Be Bold for Christ | Acts 28:30-31 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

In light of recent events, we will not be going through the Book of Revelation today. Instead, I have one ambition, one simple desire for you and for myself is that we would leave here with greater courage, with stronger boldness, with more clarity, and with a sense of supernatural strength. We discussed much on Wednesday night, even more on Friday, but I want to immediately open up God's word and see what God has to say to us in these trying times for our nation and even for the church. And so I invite you to turn with me to the book of Acts in chapter 28. Students of the scriptures have noted in the past of the strange ending of the book of Acts.

At first glance, it doesn't seem to have a proper conclusion. It doesn't end with a doxology. There is no benediction. There doesn't seem to be any final instructions of any kind. It seems to just abruptly end with a brief comment on Paul's imprisonment in Rome while he was under house arrest.

But this unusual closing was not due to Luke running out of parchment, or this being the result of the best that he can do under restrictive circumstances. Like every other author of the New Testament, of the whole Bible, Luke was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And what we find here is intentional. And the reason why Acts seems to be concluding in an incomplete way is because in a sense, the story of Acts continues to this day. You see if the book of acts were primarily about Peter or Paul, then what we find here in these final verses would be perplexing.

But if we understand the book of Acts for what it really is, recording the success of the spread of the gospel, then this ending is beautifully fitting. What you have here in Acts 28 is the apostle to the gentiles arriving in Rome, which at the time was the center of government and trade. And when Paul arrives to the strategic city, we read here that the author wants to conclude the narrative there. Nothing else is told about Paul, what happens after this. We're gonna read it in a moment here, but again, it it seems abrupt.

But it's meant to leave you and I as the readers of this account with a sense of anticipation that this mighty evangelist and apostle who has now finally arrived at this place will surely be the cause of the expansion of the gospel across the globe. And we know in church history that it has in many ways. But more than that, it also shows us here that the spread of the good news is ongoing. That it doesn't stop. The advancement extends beyond the story.

And the discerning eye will even see that this is also in a sense, an invitation to every age and every believer in those different periods of history to be a part of this story, to actually play a part in bringing the gospel to new places and to more people. Let me put it this way. There is no amen at the end of acts because in a sense, the story goes on. And we are part of it because we are the same church that started here. We are part of the same story that God began writing two thousand years ago.

And it's in these last verses, I believe, that we are given a very helpful insight to show us how we as Christians could be effective in continuing what the apostles laid down. Let's read together in verse 30 of chapter 28 of acts. He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, being Paul, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. I find it both inspiring and insightful that one of the final words in the book that speaks about the flourishing spread of the gospel is boldness. Boldness.

Other translations might read openness or confidence, but I wanna I wanna use what the ESV renders. What does boldness mean according to the Bible? Well, the original word simply means freedom in speaking, unreservedness in speech. But when you see boldness in action in the bible, you get a sense that it's deeper than that. You realize that is the act of speaking the truth with confidence, conviction, and courage even in the face of opposition.

True boldness by the way never justifies pushiness, insensitivity, aggression. It never makes an excuse for recklessness, snarkiness, obnoxiousness. Should never be confused with rage or profanity or being brash. There are some people who think they are bold when in reality they are just loud, rude, and unwise. On the other hand, boldness according to the Bible refers to speaking the truth and living truthfully regardless of the risks.

Because one is driven by a love for Christ and a commitment to his revealed will. Paul had that boldness. And what we learn here at the ending of the book of Acts is that in order for there to be any hint of success for the spread of the gospel, you and I must understand that boldness is a non negotiable quality. It is an essential ingredient to the Christian and to the ministry of the church. And that's why I wanna speak to you about it today.

I wanna speak to you about being bold for Christ. And my genuine prayer because this message, I'll tell you out front, is gonna be simple and most likely short, but so be it. Because my prayer behind this is that cowardly Christianity would die. Would die. And any of us who are honest enough to say that there is a level of you being held back to be bold with your faith.

Faithful with the truth. Unashamed when an opportunity is presented to you to speak out about Christ or to present the hope of who he is. My desire is that there would be a new level of fearlessness with our testimonies. My true desire is that with all the uncertainty in the air, with all the fear that you and I would be willing to walk in biblical boldness. No matter who stands before us or what the outcome of our witness may be, that's my sincere hope.

