Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / Be Bold for Christ | Acts 28:30-31 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh // A Message in Light of the Assassination of Charlie Kirk

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Be Bold for Christ | Acts 28:30-31 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh // A Message in Light of the Assassination of Charlie Kirk · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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In light of recent events, we will not be going through the
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Book of Revelation today. Instead, I have one ambition,
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one simple desire for you and for myself is that we would
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leave here with greater courage, with stronger boldness, with
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more clarity, and with a sense of supernatural strength.
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We discussed much on Wednesday night, even more on Friday.
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But I want to immediately open up God's Word and see what God
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has to say to us in these trying times for our nation and even
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for the church. And so I invite you to turn with
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me to the Book of Acts in chapter 28.
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Students of the scriptures have noted in the past of a strange
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ending of the Book of Acts. At first glance, it doesn't seem
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to have a proper conclusion, doesn't end with a doxology.
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There is no benediction. There doesn't seem to be any
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final instructions of any kind. It seems to just abruptly end
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with a brief comment on Paul's imprisonment in Rome while he
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was under house arrest. But this unusual closing was not
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due to Luke running out of parchment or this being the
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result of the best that he can do under restrictive
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circumstances. Like every other author of the
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New Testament of the whole Bible, Luke was under the
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inspiration of the Holy Spirit. And what we find here is
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intentional. And the reason why Acts seems to
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be concluding in an incomplete way is because, in a sense, the
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story of Acts continues to this day.
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You see, if the book of Acts were primarily about Peter or
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Paul, then what we find here in these final verses would be
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perplexing. But if we understand the book of
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Acts for what it really is, recording the success of the
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spread of the gospel, then this ending is beautifully fitting.
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What you have here in Acts 28 is the apostle to the Gentiles
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arriving in Rome, which at the time was the center of
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government and trade. And when Paul arrives to the
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strategic city, we read here that the author wants to
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conclude the narrative there. Nothing else is told about Paul.
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What happens after this? We're going to read it in a
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moment here. But again, it seems abrupt.
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But it's meant to leave you and I as the readers of this account
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with a sense of anticipation that this mighty evangelist and
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apostle who has now finally arrived at this place will
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surely be the cause of the expansion of the gospel across
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the globe. And we know in church history
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that it has in many ways. But more than that, it also
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shows us here that the spread of the good news is ongoing.
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That it doesn't stop the advancement extends beyond the
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story and the discerning. I will even see that this is
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also, in a sense, an invitation to every age and every believer
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in those different periods of history to be a part of this
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story, to actually play a part in bringing the gospel to new
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places and to more people. Let me put it this way.
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There is no Amen at the end of Acts because in a sense the
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story goes on and we are part of it because we are the same
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church that started here. We are part of the same story
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that God began writing 2000 years ago.
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And it's in these last verses, I believe, that we are given a
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very helpful insight to show us how we as Christians could be
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effective and continuing with the apostles laid down.
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Let's read together in verse 30 of chapter 28 of Acts.
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He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed
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all who came to him. Being Paul proclaiming the
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Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with
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all boldness and without hindrance, I find it both
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inspiring and insightful that one of the final words in the
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book that speaks about the flourishing spread of the gospel
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is boldness. Boldness.
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Other translations might read openness or confidence, but I
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want to. I want to use what the ESV
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renders. What does boldness mean
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according to the Bible? Well, the original word simply
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means freedom and speaking unreservedness in speech.
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But when you see boldness in action in the Bible, you get a
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sense that it's deeper than that.
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You realize that is the act of speaking the truth with
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confidence, conviction, and courage, even in the face of
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opposition. True boldness, by the way, never
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justifies pushiness, insensitivity, aggression.
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It never makes an excuse for recklessness.
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Snarkiness, obnoxiousness should never be confused with rage or
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profanity or being brash. There are some people who think
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they're a bold when in reality they are just loud, rude, and
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unwise. On the other hand, boldness,
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according to the Bible, refers to speaking the truth and living
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truthfully regardless of the risks because one is driven by
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love for Christ and a commitment to his revealed will.
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Paul had that boldness. And what we learn here at the
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ending of the book of Acts is that in order for there to be
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any hint of success for the spread of the gospel, you and I
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must understand that boldness is a non negotiable quality.
