So they called for them and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in
the name of Jesus.
(Acts 4:18 CSB17)
Ever since our Lord Jesus Christ gave us His Great Commission, the
devil has been working through evil people, false religions, and perverted
governments to try to keep us from talking about Jesus.
We see this throughout the books of Acts and the rest of the New
Testament, and we see it in our world today. In the book of Acts, after a lame
man is miraculously healed in the name of Jesus, the religious leaders order
the apostles not to speak about Jesus (Acts 4:18). The Apostles respond by calling a prayer
meeting and praying for boldness to keep speaking. As the gospel spreads, the
religious leaders have the apostles arrested. This time, the apostles are flogged
and again “they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus” (Acts 5:40).
But the Apostles don’t shut up. Instead, “they continued teaching and
proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah” (Acts 5:42). This pattern
continues throughout the book of Acts. Some of the Christians, like Stephen and
James, are even killed. Others are imprisoned, beaten, and sometimes are forced
to flee from town to town. But they never stop speaking the truth about Jesus
and all that Jesus commanded.
Paul wrote about this widespread, persistent effort to keep
Christians from speaking to others about Jesus:
They displease God and are hostile to everyone in their
effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In
this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. (1 Thess. 2:15b-16a NIV)
In 1 Thessalonians 2:16
quoted above, the Greek word translated as “Gentiles” is ethnos. This is the same word which in the Great Commission is translated
“nations” (see Matthew 28:19 and Luke 24:27). Realizing this helps make it even
more clear that the devil is working through evil people specifically to try to
stop the completion of the Great Commission. Thankfully, the enemies of the
gospel failed to silence either Paul or the new believers in Thessalonica.
Based on the warnings given by Christ, the examples we see in
Acts, the teaching throughout the New Testament epistles, and the visions given
to John recorded in the book of Revelation, we know that this opposition to
Christians speaking God’s truth will continue until Christ returns.
It’s
happening in our world today
Enemies of the gospel (even if they don’t think of themselves that
way) continue to try to pressure Christians to shut up. In the US and similar
nations, this opposition may take the form of being slandered, shouted down,
excluded from groups, ridiculed, and occasionally even fired from a job. In
many nations around the world, in addition to the above forms of pressure,
speaking God’s truth may result in physical attacks, imprisonment, and even
death.
To be sure, there are certain parts of God’s truth which are
tolerated in certain settings. But there are other parts of God’s truths which
are strongly opposed. Consider these examples:
1. It’s not acceptable for
teachers to share the truth of the Bible or pray with students in public
schools.
2. Any mention of God’s
standards for sexual purity, especially with regards to homosexual sins, is
strongly opposed by western culture.
3. Sharing that salvation
is found in Christ may be somewhat unpopular, but sharing that salvation is only found in Christ is ridiculed and
attacked (watch a sermon I preached on this topic here).
4. Any efforts by
scientists to suggest that evidence for a great Intelligent Designer can be
seen in nature can result in ridicule and even loss of opportunities and jobs
in the scientific community.
5. In Muslim nations,
teaching that Jesus is Lord and Savior can result in threats, physical
violence, and death. Any criticism of Muhammad is likely to be met with intense
and violent attacks.
6. Even among Christians
(or at least among those claiming that name) parts of God’s truth have sometimes
been taboo. Have you even been attacked by other Christians for speaking God’s
truth? I have. And so have many courageous believers throughout history.
The Biblical
Solution
What we need in this situation is Holy Spirit empowered parresia.
Parresia is a Greek word. It is a noun which
basically means “boldness” or “courage”. The closely related verb, parresiazomai,
often means “to speak openly and clearly without being cowered by threats and
opposition.” Here are a few examples from the New Testament (I’ve put in bold red
the words or phrases which translate parresia or
parresiazomai, sometimes alone, and sometimes
in phrases with additional Greek words):
NIV Acts 4:13
When they saw the courage of Peter
and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were
astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
NIV Acts 4:29
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your
word with great boldness.
NIV Acts 4:31
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And
they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
NIV Acts 9:27
But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how
Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and
how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in
the name of Jesus.
NIV Acts 9:28
So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.
NIV Acts 13:46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first.
Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we
now turn to the Gentiles.
NIV Acts 14:3
So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace
by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
NIV Acts 18:26 He began to speak boldly in
the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their
home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
NIV Acts 19:8
Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there
for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
NIV Acts 28:31 He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught
about the Lord Jesus Christ-- with all boldness and
without hindrance!
NIV Eph. 6:19
Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I
will fearlessly
make known the mystery of the gospel,
NIV Eph. 6:20
for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it
fearlessly, as I should.
NIV Phil. 1:20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no
way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be
exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.
NIV 1 Thess. 2:2 We had previously suffered and been treated
outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.
How do we get this courage to speak in a world which is hostile to
God’s truth? It comes from the Holy Spirit. We can connect with it more deeply
and fully through the following means:
1. Asking for courage in
prayer for ourselves and for others (notice that Paul asked other Christians to
pray that he would have this boldness in Ephesians 6:19-20).
2. Reading and thinking
about biblical examples of this type of boldness. The whole book of Acts is
full of such examples. So is the book of Daniel!
3. Reading about examples
of courageous Christians throughout history.
4. Encouraging one another
in Christ.
You don’t have to be a naturally “bold” person to have the type of
biblical boldness we need. In fact, natural boldness, which can be just plain
obnoxious or rash at times, really doesn’t help much at all. Holy Spirit
boldness comes together with Holy Spirit guidance and wisdom. It comes with
gentleness, patience, and faith. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will lead us to be quiet
in a certain situation. Following Holy Spirit given wisdom is a far cry from being
cowered by the world’s threats.
Closing Prayer: Lord, there
are still people and forces trying to intimidate us into silence. The enemy is
still working to keep us from speaking Your truth. Your church needs courage
today. Please give it to us.
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