And I pray that this message will be of some help. Together we will prayerfully pursue this by staying in the book of Acts to learn more about what true boldness entails. Look back again at verse 31. See that word boldness there in acts twenty eight thirty one? It appears a total of five times throughout the book of acts.

The noun boldness appears a total of five times in the book of Acts. And what I find interesting is that three out of those five times, it is concentrated in a single chapter. There's one chapter where the word boldness appears three times. And I believe that is especially helpful for us because it brings us into focus to seeing early in this book, the beauty, the availability, and the necessity of boldness for the church. And I want us to go to that chapter together in Acts chapter four.

So let's turn that to a very well known passage as we discover and rediscover perhaps what happened to Peter and John once they were arrested after demonstrating the healing name of Jesus and preaching the gospel resulting in thousands being saved. You know this very well. Peter and John were used by God to see a man who was crippled by the temple to be restored to full health and to be an object lesson of the powerful name of the resurrected Christ. And so many were moved by it. Instead, we find that there were others who were disturbed by it.

And so you have these religious leaders that arrest them, they stay overnight in the local jail, and the next day they interrogate them wanting to know how it was that they were able to perform this miracle. And so this duo give a brief yet powerful explanation, and this is what we read after their initial witness. Verse 13. Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated common men, they were astonished and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. The first thing that's vital to comprehend about biblical boldness, please hear this, is that boldness is not a personality trait.

You might think that would be the case if this verse read differently. If the religious leaders saw the boldness of John, and were astonished by it. In comparison to the rest of the apostles, you can argue that John had the most courage for the simple reason that when others were hiding while Christ was dying on the cross, he was the only one who stood by him. That was dangerous. That was risky.

So if John was the only one in view here, then you could say well, you know, that's his personality. That's his disposition. That's his genetic makeup. That's just something that he was born with that made him less afraid of dangerous situations. But you can't say that.

You know why? Because the boldness here is also attributed to Peter of all people. The one who denied Jesus three times. The one who cowered away. The one who shrunk from an opportunity to stand for the Lord and to live up to his boast.

The very same Peter here who is fearful to speak out for Christ is now crowned with boldness. And that should excite any of us who have a tendency of being hesitant to speak up, of standing by the truth, of defending righteousness. If Peter could be bold, so can we. Moreover, notice that the opposition acknowledge their bravery. Yes.

But before that they also recognize that they were uneducated and common men. What a thought. What a thought that boldness is not reserved for the formally trained. It's not a reward for the scholarly. It's not something that one taps into because they are physically intimidating, so they have the ability to muster up boldness.

Or maybe because they are outwardly beautiful, and so people are more willing to listen to what they have to say. No. These religious leaders stood in awe as they sense the current of courage flowing out of these ordinary common looking Jews. They were stunned, which gives us even more reason to rejoice today because Christ like, spirit empowered, other worldly boldness does not discriminate. This reality can be yours and mine for the same reason it was a reality for these apostles.

What does the verse say? That they recognized that they had been with Jesus. There was something about the influence of Christ in the lives of these two that radiated from them in this intimidating situation. And here's what's so wonderful. Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the living God, he does not discriminate.

And because he does not discriminate, he shows no partiality to granting this gift of boldness to anybody who desires it. So no matter who you are, how you look, how much you know, this boldness can be yours. Does it matter what your vocabulary level is? Does it matter what your background is? None of that matters.

This can be experienced and this can actually have an effect if you tap into it. The second thing to underline from this one verse is how boldness is impactful. There's something attractive about boldness. And that's true in several ways. It's contagious among believers and even here we realize that it can grip and confound sinners.

Notice again in the middle of verse 13, it says here that they were astonished. They were astonished at the boldness of these men. It was unexpected. It was a surprise. And what I take from this is that even the world takes notice when a Christian is unashamed, unmoved, not afraid, composed when they're standing for the faith.

And boldness does not automatically guarantee conversions, but it does contain the power to make an impression that sparks curiosity and even conviction. In the case of Paul with the Thessalonians, the boldness he had played a major part in their salvation. I want us to turn there for a moment. Go to first Thessalonians chapter two. Look here with me in verse one as he recounts his ministry among this group of believers who are at one point not believers.

And notice what he says about the success of his efforts there. First Thessalonians chapter two beginning in verse one. For you yourselves know brothers that are coming to you was not in vain. Why wasn't it in vain, Paul? Well, he explains in verse two.

