Week: Be bold about what you believe.