In Acts 4:5-20, 29-31, we find Peter and John have just been arrested by the Sanhedrin (the highest Jewish authority) for healing a lame man in Jesus’s name. The Jewish leaders were astonished at what Peter had to say, but more than that, at the way that he said it. He possessed an eloquence and sophistication that exceeded his limited education and common status. And they were fearless. Bold.

I have to wonder whether Peter and John themselves were surprised, as we know how fearful they were just days before. Peter, all talk about dying with the Lord. But he runs away and later denies that he even knows Jesus. Yet they were promised that they would be given the words to speak when dragged before the authorities.

What caused this boldness?

1. They were Called to be Obedient

We must obey God rather than man. They knew that it was God’s will for them to speak openly about Jesus to everyone. And if the authorities said otherwise, they knew they had to obey God and disobey men.

All Christians actually know this. Although not every command given to the apostles is equally a command for every Christian, it is universally understood that the Great Commission applies to us all (in some capacity or another, we see both laity, deacons, elders, and ministers carrying the gospel forth throughout Acts).

The reality is, not all of us are very good at this. Do we seek out and recognise opportunities to tell people the good news of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of sinners?

We need to be more obedient. And we need to be bolder.

Of course, if we depended on obedience alone, it wouldn’t empower us. It tends just to make us feel guilty when we don’t do it. This is true even for the apostles. When Jesus told them they were to spread the gospel in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the world, they hid in an upper room. And even as they ministered boldly in Jerusalem, they mostly stayed in Jerusalem—some even becoming angry that Peter had gone into a Gentile’s home to preach!

So, needing to verify that the gospel could be received even by Samaritans, they had to send Peter and John down there to check up on them. The Holy Spirit had to speak directly to the church in Antioch before they sent out Paul and Barnabas to spread the gospel throughout Galatia, Asia Minor, and Greece.

Knowing what we are told to do is not enough to make believers bold. Yet there is more.

2. They had Good News to tell

Peter and John profess that they cannot stop testifying to what they have seen and heard. Why? It is too compelling. Yes, it took them awhile, but after Pentecost they were compelled to preach and evangelize.

This is what people normally do when they receive really good news. You know how you can know if someone is a vegan, right? They tell you! We have to tell others. We can hardly be prevented from it. A pregnancy after trying so long for children; a marriage proposal or upcoming ceremony; and on and on the list goes. We have all seen and maybe experienced it ourselves, that new believers are often overwhelmed with the joy of their newly found salvation. You can hardly shut them up about it! But the novelty wears off.

If you ask church people why they don’t evangelize, some will admit fear of rejection. Feeling really awkward. Fear of destroying good relationships. Yet what most people will quickly say is that they don’t know how. And so para-church organisations have had to come up with evangelism training, from Christianity Explored to the Alpha Course and on and on it goes.

How much training does one really need to testify what the Lord has done for them? That Jesus died for sinners, to rescue them from eternal condemnation to bring them to God.

We have a compelling message. How can we not boldly proclaim it? Let us ask to recover the joy of our salvation.

3. They Had the Holy Spirit

But the other factor is the power source: the Holy Spirit. We know how fearful the disciples are as they hide out in the upper room, waiting for something to happen. What did they even understand? And on the feast day of Pentecost, when all the Jews were celebrating the first harvest, the Holy Spirit rushes into the room and changes everything.

They hear the rushing wind. They see the tongues of fire. They hear themselves and others speaking in foreign languages. And fearful Peter gets up and delivers a powerful message. The Spirit moves in the hearts of the hearers, and 3,000 come to faith that hour.

They had received the command. They knew what they had seen and heard. But what changed? Now they had the Holy Spirit who gave them power. It was He who gave them boldness.

And they preached. They told people the good news. The Holy Spirit did mighty acts among them to verify his presence and the truth of the gospel that was being preached. The Holy Spirit also helped them to grasp more fully what Jesus had done.

The Sanhedrin does not know what to do with them. They threaten Peter and John and release them. What can they do? They hate the message. They have rejected Jesus as the Christ. But the people have witnessed a great and undeniable miracle. Yet the greatest miracle is what happened to the disciples. They were saved. They were transformed.

And when they return to the brothers and sisters, reporting what has happened, they pray. And for what do they pray? For boldness. They want to preach the word with boldness. They know that this is what our Lord wants then and now.

The Holy Spirit had already emboldened them and would do it again. But they knew that they must rely entirely on him to give them the power needed to preach boldly and for those who hear to receive it.

Why would the Holy Spirit refuse to answer a prayer for boldness?

What About You?

All Christians are called to be bold. Not only do we want to be bold in our current ministry or current context, but we need to do harder things now. There are countries which are hostile to the gospel. But we believe that God has people there for himself, who will respond to the gospel when it is preached to them. Maybe immediately. Maybe over years. But we ourselves need to be willing to go to the hard places, and we need the Lord to raise up people who are willing to go into harder and drier places. Places that could potentially be dangerous. Places where our enemy thrives and will fight against the gospel message and its workers.

How bold are we as churches and as individuals? We have the command. We have the compelling message. And we have the Holy Spirit. So, I humbly urge us to trust God and proceed with boldness until the glory of God truly fills the heavens and the earth.

By Rev Dr David Galletta, based in the U.S., he travels regularly to Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda, and Pakistan, where he teaches modular classes in Bible and theology. He holds a D.Min. from Covenant Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Wales, UK.