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It is an essential ingredient to the Christian and to the
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ministry of the church. And that's why I want to speak
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to you about it today. I want to speak to you about
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being bold for Christ and my genuine prayer.
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Because this message, I'll tell you out front, is going to be
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simple and most likely short. But so be it.
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Because my prayer behind this is that cowardly Christianity would
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die. Would die in any of us who are
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honest enough to say that there is a level of you being held
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back to be bold with your faith, faithful with the truth,
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unashamed when an opportunity is presented to you to speak out
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about Christ or to present the hope of who He is.
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My desire is that there would be a new level fearlessness with
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our testimonies. My true desire is that with all
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the uncertainty in the air, with all the fear that you and I
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would be willing to walk in biblical boldness no matter who
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stands before us or what the outcome of our witness may be.
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That's my sincere hope, and I pray that this message will be
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of some help. And together we will prayerfully
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pursue this by staying in the book of Acts.
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To learn more about what true boldness entails, look back
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again at verse 31. See that word boldness there?
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In Acts 2831, it appears a total of five times.
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Throughout the book of Acts, the noun boldness appears a total of
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five times in the book of Acts. And what I find interesting is
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that three out of those five times it is concentrated in a
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single chapter. There's one chapter where the
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word boldness appears three times, and I believe that is
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especially helpful for us because it brings us into focus
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to seeing early in this book the beauty, the availability, and
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the necessity of boldness for the church.
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And I want us to go to that chapter together in Acts chapter
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4. So let's turn that to a very
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well known passage as we discover and rediscover perhaps
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what happened to Peter and John once they were arrested after
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demonstrating the healing name of Jesus and preaching the
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gospel, resulting in thousands being saved.
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You know this very well. Peter and John were used by God
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to see a man who was crippled by the temple, to be restored to
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full health and to be an object lesson of the powerful name of
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the resurrected Christ, and so many were moved by it.
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Instead, we find that there were others who were disturbed by it.
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And so you have these religious leader that arrests them, they
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stay overnight in the local jail and the next day they
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interrogate them, wanting to know how it was that they were
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able to perform this miracle. And so this duo give a brief yet
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powerful explanation. And this is what we read after
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their initial witness, verse 13. Now when they saw the boldness
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of Peter and John and perceive that they were uneducated common
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men, they were astonished and they recognized that they had
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been with Jesus. The first thing that's vital to
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comprehend about biblical boldness, please hear this, is
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that boldness is not a personality trait.
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You might think that would be the case if this verse read
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differently, if the religious leaders saw the boldness of John
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and we're astonished by it in comparison to the rest of the
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apostles. You can argue that John had the
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most courage for the simple reason that when others were
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hiding while Christ was dying on the cross, he was the only one
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who stood by him. That was dangerous.
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That was risky. So if John was the only one in
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view here, then you can say, well, you know, that's his
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personality, that's his disposition, that's his genetic
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makeup. That's just something that he
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was born with that made him less afraid of dangerous situations.
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But you can't say that you know why?
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Because the boldness here is also attributed to Peter of all
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people. The one who denied Jesus three
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times, the one who cowered away, the one who shrunk from an
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opportunity to stand for the Lord and to live up to his
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boast. The very same Peter here, who is
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fearful to speak out for Christ, is now crowned with boldness,
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and that should excite any of us who have a tendency of being
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hesitant to speak up, of standing by the truth, of
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defending righteousness. If Peter could be bold, so can
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we. But moreover, notice that the
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opposition acknowledged their bravery, yes, but before that
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they also recognized that they were uneducated and common men.
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What a thought. What a thought.
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That boldness is not reserved for the formerly trained.
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It's not a reward for the scholarly.
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It's not something that one taps into because they are physically
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intimidating so they have the ability to muster up boldness.
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Or maybe because they are outwardly beautiful and so
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people are more willing to listen to what they have to say.
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No, these religious leaders stood in awe as they sensed a
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current of courage flowing out of these ordinary, common
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looking Jews. They were stunned, which gives
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us even more reason to rejoice today.
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Because Christ, like Spirit, empowered otherworldly.
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Boldness does not discriminate. This reality can be yours and
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mine. For the same reason it was a
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reality for these apostles. What does the verse say?
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That they recognize that they had been with Jesus.