But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict. Don't you love that little phrase? Boldness in our God. You're not gonna find it in yourself. I'm not gonna find it in myself.

Not in your gift, not in your charisma. If you want biblical boldness, it only comes from God. We have boldness in our God. And notice here that he attributes the success of his trip to Thessalonica to a God empowered courage that he and his team demonstrated while they were there. Why was our visit not in vain?

In great part, because we had boldness in our God to preach to you the gospel even though we were surrounded by hostility and danger and threats. A Christianity void of boldness is vanity. It's vain. It doesn't amount to anything. It robs you.

It limits your impact on the loss by convincing you that sharing your faith should only happen when it's convenient. Not when there's conflict. Open your mouth when there's an openness in the culture. Not when there's opposition. Please never forget that cowardice will always cost us way more than whatever boldness may require.

Cowardice will always be more expensive in our efforts for the gospel and whatever boldness may require of us. And while we're here, why don't we just look at a couple of ways we can prepare our hearts for this apostolic energy to come alive in us? I wanna know. I'm sure you do as well. Look here at verse three of the same chapter.

For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak. Not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. People pleasing and boldness can never coexist. Incompatible. Paul says, do you know why we came to you with the boldness in our God?

Do you know why it was so effective? Because we first determined long ago before we even arrived here that we will not speak for men. We will not speak with men's opinion in mind. We will not share with the fear of what they have to say about us. You see the secret to Paul tapping into this boldness And how it can be a success for you in your family, in your workplace, at your school, among your peers.

You must train yourself by the grace of God and by the truths of the scripture to ask questions like, what does God want from me? What would make him happy out of this? What would bring most honor to his name? What is it that he longs for me? Not what others have to say.

And the more you are consumed with them, the more you're preoccupied by that, the less room there is for people to influence you and to determine how faithful you are to the truth. And the wonderful thing about Paul's God word ambition is that it brought the greatest blessing to people. When Christians are not bold, they do nobody a favor. You don't inspire Christians and you make no impact on the lost. You're just floating around.

You're just on a lazy river called ministry. Just just just wherever it goes, I'm just gonna go. That's useless. Absolutely useless. This man says, no no.

I'll tell you why we're bold. We've determined to please God with our words, with our message, with our philosophy. But it's more than that. Come down here to verse five. For we never came with words of flattery as you know, nor with a pretext for greed.

God is witness. So more than his heart being free from people pleasing, Paul's heart was totally liberated from any covetousness. This man had zero financial ambition. Why why is that relevant to boldness? Because you couldn't buy Paul and you couldn't sell anything to Paul.

He could not be influenced by anybody who could profit him. It didn't cross his mind. He didn't manipulate and massage his ministry message, his gospel presentation with other ambitions and motives. Oh, I hope I can befriend this person because they'll they'll really contribute financially to this con none of that. He trusted God to take care of him.

He really believed that if I'm faithful to the truth, God will take care of my ministry. They'll have to play games. They'll have to placate. They'll have to dilute anything. Don't have to wonder who what soul is so is are they gonna be there Sunday?

I'm just gonna preach a very strong word. I don't wanna step on their toe. None of that silliness with Paul. Completely consumed with a faith that God will take care of me. Money has a way of muzzling Christians.

And not just Christians, pastors. God help us. If you're doing this thing for money, get out of the ministry. It has nothing to do with money. You really believe God?

Then preach the word and let him take care of you. You see the freer one is from the love of praise and the desire for material gain, the bolder we become. You can't hold on to financial, material, comfort, luxury, pursuing that, securing that, nourishing that. You can't hold on to an addiction to people's opinions about you and expect to be a bold Christian at the same time. Choose one or the other.

Paul says, I'll tell you why I was bold. I I determined to speak for God, and I determined to do so at any cost. This is just a couple of thoughts from Acts four thirteen. But you know what question I had the other day? What did they see that concluded they were bold?

What is it that came out of these two in Acts chapter four that proved that they had courage? And I want you to see it with me because we find it in the verses preceding. Look back here at Acts four and look here at verse seven. This is the following day after they were arrested, and it says here, and when they had set them in the midst, they inquired by what power or by what name did you do this? Then Peter filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, rulers of the people and elders.

Here's one major property for boldness and of boldness. Boldness blinds you from your audience. You don't see what other men would see. I'm talking about a good kind of blindness. You're not affected by who's standing before you.

