Boldness in the Face of Opposition (Acts 4:1-31) | 2/20/22
Acts 4:1-31 | 2/20/22 | Thad Yessa
The NEED for Boldness. (25-26)
Their response was to quote Scripture They begin by quoting Psalm 2 a Messianic psalm, focusing on the Anointed King. This Psalm speaks of the people of the earth, particularly the rulers of the earth rebelling against God’s anointed King. Verse 27 tells us this was most fully fulfilled through Jesus.
for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel (Acts 4:27)
But the prays of the disciples point to that there is an ongoing fulfillment of Psalm 2. Notice in verses 29 that they take the paradigm of Psalm 2 and apply it to the threats of what Peter and John had just received from the religious rulers. Those threats demonstrate the people of the earth and the rulers of the earth are still rebelling against God’s Anointed King.
This is why we need boldness if we are going to participate in God’s missions, because the world is in rebellion against its rightful king, King Jesus. That is the main obstacle to God’s mission; that is the problem which must be overcome. If we don’t understand that then we might fall into the thinking that what is really needed to help advance God’s Kingdom is a host of other things like being relevance; that we need to show that we aren’t stick in the mud Christians, that we aren’t boring. The main problem that the world has with Christianity is not that it is uncool or boring, but it is the claim that Jesus is King. Or we might believe what the world really needs is to hear from someone who is really intelligent, to talk about Christianity (Tim Keller, Al Mohler) But you don’t have to be super smart or be super educated to be a part of God’s Mission.
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. (4:13)
Our education or our intelligence doesn’t matter, because people’s main problem with God is not intellectual, it’s moral. The world is in rebellion against it’s King Jesus. And that’s why what is most needed from us in advancing God’s kingdom to the end of the earth is not relevance or intelligence, it’s boldness.
Amy Poehler in Mean Girls, “I am not a regular mom, I am a cool mom.”
We need boldness because the world is in rebellion against King Jesus.
The BASIS for Boldness.
This prayer not only tells why we need to be bold but how it is that we can be bold. The basis for our boldness is not us, and that is important to emphasize because anytime the Bible talks about courage or confidence or anything of that nature, it never says that it is grounded in us. No the basis for our boldness is not in ourselves, it’s in God, more specifically it’s in our Sovereign God. The first words out of the disciple’s mouth when they hear of the religious leaders coming after Peter and John, “Sovereign Lord…” And in this prayer, they go on to describe God’s sovereignty in three ways. First, we see God’s sovereignty in creating.
“Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, (Acts 4:24)
This is the starting place for the whole Bible and it’s also the starting place for boldness. God created everything that exists. That is a statement that the Bible repeats over and over and over again. It’s clearly something that we need to be reminded of over and over again. But whenever they Bible speaks of God being the creator of all things it’s not simply reminding us that He is the origin point of the universe, although it’s true, it’s reminding us of God’s power. The Bible is reminding us that there is nothing in the universe more powerful than God, because He is the creator of all things in the universe. So there is nothing that can knock God off of His throne, and there is nothing that can challenge Him as the ruler of this world. Now how does that provide a basis for our boldness? Well, God’s sovereignty over creation means that we have nothing to fear. Because the world is in rebellion against its rightful King Jesus some people are going to respond negatively when we are open about our faith. We will face negativity, hostility, and opposition, but we don’t have to fear the response of others because they can do us no ultimate harm. Because by the blood of Jesus we have been reconciled to this all-powerful God. So if you are in Christ, the One who created the heavens and the earth and the things of the earth is on your side. He is your help, as Paul says in Romans 8
“If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31”
The second way we see God’s sovereignty through speaking.
“who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,”
Acts 4:25
This is one of the foundational truth claims of Christianity, we believe that through the Scriptures the God of the universe has spoken to us. He has revealed Himself, and He has revealed his purposes for humanity. Because we believe the Bible is the words of God the all-powerful Creator, that means it is true, it is authoritative, and it will be fulfilled. That is the point of these early Christians quoting Psalm 2 they are proclaiming that the words that David wrote 1000 years prior has come true in Jesus’ crucifixion. He has sovereignly spoken through His word. Now how does this provide a basis for our boldness? Well, God’s sovereinty in speaking means that we can be certian about our message. Christians don’t have to worry if Jesus was a way to God or THE way to God. We don’t have to doubt that Christianity is a truth that works for me or THE truth for everyone. We don’t have to question is Christianity provides a good life or THE good life. No, we can be certian that Jesus is The way, The truth, and The life because God has sovereingly said so.
The third way that we see God’s sovereignty is in His governing.
Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. Acts 4:27-28
Now sometimes we can get scared of that word predestined, but what these verses are saying, is that when Herod, and Pilate, and the religious leaders, and all who were there were heading to crucify Jesus, it wasn’t because things weren’t going to plan, it’s not because things were out of control. No, God had everything under control, and things were going exactly according to plan. It mean’s that God’s sovereingty is governing everything according to God’s purposes. How does that provide a basis for our boldness? Well, God’s soverinty in authority means that He is governing all things so that His mission will be accomplished. When we participate in God’s mission to declare the gospel to the ends of the earth, we are not engaging in mission impossible, we are not engaging in mission probable, we are engaging in mission guaranteed.
“I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Matthew 16:18
Jesus is saying, nothing is going to stop His mission. For us this passage is showing that when we are bold, we may face opposition, but even through opposition God works.
And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand. Acts 4:3-4
God is sovereignly governing all things to accomplish His mission.
The GIFT of Boldness.
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. Acts 4:31
In order for us to be bold, we need God to give us boldness. That is why these Christians are praying for boldness in the first place, beacuse they don’t have it and of themselves in the first place. And that is exactly what God does through the Holy Spirit. This is one of the amazing things about Christianity, that God gives us everything that is required of us. If we need boldness to accomplish God’s mission, He gives it to us through the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the one who works that boldness in us. The way He does that is by taking the head knowledge that God is sovereign, and working it deep into our hearts. The fact that God gives us boldness through His Holy Spirit means that boldness is not just some personality trait that some people have and other people don’t. It also means that boldness isn’t something that we have to conjure up. We don’t have to look inside ourselves to find the boldness within.
The same boldness that we read about Peter and John here, or the same boldness we read about in the Apostle Paul later in the book of Acts, all found their boldness in the same Spirit that indwells us, if we are followers of Jesus.
The PRACTICE of Boldness.
What does it look like for us to have boldness.
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30 while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” Acts 4:29-30
Practicing boldness simply means speaking about Jesus. It doesn’t mean to be aggressive about Jesus. NOT SOAPBOX PREACHERS. We want winsome, wise, and respectful of others, which throughout the book of Acts that is the example set for us. It does not mean being brash or in your face about Jesus, BUT it does mean actually talking to other people about Jesus. I think this is the problem most of us have, it’s not that we are being to outspoken about Jesus, it’s speaking about Jesus at all. We might like getting to know our neighbors, and co-workers. We might enjoy going and serving throughout our city, and those are necessary first steps because we don’t want to only share the Gospel in word but in need. But we are also supposed to share the Gospel in word, and not only in deed.
When we are truly enthralled with what God has done for us, we don’t place much stock on earthly circumstances, or opinions, but we are bold for Him.