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There was something about the influence of Christ in the lives
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of these two that radiated from them in this intimidating
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situation. And here's what's so wonderful.
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Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the living God, He does not
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discriminate. And because he does not
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discriminate, he shows no partiality to granting this gift
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of boldness to anybody who desires it.
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So no matter who you are, how you look, how much you know,
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this boldness can be yours. Doesn't matter what your
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vocabulary level is, it doesn't matter what your background is,
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none of that matters. This can be experienced and this
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can actually have an effect if you tap into it.
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The second thing to underline from this one verse is how
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boldness is impactful. There's something attractive
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about boldness, and that's true in several ways.
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It's contagious among believers, and even here we realize that it
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can grip and confound sinners. Notice again in the middle of
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verse 13. It says here that they were
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astonished. They were astonished at the
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boldness of these men. It was unexpected.
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It was a surprise. And what I take from this is
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that even the world takes notice when a Christian is unashamed,
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unmoved, not afraid, composed when they're standing for the
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faith. And boldness does not
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automatically guarantee conversions, but it does contain
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the power to make an impression that sparks curiosity and even
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conviction. In the case of Paul with the
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Thessalonians, the boldness he had played a major part in their
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salvation. I want us to turn there for a
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moment. Go to 1st Thessalonians chapter
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2. Look here with me in verse one
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as he recounts his ministry among this group of believers
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who are at one point not believers, and notice what he
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says about the success of his efforts there.
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First Thessalonians chapter 2, beginning in verse one for you
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yourselves, no brothers that are coming to you was not in vain.
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Why wasn't in vain? Paul?
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Well, he explains in verse 2. But though we had already
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suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you
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know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of
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God in the midst of much conflict.
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Don't you love that little phrase boldness in our God?
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You're not going to find it in yourself.
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I'm not going to find it in myself, not in your gift, not in
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your charisma. If you want biblical boldness,
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it only comes from God. We had boldness in our God.
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And notice here that he attributes to the success of his
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trip to Thessalonica to a God empowered courage that he and
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his team demonstrated while they were there.
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Why was our visit not in vain? In great part because we had
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boldness in our God to preach to you the gospel even though we
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were surrounded by hostility and danger and threats.
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A Christianity void of boldness is vanity, is vain, doesn't
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amount to anything. It robs you.
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It limits your impact on the loss by convincing you that
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sharing your faith should only happen when it's convenient, not
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when there's conflict. Open your mouth when there's an
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openness in the culture, not when there's opposition.
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Please never forget that cowardice will always cost us
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way more than whatever boldness may require cowardice.
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We'll always be more expensive in our efforts for the Gospel
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that whatever boldness may require of us.
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And while we're here, why don't we just look at a couple of ways
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we can prepare our hearts for this Apostolic energy to come
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alive in US? I want to know.
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I'm sure you do as well. Look here at verse 3 of the same
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chapter. For our appeal does not spring
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from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive.
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But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted
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with the gospel, so we speak not to please man, but to please God
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who tests our hearts. People pleasing and boldness can
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never coexist. Incompatible, Paul says, do you
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know why we came to you with the boldness in our God?
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Do you know why it was so effective?
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Because we first determined long ago before we even arrived here
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that we will not speak for men. We will not speak with man's
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opinion in mind. We will not share with the fear
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of what they have to say about us.
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You see the secret to Paul tapping into this boldness and
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how we going to be a success for you in your family, in your
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workplace, at your school, among your peers.
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You must train yourself by the grace of God and by the truths
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of the Scripture to ask questions like what does God
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want from me? What would make him happy out of
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this? What would bring most honor to
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his name? What is it that he longs from
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me? Not well, not what others have
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to say. And the more you are consumed
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with them, the more you are preoccupied by that, the less
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room there is for people to influence you and to determine
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how faithful you are to the truth.
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And the wonderful thing about Paul's God word ambition is that
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it brought the greatest blessing to people.
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When Christians are not bold, they do nobody a favor.
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You don't inspire Christians and you make no impact on the lost.
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You're just floating around. You're just on a lazy river
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called ministry. Just just just wherever it goes,
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I'm just going to go. That's useless, absolutely
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useless. This man says no, no, I'll tell
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you why. We're a bold We've determined to
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please God with our words, with our message, with our
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philosophy, but it's more than that.
