faith, hope, love

For those of you who don't know the meaning of lackadaisical, it is an adjective describing something as spiritless, passionless, unenthusiastic, lukewarm, halfhearted, careless or unconcerned. If you're a Christian, you certainly wouldn't want to be described in those terms, would you?

This week I have been listening to a series of messages by James MacDonald (fantastic speaker by the way) entitled Boldness For Christ. He began by reciting the familiar phrase most of you have heard, no doubt, and probably from your mother.

"It's not just what you do, it's how you do it."

Now, it's not just your parents who agree with this statement; God does too, in a pretty big way. James spoke out of Acts 4; Peter and John before the Sanhedrin (the highest court of justice and the supreme council in ancient Jerusalem). Acts 4:1-4, "The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Saducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John and put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand." The next day Peter and John were brought before the high priest and others of his family. He asked them, "By what power or what name did you do this?" Peter said, "Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple (earlier in this book Peter heals a crippled beggar) and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He [Jesus] is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." This seems like a pretty gutsy move, doesn't it? However, Proverbs 28:1b says that "the righteous are as bold as a lion". To many of us, this is a frightening thought. Continuing in Acts 4, verse 18: Then they (officials of the Sanhedrin) called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. Peter and John replied by saying, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.
Allow me to reiterate the four points from James' message (explanations colour coordinated within the text above):

1. Bold witness for Jesus Christ will be blessed by God.
2. Bold witness for Jesus Christ must be authentic.
3. Bold witness for Jesus Christ will be tested.
4. Bold witness for Jesus Christ must continue.

--Bold does not mean pushy, arrogant or obnoxious; it is simply direct communication rooted in a lack of fear and conviction, out of love--

The Lord will enable his people to speak boldly in his name. We mustn't be afraid to do this; we don't need to come up with any sophisticated or clever explanation of the gospel (after all, Peter and John were unschooled ordinary men (Acts 4:13)). Speak boldly in God's truth, and trust him with it. It's not just what we're doing, it's how we're doing it.