You're not influenced by the presence of some influential figure or powerful man. Notice here that the first thing that they say is they acknowledge who these men were. Rulers of the people and elders. And they're about to preach the raw gospel in their presence. What boldness does is strip away the fear of man.

What boldness does is help you perceive man the way God does. See, these are rulers. These are big names in Jerusalem. And yet, because these men were filled with the Holy Spirit and as a result, driven with boldness. As the context shows, they just saw them as sinners who are under the wrath of God and need to be saved.

So the natural, they were rulers. Sure. But in the spiritual, they were in desperate need of the truth. Boldness does that. When it's given by the Holy Spirit, it blinds you from the faces, the reactions.

The potential ramifications of of those who can do something about you because of what you stand for. But not only that, look here what happens next in verse nine. He continues, if we were being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. So not only does this boldness blind you to your audience, but boldness causes you to speak unapologetically and unambiguously about sin. Do you see what happens here?

He addresses them and he confronts them about their crime and he doesn't speak in generalities. Whom you crucified. When a preacher, when a Christian is really filled with spirit empowered boldness, they don't tiptoe around controversial air quotes issues. They don't. They call it as it is.

When when they preach, they don't just talk about the wrong that we have all done. How we all have just lost our way. Yeah. That's a biblical phrase but you also find that the bible lists sins. Puts a language to these things.

And so with a holy love but also with a holy boldness, you can expect somebody who is possessed with this force to actually address things in a way that is meant to address people personally. Is there wisdom in how we do this? Absolutely. I hope you hear this as principles and not as just a black and white blueprint. But so much of what we hear today just dances around the issues.

So much of what we hear today is first introduced with so many apologies from the pulpit as though what we're saying we don't really wanna say it, but we have to say it because we don't wanna get in trouble by the actual Christians in the church. It it's just powerless. It really is. Boldness calls out sin. Boldness can see the current issues in society and say, it's evil.

That's wrong. That's from hell. Finally, look at verse 11. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders which has become the cornerstone and there is salvation in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Boldness will make you unashamed to publicly testify of the mission and person of Christ.

A lot of people have no issue talking about God, higher power. That's not what Paul or rather Peter is preaching like. He brings up the name of Jesus. He brings up the exclusivity of his mission of his cross and he doesn't flinch doing it. Boldness will compel you to speak about Christ without quivering.

This is what they saw. They saw that they were unfazed by these big names who had real abilities. I mean, they just arrested them. Yeah. These two apostles, stoic, I'm sure, respectful, absolutely, but strong, direct, clear, unafraid, unashamed.

More can be said about this, but we've only touched on the first time boldness appears in this chapter. Let's look at the two other times. Look here at the end of this chapter in verse 29. In acts four twenty nine, this is after the two apostles were released being threatened and warned never to speak and teach about the name of Jesus. So they go to their friends and they have a prayer meeting.

And this is what we read near the end of their prayer in Acts four twenty nine. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness. While you stretch out your hand to heal and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. There are the two other times.

And I wanna use this text to end with this thought. How do we get it? How do we get this boldness? And I wanna use the letter a to mention at least four ways. The first is to assemble with God's people.

What's the context of this prayer? Again, it begins back in verse 23. Peter and John were released. They went to their friends and reported all that the chief priests and elders said to them. God designed Christian community.

God designed Christian relationships to be the fuel station for our courage. Christ sent them out two by twos. Clearly, there is something there about that companionship that made them more effective in their gospel witness. And he gives us more than just instruction on how to go out to the lost. He shows us even here by way of example that there is genuine boldness that can be experienced in community when you gather with God's people.

Why? Because testimonies are there. Encouragement is there. Truth is championed there. Think about Paul with the Philippians.

You know this very well. A lot of this is just reminders for us. But in Philippians one fourteen, he says, and most of the brothers having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment are much more bold to speak the word without fear. They're much more bold now because of my imprisonment. You would think it would be the opposite, but again there's something attractive about boldness.

And all it takes is one person to have it and to pay a price for it. To set off a movement. To take people to a new level in their faith. To shake off the cobwebs of their own complacency. If Paul was willing to go to prison, what are we doing here?

If Paul thinks it's worth it to die for Christ, then let it be true of us. So God has given us community for our own personal courage. We assemble regularly and we need to do that more and more in these times. But more than that, we abide. We abide in God's word.