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Come down here to verse 5. For we never came with words of
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flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed.
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God is witness. So more than his heart being
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free from people pleasing, Paul's heart was totally
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liberated from any covetousness. This man had zero financial
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ambition. Why is that relevant to
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boldness? Because you couldn't buy Paul
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and you can't sell anything to Paul.
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He could not be influenced by anybody who could profit him.
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It didn't cross his mind. He didn't manipulate and massage
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his ministry message, his gospel presentation with other
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ambitions and motives. I hope I can befriend this
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person because they'll really contribute financially to this.
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None of that. He trusted God to take care of
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him. He really believed.
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If I'm faithful to the truth, God will take care of my
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ministry. Not to play games.
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Don't have to play Kate, don't have to dilute anything.
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Don't have to wonder who what soul is soul is.
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Are they going to be there Sunday?
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I'm just going to preach a very strong word.
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I don't want to step on their toe.
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None of that silliness with Paul.
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Completely consumed with a faith that God will take care of me.
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Money has a way of muzzling Christians and not just
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Christians. Pastors, God help us.
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If you're doing this thing for money, get out of the ministry.
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Has nothing to do with money. You really believe God, then
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preach the Word and let him take care of you.
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You see, the freer one is from the love of praise and the
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desire for material grant gain, the bolder we become.
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You can't hold on to financial, material, comfort, luxury,
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pursuing that, securing, that nourishing that.
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You can't hold on to an addiction to people's opinions
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about you and expect to be a bold Christian at the same time.
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Choose one or the other, But also I'll tell you why I was
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bold. I, I determined to speak for God
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and I determined to do so at any cost.
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This is just a couple of thoughts from Acts 413, but you
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know what question I had the other day?
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What did they see that concluded they were bold?
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What is it that came out of these two in Acts chapter 4 that
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proved that they had courage? And I want you to see it with me
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because we find it in the verses proceeding.
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Look back here in Acts 4 and look here at verse 7.
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This is the following day after they were arrested.
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And it says here. And when they had set them in
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the midst, they inquired, by what power or by what name did
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you do this? Then Peter Phil of the Holy
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Spirit said to them, Rulers of the people and elders, here's
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one major property for boldness and a boldness.
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Boldness blinds you from your audience.
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You don't see what other men would see.
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I'm talking about a good kind of blindness.
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You're not affected by who's standing before you.
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You're not influenced by the presence of some influential
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figure or powerful man. Notice here that the first thing
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that they say is they acknowledge who these men were
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rulers of the people and elders, and they're about to preach the
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raw gospel in their presence. What boldness does is strip away
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the fear of man. What boldness does is help you
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perceive man the way God does. See, these are rulers.
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These are these are big names in Jerusalem.
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And yet, because these men were filled with the Holy Spirit and
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as a result driven with boldness, as the context shows,
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they just saw them as sinners who are under the wrath of God
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and need to be saved. So the natural they were rulers,
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sure, but in the spiritual they were in desperate need of the
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truth. Boldness does that when it's
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given by the Holy Spirit. It blinds you from the faces,
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the reactions, the potential ramifications of of those who
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can do something about you because of what you stand for.
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But not only that, look here. What happens next in verse 9 he
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continues, if we were being examined today concerning a good
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deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been
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healed. Let it be known to all of you
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and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ
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of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead by
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him, this man is standing before you.
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Well, it's not only does this boldness blind you to your
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audience, but boldness caused you to speak unapologetically
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and unambiguously about sin. You see what happens here?
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He addresses them and he confronts them about their
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crime. And he doesn't speak in
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generalities. Whom you crucified.
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When a preacher, when a Christian is really filled with
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spirit empowered boldness, They don't tiptoe around
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controversial air quotes issues. They don't they call it as it is
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when when they preach, they don't just talk about the wrong
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that we have all done, how we all have just lost our way.
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Yeah, that's a biblical phrase. But you also find that the Bible
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lists sins, puts a language to these things.
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And so with a holy love but also with a holy boldness, you can
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expect somebody who is possessed with this force to actually
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addressed things in a way that is meant to address people
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personally. Is there wisdom in how we do
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this? Absolutely.
