“When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer! Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.” (Acts 9:26–27, NLT)
Hugh Lattimer once preached before King Henry VIII. Henry was greatly displeased by the boldness in the sermon and ordered Lattimer to preach again on the following Sunday and apologize for the offence he had given. The next Sunday, after reading his text, he thus began his sermon:
“Hugh Lattimer, dost thou know before whom thou are this day to speak? To the high and mighty monarch, the king’s most excellent majesty, who can take away thy life, if thou offendest. Therefore, take heed that thou speakest not a word that may displease. But then consider well, Hugh, dost thou not know from whence thou comest—upon Whose message thou are sent? Even by the great and mighty God, Who is all-present and Who beholdeth all thy ways and Who is able to cast thy soul into hell! Therefore, take care that thou deliverest thy message faithfully.”
He then preached the same sermon he had preached the preceding Sunday—and with considerably more energy. (M. Cocoris, Evangelism, A Biblical Approach, p. 126)
Lattimer was not ashamed to preach the gospel. He did not water it down to please the king. He did not adjust his preaching to make it more palatable to the King of England. Lattimer’s allegiance was first and foremost to the King of Heaven!
What do Lattimer and the Apostle Paul have in common? They boldly preached their faith in Jesus without watering the message down or making the gospel more pleasing to human attitudes and beliefs. They wanted the world to hear the true gospel, to believe with a righteous faith. Sadly, bold faith is missing among many Christians in these times. For this reason alone, too few believers and nonbelievers alike are exposed to the real gospel or God’s truth.
A survey was given to those attending training sessions for the Billy Graham crusade in Detroit. One question asked, “What is your greatest hindrance to witnessing?”
Nine percent said they were too busy to remember to do it.
Twenty-eight percent felt the lack of real information to share.
None said they didn’t really care.
Twelve percent said their own lives were not speaking as they should.
But by far the largest group were the 51 percent whose biggest problem was the fear of how the other person would react! None of us likes to be rejected, ridiculed, or regarded as an oddball.
(Leighton Ford, Good News is for Sharing, p. 15)
When you choose to speak for Christ to anyone or when you speak up about your faith anywhere, how bold is your witness?
In the scripture for today, the Apostle Paul arrived in Jerusalem to meet some of Jesus’ first disciples. To the Christians of that era, these were some of the greatest of believers! These people had been with Jesus personally. They had witnessed Jesus’ miracles first-hand. They were present at the great moments of our faith! Paul had to be intimidated. However, the reception Paul received was less than stellar. The disciples “were all afraid of him” (Acts 9:26). They did not believe that Paul, who had previously killed Christians like Stephen, now was a Christian himself! (Acts 8:1). Barnabas, who had worked side-by-side with Paul in ministry, tried to change their minds. What convinced the disciples that Paul was a real apostle was that when Paul preached, he “preached boldly in the name of Jesus” (Acts 9:27). Speaking about your faith boldly tells about the depth of your relationship with God. It proclaims loudly that you are serious about your commitment to Jesus.
Think about the last few times you spoke to someone about your faith. Were you timid? Was the person excited about your passion for Jesus or turned off by your lackluster attitude? Did you plant a seed of faith or a seed of doubt? My prayer for you today is that you be bold in your faith. Stand up for what you believe! Be counted among the true believers. Don’t be shy about your love for Jesus. Others are watching.
“Hugh Lattimer, dost thou know before whom thou are this day to speak? To the high and mighty monarch, the king’s most excellent majesty, who can take away thy life, if thou offendest. Therefore, take heed that thou speakest not a word that may displease. But then consider well, Hugh, dost thou not know from whence thou comest—upon Whose message thou are sent? Even by the great and mighty God, Who is all-present and Who beholdeth all thy ways and Who is able to cast thy soul into hell! Therefore, take care that thou deliverest thy message faithfully.”
He then preached the same sermon he had preached the preceding Sunday—and with considerably more energy. (M. Cocoris, Evangelism, A Biblical Approach, p. 126)
Lattimer was not ashamed to preach the gospel. He did not water it down to please the king. He did not adjust his preaching to make it more palatable to the King of England. Lattimer’s allegiance was first and foremost to the King of Heaven!
What do Lattimer and the Apostle Paul have in common? They boldly preached their faith in Jesus without watering the message down or making the gospel more pleasing to human attitudes and beliefs. They wanted the world to hear the true gospel, to believe with a righteous faith. Sadly, bold faith is missing among many Christians in these times. For this reason alone, too few believers and nonbelievers alike are exposed to the real gospel or God’s truth.
A survey was given to those attending training sessions for the Billy Graham crusade in Detroit. One question asked, “What is your greatest hindrance to witnessing?”
Nine percent said they were too busy to remember to do it.
Twenty-eight percent felt the lack of real information to share.
None said they didn’t really care.
Twelve percent said their own lives were not speaking as they should.
But by far the largest group were the 51 percent whose biggest problem was the fear of how the other person would react! None of us likes to be rejected, ridiculed, or regarded as an oddball.
(Leighton Ford, Good News is for Sharing, p. 15)
When you choose to speak for Christ to anyone or when you speak up about your faith anywhere, how bold is your witness?
In the scripture for today, the Apostle Paul arrived in Jerusalem to meet some of Jesus’ first disciples. To the Christians of that era, these were some of the greatest of believers! These people had been with Jesus personally. They had witnessed Jesus’ miracles first-hand. They were present at the great moments of our faith! Paul had to be intimidated. However, the reception Paul received was less than stellar. The disciples “were all afraid of him” (Acts 9:26). They did not believe that Paul, who had previously killed Christians like Stephen, now was a Christian himself! (Acts 8:1). Barnabas, who had worked side-by-side with Paul in ministry, tried to change their minds. What convinced the disciples that Paul was a real apostle was that when Paul preached, he “preached boldly in the name of Jesus” (Acts 9:27). Speaking about your faith boldly tells about the depth of your relationship with God. It proclaims loudly that you are serious about your commitment to Jesus.
Think about the last few times you spoke to someone about your faith. Were you timid? Was the person excited about your passion for Jesus or turned off by your lackluster attitude? Did you plant a seed of faith or a seed of doubt? My prayer for you today is that you be bold in your faith. Stand up for what you believe! Be counted among the true believers. Don’t be shy about your love for Jesus. Others are watching.