LIVING BOLDLY FOR GOD

Living Boldly For God

Christians may be good at giving, attending church,
showing compassion, etc., but many lack the courage
to act boldly for Christ.
      – In the secular world, people show boldness
        when they have wealth, status, size, or strength.
     – Boldness in a biblical sense means showing
        confidence and speaking openly for Christ.

(Acts 3:21-26)
     – After healing the cripple, Peter seized the opportunity
        to start preaching to those in the temple;
        in these verses he continues his preaching.

ACTS 3:

VERSES 1-3:
Earlier, those in the temple rushed toward Peter and John
out of amazement over the healing of the cripple (Acts 3:11).

Now, they gathered around them because they were upset
about what they were saying (about Christ and the resurrection).

The ones disturbed were:
     – The priests:
              This may have been the chief priests, or just
              the priests who were on duty at the time.

     – The captain of the temple guard:
             – Ranked second in the priestly hierarchy.
             – Always chosen from one of the families
                of the priestly aristocracy.
             – Assisted the high priest in all ceremonies
                (also served as an alternate for some of the ceremonies).
             – Had responsibility for order on the temple grounds.
             – Had the power to make arrests.

     – The Sadducees:
             – The priestly party in the upper ranks of the priests.
             – Held the majority of the seats in the Sanhedrin.
             – Their opponents were the Pharisees (the minority party).
                Note:
                     The Sadducees and Pharisees had several differences:
                          – Sadducees accepted only
                             the first five books of the Scriptures.
                          – The Pharisees accepted all the books and
                             the oral tradition passed down (for interpretation
                             and application of the Scriptures).
                          – The Sadducees did not believe in resurrection.
                          – The Pharisees believed in resurrection.
                          Note:
                               We can see their differences
                                in Matthew 22:23-33 & Acts 23:6-10.

             – The Sadducees were upset over:
                    1. The apostles were continuing
                         the work of Jesus by teaching the people.

                    2. The content of the message.
                         Note:
                               This bothered them because:
                                    – They didn’t believe in resurrection.
                                    – They didn’t want to “rock the boat”
                                       and have problems with the Romans.
                                       Note:
                                             The Romans were okay with the
                                              way they operated (and taught)
                                              over the years, so they left them alone;
                                              they could use the temple revenues
                                              in whatever way they wanted to.

“evening”
     – They were upset with Peter and John, but it was too late
        in the day for a hearing, so they took them into custody.

Question:
     What was the effect of their boldness?
             – Around five thousand were saved (Acts 4:4).

Summary:
     – Living boldly involves telling others about Jesus.
     – Telling about Jesus can arouse opposition.
     – The resurrection of Jesus is an important part of the gospel.

VERSES 5-6:
The high priest and his family were brought in for the hearing.

There were many other high ranking people
there…apparently there was a lot of animosity,
or curiosity, or both.
At any rate, they considered it an important issue.

Note:
     This was the same body (the Sanhedrin) that
      condemned Jesus.
     Caiaphas played a key role
      in the trial of Jesus (Matthew 26:57-67).

VERSE 7:
More than likely, they were facing
a semi-circle of the Sanhedrin (setup so that
the Sanhedrin would be in an intimidating posture).

Basically the question was:
     Since we (the Sanhedrin) have authority over
      the temple, who gave you the authority to:
           – Heal a crippled beggar at the temple gate.
           – Bring him into the temple where his leaping
              and shouting caused a disturbance.
           – Start preaching about the One we have condemned.
Note:
     Jesus was asked the same question
     when He taught in the temple (Matthew 21:23).

VERSES 8-12:
Peter’s response:
     – He was filled with the Spirit
        so he spoke boldly, and to the point.
     – He assumed they were being examined
        about the good deed of healing the cripple.
     – He left no doubt about the name of the One
        who was instrumental in the healing.
     – He was bold enough to:
     – Accuse them of crucifying Jesus.
     – Declare that God raised Him from
        the dead (even though the majority
        of those present didn’t believe in resurrection).

Verse 12:
     – When Peter says, “there is no other name”,
        he is repeating what God said (Matthew 1:21),
        and what Jesus said (John 14:6).

VERSE 13:
This verse is loaded with information.
The council made three observations about Peter and John.
1. Their boldness.
          – They were sitting before the same group that
             sentenced Jesus to death, but they seemed to
             have no fear for themselves
             (as evidenced by what they were saying about
              resurrection, and their accusations of how this
              group was responsible for the death of Jesus).

         – When we look back to their fears before the
             resurrection, their boldness is even more impressive.
         – Peter’s fear caused him to deny knowing Jesus.
         – On the day of the resurrection of Jesus,
            the apostles were afraid and hiding
            behind closed doors (John 20:19).

