Be Bold!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  (John 3:16 ESV)

“Yes, I am a Christian, John 3:16.” “What do you mean John 3:16?” “Oh, you know John 3:16.” “Hey, I am going shopping and then hitting a club. Do you want to come?”

Do you realize how often this happens? Throw out a few keywords or a key verse or two from the Bible, and you are a Christian. When you ask what makes the person a Christian, you hear, "Well, I said a prayer once and promised that I believed in Jesus. The pastor wrote in my Bible that on this date, I was saved."

Another one I hear is, well, I was raised in a Christian home, or worse yet, I have been a Christian all my life. Becoming a Christian is not a passive state; it is a deliberate act. You deliberately turn your life over to Christ. You purposefully profess He is the Son of God who was crucified for the sins of all who believe in Him. That Jesus willingly went to a tree and was crucified by Rome. That Christ was buried for three days underground and rose from the dead, defeating sin and death. That you are baptized as an outward expression of your inner devotion to the Lord.

But today, many “Christians” never hear this. I was asked tonight if I believe in the creation of the Bible. My response was if I reject it, I reject everything about me that God made. I reject all of the doctrines of the Bible: marriage, righteousness, salvation, God, everything. People never hear this, either. Some people pick and choose what they believe in the Bible, but the importance of wholehearted belief in it cannot be overstated.

My friends, there is no gray area in the Bible. You believe the Words of God, or you do not. Well, what about Cain’s wife? Where did she come from? The Bible does not explicitly tell us. Nor do books tell us precisely what George Washington thought about as he crossed the Delaware River. Nor do we know who Jack the Ripper was despite the stack of bodies. Where is Cleopatra’s tomb? She existed right; there are a lot of writings about her, but where is the tomb? Not everything in history is answered, nor did God explain why He did everything He did. Nor does God need to explain.

Some will never know God or feel Christ's love or the Spirit's conviction. But for those whose names are written in the Book of Life of the Lamb who was slain will at some point come to know Christ. If someone asks you what you believe, tell them. God may open their eyes and ears to the gospel, or He will send others to water that seed you planted until it is ready to bloom. If someone tells you they know Christ but cannot tell you why or how, help them by talking to them about the gospel's truth. God may use you to awaken this person as to what they do not know.

Johnathan Edwards wrote, “There is a false boldness for Christ that only comes from pride. A man may rashly expose himself to the world’s dislike and even deliberately provoke its displeasure, and yet do so out of pride… True boldness for Christ transcends all; it is indifferent to the displeasure of either friends or foes. Boldness enables Christians to forsake all rather than Christ, and to prefer to offend all rather than to offend Him.”

Be bold in Christ. Be like the apostles in Acts 4:31 “After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.” Be strong and bold in the gospel, and you will receive your just rewards in heaven when you hear, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Grace and Peace!