Boldly Shares His Faith

Boldly Shares His Faith

A HERO’S TALE

You know the stories of Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk, right? They were both ordinary men who accidently transformed into powerful superheroes.

The hero story of the apostle Peter is a bit different. Yes, Peter radically changed into a hero, too, but unlike those Marvel Comics characters, he was a real person and his transformation was no accident. (And if you want to get nitpicky about it, Peter didn’t spin webs or turn green, either.)

In the Gospel of Matthew, the last specific reference to Peter is his three denials of Jesus. It was the worst failure of Peter’s life. He certainly didn’t seem prepared to do great things for God.

But in Acts 2, less than two months later, we see a completely different Peter. Restored by Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter preached a powerful gospel message to a huge crowd in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. As a result, about 3,000 people put their faith in Christ! Later, when the Jewish religious leaders commanded him to stop speaking about Jesus, Peter courageously refused, choosing to obey God instead. He then “preached the word of God with boldness” elsewhere (Acts 4:31).

By God’s power, Peter radically changed from a frightened denier into a bold preacher!

DECODING THE MESSAGE

Boldness is a funny thing. Some people have it naturally. Most people don’t. Which kind of person are you?

Either way, the Bible calls all Christians to boldly share their faith. The book of Acts alone mentions boldness at least eight times when it talks about the apostles sharing their faith with others. In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus refers to his followers as “the light of the world” and “a city on a hilltop.” In other words, we are to shine brightly and boldly around unbelievers as a witness that Jesus loves them.

Then of course, there’s the famous great commission in Matthew 28:19-20, where Jesus tells us, “Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.”

The message is clear: God wants us to boldly share our faith with others. Do you lack boldness? That’s okay! It’s not always easy for us to do this. Ask God for strength, and he will give you heavenly power. He did it for Peter, and he’ll do it for you!

BATTLE PLAN

Do you know someone who isn’t a Christian? Pray to God for boldness, then speak to that person about Jesus.