        Question:
              What made the difference?
                    – Jesus promised them
                       the Holy Spirit would be with them.

                   – The Holy Spirit would not come
                      until Jesus was resurrected (John 16:7).

                  – Apparently, they knew that the Holy Spirit
                     was now with them, since Jesus was resurrected;
                     also, they experienced His presence at Pentecost.

                 – Looks like their change from fear to boldness
                    was a result of having the Holy Spirit with them.
                    Note:
                         The same Holy Spirit that all
                          believers have with them today.

2. They were unschooled, ordinary men.
          – They spoke clearly and logically
             about religious matters, even though:
          – They had no formal religious and biblical education.
          – They didn’t have the “professional” credentials
             of the Sanhedrin members.

3. They had been with Jesus.
          – They were imitating Jesus
             (doing and saying the things He said and did).

          – As a result, the Sanhedrin probably thought
             they were among the 12 closest disciples of Jesus.

          – They were probably frustrated and perplexed…they
             thought they had gotten rid of Jesus, but his followers
             were continuing His mission.

          Note:
               This shows how faithful followers of Christ
                can be viewed by the secular world;
                and the impact they (we) can have.
               It also shows how believers
                can be confident and bold.

VERSES 14-17:
The council had a problem:
     – They wanted to silence Peter and John.
     – But they couldn’t deny the crippled beggar
        had been healed (he was visible for all to see).

They dismissed Peter and John so they could
discuss the situation and decide what to do.

VERSES 18-21:
Their solution:
     Call them back in and tell them to stop speaking
     and teaching in the name of Jesus.

Question:
     Earlier, they were impressed with the courage of these
     two men, what made them think that they would obey
     their command?

Question:
     Was this the best solution
     this elite group of men could come up with?

Peter and John continued to show courage
and boldness by giving them two reasons
why they couldn’t obey their order:
1. They had to obey God’s commands
     over the commands of men.
          – As believers, they knew that God
             was the ultimate authority.
          – Even though the religious leaders had
             authority over those who worshiped in the
             temple, they could not override God’s authority.

2. They had to speak about
     the things they had seen and heard.
          – This is what witnesses do.
          – All believers should feel a compulsion to tell
             others about their experiences with the Lord.
             Note:
                  Jeremiah had the same desire when he thought
                   about not preaching (Jeremiah 20:9).
                  As he continued to share, look at his level
                   of confidence (Jeremiah 20:10-12).

The council’s frustrations appear to have clouded
their thinking…their best response to the apostles
was to threaten them and let them go.
     – The council was frustrated
        over their preaching about resurrection.
     – They were frustrated because
        these two bold apostles refused to stop,
     – They were frustrated because
        they couldn’t think of a way to stop them.

Summary:
     – Opponents of the gospel
        want to silence the testimony of believers.
     – True believers are quick to tell other
        that Jesus is the only Savior.
     – God gives believers the ability to speak boldly.
     – Christians don’t have to have formal
        religious training to be able to witness.
     – God’s command to witness
        overrides all orders not to witness.
     – Witnesses have a responsibility to tell
        about what they have seen and heard.

VERSE 23:
Now Peter and John had more to add to their testimony.
Note:
     More than likely they told others
      how they boldly stood up to the Sanhedrin.

VERSES 24-30:
It’s significant to see how their friends responded:
     – They didn’t discuss their fears.

     – They didn’t start making plans for the future.

     – They quoted Psalm 2:1-2 (indicating they
        believed this opposition had been predicted).

     – They acknowledged how Herod, Pilate,
        the Gentiles, and the Jews crucified Jesus
        (according to His divine plan).

     – They didn’t pray for God’s wrath on their adversaries.
        Question:
             What threats do we face
              when sharing our testimonies today?

     – As they prayed, they acknowledged God’s presence
        and asked Him to continue giving His servants
        courage and boldness.

     – They also prayed for miracles and signs
        that would lead people to Jesus.

VERSE 31:
A perfect ending to the events
related to the healing of the cripple.

“the place was shaken”
     – An indication of God’s presence.
        Question:
             What would we think if that happened today?

All of the people started speaking boldly
(once they were filled with the Holy Spirit).
Note:
     All believers are filled with the Holy Spirit,
      so we are all equipped to speak boldly.

Summary:
     – We shouldn’t curse those who persecute
        or ridicule us for being a Christian.
     – We should pray for boldness
        to act and speak according to God’s will.
     – We should yield ourselves
        to the control of the Holy Spirit.
     – We should renew our surrender daily.
     – We should act and speak boldly for God.