Notice that in the middle of their prayer back in verse 24, what they do. It says here in verse 24, and when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, sovereign Lord who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, why did the gentiles rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his anointed. Here they are in need of a fresh dose of of courage and boldness. And what do they do?

They quote scripture. They bring to mind God's sovereignty revealed in his word. They bring to mind God's providence. They bring to mind his character. What he's done in history.

How what he said in his word relates to the present time. You wanna nurture boldness? Feed on the truth. Familiarize yourself with stories. I mean, I was ready to jump when pastor Ben opened up about James and John and Stephen.

And how how about how in every case, their martyrdom made way for the word of God to spread. I was ready to say amen and just go. Something about the truth. It has power. You can't rely on your emotions.

Even with this recent tragedy in our nation, don't expect to stay stirred two weeks from now the way you're stirred now. You need to abide in God's word. You need to remind yourself of eternal truth. Events will come and go. And God uses them.

But if you want to remain attached to this heavenly force, you need to stay attached to God's word. Thirdly, ask, ask, and ask again. Boldness is not designed to be permanent. It's not like you get it and you have it forever. It is subject to vacillation.

It is subject to being taken from you. Boldness yesterday may not be there tomorrow. May not be there even now. So these same men who earlier in acts were filled with the Holy Spirit spoke boldly are now and the chapter hasn't even ended yet. The story of this part of the scripture hasn't even concluded yet and yet they find themselves yet again coming before God and saying, oh Lord, fill us again.

Give us more of this. It wasn't enough that we had it when we had that meeting with you. We need it now as we move forward. And God graciously grants it. Pray for it in the morning when you wake up.

Pray for it as you are stepping into that meeting. Pray for it before you go to that doctor's appointment. Pray for the wisdom to know what to say. Pray for whether you should say anything at all. Pray always.

Finally, act. Act. There's no good in asking for it if you're not prepared to do something with it. What does it say here at the end of verse 30 of acts four? And continue to speak the word of God with boldness.

Is there anything in your mind or in mine that is strategic with the gospel? Let this be a revival in each of us to actually be mindful of opening our mouths in different settings or maybe with people who we've known for some time and yet they don't know that we're actually born again followers of Christ. Sometimes we wait for a sensation, maybe even what we find here in this testimony that the walls would shake. Okay. We got boldness.

Now we can do something. And what you find regularly throughout acts is that boldness accompanies the act of stepping out. That it almost meets you while you are ready to do something. And so you might sweat a bit. You might not know how you're gonna articulate yourself.

You might not know how this is gonna flow. One of the beauties of this boldness is that it tends to surprise you as much as it might surprise someone else. Maybe you've been there, where you're almost beside yourself saying, what what was that? Or you leave a conversation with somebody over the stranger at the grocery store, whatever the case may be. Where did that scripture come from?

I didn't last time I read that chapter. Where did that come from? You have to be willing to act. You have to be willing to act. I'll end it here.

We can't rely on events, surely, but we have to be wise and make the best use of time for the days are evil. Now is not the time to be worried about the America that your kids are gonna grow up in. Now is not the time to be overly consumed by media and news to the point that you're unable to hear God in his word. Now is not the time to allow your emotions to just make you angry and sit there. Now is the time to lift your head, assemble with God's people, abide in his word, ask for boldness, and even ask God, Lord, where do you want me to act?

This is a wonderful opportunity for the church to make an impact, but it can't happen without boldness. If you're a preacher here, an aspiring minister, I know education is important, theological training is good. But I what I've discovered in my short time in ministry is that you can have letters beside your name and be a coward. PhDs do nothing if you're not willing to preach the whole counsel of God. And so may God empower pastors.

And more than that, may God do something in his people So the world at this time would be astonished at the boldness of the church. Father, we ask. Though so much more could be said, We take this simple truth to be bold. And so, Lord, we do what we just learned in your word. We ask for it.

We ask for it. We ask for it. God, please. We need boldness in our God. We need boldness from the Holy Spirit.

And Lord, if these great apostles sought it more than once, surely we are in need to perpetually pray. So Lord, we don't make excuses with our personalities. And Lord, we even choose today in a fresh way to confess that we love your truth more than our own lives. Show us what to do in this hour. But Lord, don't leave us to ourselves.

Give us true boldness. May it infect the church. May it make an impression on the lost and may you be glorified in all. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.