Request your free, three-month trial to Tabletalk magazine. You’ll receive the print issue monthly and gain immediate digital access to decades of archives. This trial is risk-free. No credit card required.
Try Tabletalk NowAlready receive Tabletalk magazine every month?
Verify your email address to gain unlimited access.
Have you found yourself sitting across the table from an unbelieving friend, feeling nervous about how to speak about Jesus? I have. I am not sure how to begin the conversation. I fear his rejection. I fear my inability to speak helpfully. I want to be bold, but I often find myself overcome with timidity. In those moments, I seem to lose clarity in my speech. I pull my punches. I become mealymouthed. I am standing between the hearer and the gospel, and I feel unable to get myself out of the way. How do I overcome these fears and become bold in gospel proclamation?
I want to provide three answers to that question. First, I want to consider the nature of boldness in evangelism. Second, I want to look at how the Apostles became bold. Third, I want to commend a few practices to encourage each of us in bold evangelism.
What is the nature of boldness in evangelism? The evangelistic preaching of the Apostles is frequently described by Luke as “bold” (Acts 4:13, 29, 31; 9:27–28; 13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31). They proclaimed the historical facts of Christ’s work and the saving implications of His work. They were not so overcome by fear that they avoided open declaration of the gospel. They let the truth fall on the ears of their hearers without any apology, even as they were confronted with threats and persecution. As Alan J. Thompson wrote:
“Boldness” is a freedom to proclaim the truth of God’s saving purposes in the Lord Jesus along with the accompanying warnings and promises even in contexts of opposition, threats of personal harm, persecution or derision. It is the willingness “to be clear in the face of fear.”
How did the Apostles become bold? Before His ascension, Jesus commanded the Apostles to stay in Jerusalem, withholding their evangelistic ministry, until He sent the Holy Spirit upon them (Luke 24:49). The Holy Spirit was then poured out at Pentecost, and the ministry of the Apostles began (Acts 2). Their boldness in gospel proclamation was Spirit-empowered. One of the most instructive scenes in the book of Acts follows the arrest of Peter and John for their proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus (4:1–3). Just after Peter and John reported these events, the church prayed for the Lord to grant to His servants the ability to speak the word with all boldness (v. 29). The Lord granted that request (v. 31), and the gospel-preaching ministry of the Apostles continued to flourish throughout the Roman Empire.
We know that the Apostles did not come by this boldness naturally. Consider the case of Peter. Peter was the primary preacher in the first half of the book of Acts. His preaching was always said to be attended by boldness. Yet Peter was the same man who denied knowing Christ three distinct times (Luke 22:54–62). He was even afraid to admit to a slave girl that he knew Jesus (vv. 56–57). How did Peter mature from a man who lacked the boldness to be identified with Christ to the evangelist who opened the door of the kingdom to so many people? This was a result of the work of the Spirit of Christ in him (Acts 1:8).
Peter was a believer in Jesus who became timid during our Lord’s trials. Yet the Lord intervened in his life and emboldened him, as He had promised He would (Luke 22:31–32). We see that play out when Jesus restored Peter shortly after the resurrection (John 21:15–19). Three distinct times, Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love me?”
Why did Jesus ask Peter about his love for Him in response to Peter’s cowardice? Would it not seem more appropriate for Jesus to ask: “Are you ready to steel your spine? Are you ready to man up? Will you now gin up some bravado?”
Jesus’ questions demonstrate Peter’s real problem. For a moment, Peter loved the world, and the things of the world, more than he loved Christ. This was why he became a coward. This was why he was overwhelmed by fear. This was why he lacked boldness that fateful night. This would have been Peter’s continual state if not for the Lord’s intervention. Christ prayed for Peter. The Father heard. The Spirit was sent. Peter’s heart experienced a deep and abiding knowledge of the love of God for him (Rom. 5:5), and now he was compelled by the love of Christ (2 Cor. 5:14). His love for Christ was ignited and renewed by the love of God in Christ for him (1 John 4:10).
By way of application, what are some practices that encourage us in this same boldness in evangelism? Given that the Spirit’s making known God’s love for us is the prerequisite for boldness in evangelism, we must employ the means that the Spirit has given us to grow in the faith that works through love (Gal. 5:6). First, we must attend to the ordinary means of grace (Word, sacraments, prayer). Our understanding of the love of God for us and our corresponding love for Him will grow as we continually exercise these Spirit-ordained means. Second, we must gather with the saints regularly to stir one another up to love and good works (Heb. 10:24). It is only as the whole body works together that we are built up in love (Eph. 4:15–16). Third, we should regularly ask the Lord for opportunities to speak about Christ to unbelievers and for boldness to seize these opportunities when given (Col. 4:3–4). As we grow in our love for Christ by the means that the Spirit has given, our boldness in evangelism will follow.