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I hope you hear this as principles and not as just a
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black and white blueprint, but so much of what we hear today
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just dances around the issues. So much of what we hear today is
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first introduced with so many apologies from the pulpit, as
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though what we're saying we don't really want to say, but we
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have to say it because we don't want to get in trouble by the
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actual Christians in the church. It's just powerless.
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It really is. Boldness calls out sin.
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Boldness can see the current issues in society and say it's
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evil. That's wrong.
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That's from hell. Finally, look at verse 11.
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This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders,
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which has become the cornerstone, and there is
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salvation and no one else, for there is no other name under
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heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
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Boldness will make you unashamed to publicly testify the mission
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and person of Christ. A lot of people have no issue
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talking about God higher power. That's not what Paul, or rather
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Peter is preaching like. He brings up the name of Jesus.
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He brings up the exclusivity of his mission, of his cross, and
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he doesn't flinch doing it. Boldness will compel you to
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speak about Christ without quivering.
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This is what they saw. They saw that they were unfazed
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by these big names who had real abilities.
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I mean, they just arrested them. You know, these two apostles,
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Stoic, I'm sure. Respectful, absolutely.
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But strong, direct, clear, unafraid, unashamed.
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More can be said about this, but we've only touched on the first
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time boldness appears in this chapter.
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Let's look at the two other times.
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Look here at the end of this chapter in verse 29 and Acts
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429. This is after the two apostles
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were released being threatened and warned never to speak and
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teach about the name of Jesus. So they go to their friends and
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they have a prayer meeting and this is what we read near the
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end of their prayer in Acts 429. And now, Lord, look upon their
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threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak
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your word with all boldness while you stretch out your hand
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to heal. And signs and wonders are
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performed through the name of your holy servant, Jesus.
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And when they had prayed, the place in which they were
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gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with
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the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with
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boldness. There were the two other times.
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And I want to use this text to end with this thought.
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How do we get it? How do we get this boldness?
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And I want to use the letter A to mention at least four ways.
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The first is to assemble with God's people.
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What's the context of this prayer?
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Again, it begins back in verse 23.
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Peter and John were released. They went to their friends and
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reported all that the chief priests and elder said to them.
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God designed Christian community.
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God designed Christian relationships to be the fuel
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station for our courage. Christ sent them out two by
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twos. Clearly there is something there
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about that companionship that made the more effective in their
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gospel witness. And He gives us more than just
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instruction how to go out to the loss.
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He shows us even here by way of example, that there is genuine
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boldness that can be experienced in community when you gather
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with God's people. Why?
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Because testimonies are there. Encouragement is there.
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Truth is championed there. Think about Paul with the
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Philippians. You know this very well.
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A lot of this is just reminders for us.
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But in Philippians 114, he says, and most of the brothers haven't
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become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more
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bold to speak the word without fear.
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They're much more bold now because of my imprisonment.
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You would think it would be the opposite.
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But again, there's something attractive about boldness, and
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all it takes is one person to have it and to pay a price for
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it, to set off a movement to take people to a new level in
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their faith, to shake off the cobwebs of their own
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complacency. If Paul was willing to go to
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prison, what are we doing here? If Paul thinks it's worth it to
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die for Christ, then let it be true of us.
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So God has given us community. For our own personal courage, we
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assemble regularly, and we need to do that more and more in
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these times. But more than that, we abide.
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We abide in God's Word. Notice that in the middle of
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their prayer back in verse 24, what they do says here in verse
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24. And when they heard it, they
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lifted their voices together to God and said, Sovereign Lord,
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who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything
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in them, who through the mouth of our Father David, your
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servant said by the Holy Spirit, why did the Gentiles rage and
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the people's plot in vain? The kings of the earth set
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themselves and the rulers were gathered together against the
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Lord and against his anointed. Here they are in need of a fresh
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dose of of courage and boldness and what do they do?
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They quote scripture, they bring to mind God's sovereignty
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revealed in His Word. They bring to mind God's
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Providence. They bring to mind His
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character, what He's done in history, how what He said in His
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Word relates to their present time.
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You want to nurture boldness, feed on the truth, familiarize
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yourself with stories. I mean, I was ready to jump when
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Pastor Ben opened up about James and John and Steven and how it
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how about how in every case their martyrdom made way for the
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word of God to spread. I was ready to say Amen and just
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go something about the truth. It has power.
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You can't rely on your emotions. Even with this recent tragedy in
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our nation, don't expect to stay stirred 2 weeks from now the way
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you're stirred now. You need to abide in God's Word.
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You need to remind yourself of eternal truth.
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Events will come and go and God uses them.
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But if you want to remain attached to this heavenly force,
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you need to stay attached to God's Word.
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Thirdly, ask, ask, and ask again.
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Boldness is not designed to be permanent.
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It's not like you get it and you have it forever.
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It is subject to vacillation. It is subject to being taken
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from you. Boldness yesterday may not be
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there tomorrow, may not be there even now.
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So these same men who earlier in acts were filled with the Holy
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Spirit spoke boldly are now and the chapter hasn't even ended
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yet. The story of of this part of the
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Scripture hasn't even concluded yet.
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And yet they find themselves yet again coming before God and
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saying, oh Lord, fill us again. Give us more of this.
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It wasn't enough that we had it when we had that meeting with
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you. We need it now as we move
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forward, and God graciously grants it.
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Pray for it in the morning when you wake up.
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Pray for it as you are stepping into that meeting.
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Pray for it before you go to that doctor's appointment.
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Pray for the wisdom to know what to say.
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Pray for whether you should say anything at all.
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Pray always, finally, act, act. There's no good and asking for
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it if you're not prepared to do something with it.
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What does it say here at the end of verse 30 of Acts 4 and
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continue to speak the Word of God with boldness.
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Is there anything in your mind or in mind that is strategic
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with the gospel? Let this be a revival in each of
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us to actually be mindful of opening our mouths in different
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settings or maybe with people who we've known for some time
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and yet they don't know that we're actually born again
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followers of Christ. Sometimes we wait for a
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sensation, maybe even what we find here in this testimony that
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the walls would shake. OK, we got boldness, now we can
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do something. And what you find regularly
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throughout Acts is that boldness accompanies the act of stepping
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out, that it almost meets you while you are ready to do
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something. And so you might sweat a bit.
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You might not know how you're going to articulate yourself.
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You might not know how this is going to flow.
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One of the beauties of this boldness is that it tends to
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surprise you as much as it might surprise someone else.
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Maybe you've been there where you you're almost beside
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yourself saying what? What was that?
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Or you leave a conversation with somebody over the stranger at
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the grocery store, whatever the case may be.
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And you think, where did that scripture come from?
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I didn't. I memorized that years ago.
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I don't remember the last time I read that chapter.
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Where did that come from? You have to be willing to act.
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You have to be willing to act. I'll end it here.
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We can't rely on events, surely, but we have to be wise and make
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the best use of time for the days are evil.
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Now's not the time to be worried about the America that your kids
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are going to grow up in. Now is not the time to be overly
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consumed by media and news to the point that you're unable to
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hear God in His Word. Now is not the time to allow
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your emotions to just make you angry and sit there.
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Now is the time to lift your head, assemble with God's
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people, abide in His Word, ask for boldness, and even ask God,
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Lord, where do you want me to act?
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This is a wonderful opportunity for the church to make an
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impact, but it can't happen without boldness.
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If you're a preacher here, an aspiring minister, I know
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education is important, theological training is good.
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But what I've discovered in my short time of ministry is that
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you can have letters beside your name and be a coward.
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PH DS Do nothing if you're not willing to preach the whole
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counsel of God. And so May God empower pastors.
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And more than that, May God do something in his people.
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So the world at this time would be astonished at the boldness of
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the church. Father, we ask, though so much
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more could be said, we take this simple truth to be bold.
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And so though we do what we just learned in Your Word, we ask
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for, we ask for, we ask for it. God, please.
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We need boldness in our God. We need boldness from the Holy
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Spirit. And Lord of these great apostles
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sought it more than once. Surely we are in need to
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perpetually pray so Lord, we don't make excuses with our
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personalities. And Lord, we even choose today,
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in a fresh way to confess that we love Your truth more than our
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own lives. Show us what to do in this hour.
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But Lord, don't leave us to ourselves.
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Give us true boldness made in fact, the church may make an
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impression on the lost, and may you be glorified and all in
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Jesus name we pray. Amen.