Have you heard of courage ? If you're here, you probably have, but you're not entirely sure what it means. Don't worry, in this post we'll tell you what courage is and what it means.
the boldness
Those who dedicate themselves to preaching the gospel, or the word of God, must have authority and conviction. These are linked one to the other, without a doubt, because it is impossible to preach with authority when there is no conviction in what is said, conviction is about the security with which we speak about a subject, it is the security that everything what is said and defended is totally true.
That is why, if we are certain that the Bible has in it the Word, the message of God and at the same time we are certain that what is going to be preached is what it says in the Bible, without a doubt, we will be able to preach with total conviction.
We will have the conviction if we have faith in what we say, that is to say, that the conviction that we have will depend on whether we believe in everything that is said in the Bible, and if what we preach is really what the Bible says. If we are not sure of these two aspects, well, we are not ready to be able to preach with conviction, because, if we are not sure or convinced of something, how are we going to be able to convince others of that?
That is why absolutely no one should preach or speak about something they do not fully understand. If you are not sure you understand what the text of the Holy Scriptures says, it is best not to preach about it; seek and preach about something you do understand, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:13:
“I believed, therefore I spoke”
But, there is something more besides the conviction and authority that is needed to be able to preach, and it is nothing more and nothing less than Boldness. This is precisely a distinctive element within the preaching of the apostles, they boldly preached the message of God. Word of Greek origin, which can be literally translated as daring, bravery, confidence, without fear.
What is boldness? Meaning
We can generally define boldness as fearlessness, courage, or the effort that someone makes to carry out something. This is associated with agility, dedication and daring. If we define it from an ethical point of view, it would be the ability to live with dignity and transparency, following a series of norms and values. From the religious point of view, it is about the will to study and preach the Bible, with wisdom and without fear.
When we speak of this term we refer to the energy that gives us full confidence in God and the possibility of speaking about him freely and with total security, regardless of the contrary situations to which we may submit.
As we mentioned before, the word boldly derives from the Greek word parrhesía, which refers to the idea of expressing oneself freely, publicly without holding anything back. As you can see, it is a term that combines the ability to speak and the courage, confidence and intrepidity to do so.
We can also attribute its meaning to the Latin word nodus, and translate it as no knots, no gags, no strings attached, bold, free, brave. Boldness is usually something that we rarely exercise, that we very rarely have.
The term we are talking about, in the evangelistic field, we can define exactly as the courage to give testimonies about the Lord, regardless of the conditions or situations, the place or even the kind of people who are in the place listening.
This can be sustained in the conviction of the values that we have present in our lives and in the relationship that they have with our actions. And let us tell you, acting is the key. Well, there can be no boldness in thought, it is boldness, it is an action that can be seen, observed.
In the New Testament, the term is used to refer to something that is said with total honesty and clarity, such as when Jesus revealed to all his disciples that he would die at the hands of the religious leaders of the nation at that time.
It is also used to highlight the courage of the disciples in preaching the word. This is frequently seen in apostolic preaching, because a preacher without boldness will not be able to say: “I am innocent of the blood of all; for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God,” just as the apostle Paul did.
Although it is true that there are many truths in the Bible that people do not want to hear, just as there are people who do not show any liking for these, for the gospel in general. But everyone who is already a faithful believer in God will not be afraid to speak the truth in front of whoever he is.
Is there boldness in us?
Perhaps defining the term is not something simple, but knowing when we have it is not so difficult, because it produces conviction, fruits for our Lord. But how exactly do we know if it exists in us? Well, if you feel that there was a growth in your spirit, that you had a good spiritual harvest, there was, now if there was no harvest, then there was not.
When there is courage, things often happen that we really do not expect, everything becomes a surprise, everything related to evangelistic activity. And this becomes something that each day that passes will be longed for more and more, so that there will come a time when you will not want to leave the courage, that courage to say the truths of God's message.
Recognizing a good Christian is possible if we analyze their behavior; generally, they are kind, loving, good, gentle, serene, and humble. Each of these is a Fruit of the Holy Spirit . If you want to know more about them, follow the link above.
How to obtain it?
Since there are many preachers who do not have boldness because they are afraid of men, but fortunately getting the boldness is not something that is that difficult either, since you simply have to do the following:
- Ask the Lord before going out to preach, because it comes from him.
- Remember that this is a fundamental element to achieve spiritual growth.
- To have no ties, no gag, no fear to serve God and fulfill his mandates.
And with this point we have reached the end of this article, which we hope has been of great help to you, we hope you have found the information you were looking for.
Here we leave a video about speaking with boldness complementary to the information captured here: