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Courage to Speak the Word of God
By Jay Wegter
“I shall wash my hands in innocence, and I will go about Your altar, O LORD, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving and declare all Your wonders” (Ps 26:6-7).
“I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the LORD; the humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together” (Ps 34:1-3).
But as for me, I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more. My mouth shall tell
of Your righteousness and of Your salvation all day long; For I do not know the sum of them. I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD; I will make mention
of Your righteousness, Yours alone. O God, You have taught me from my youth, and I still declare Your wondrous deeds. And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come” (Ps 71:14-18).
But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works” (Ps 73:28).
INTRODUCTION: It’s Impossible to be a genuine believer and at the same time have a casual relationship to God’s truth (Joshua 1:8). (EX. Like weapon grade plutonium in your garage as a “hobby.”) Now the divine mandate, (for men especially), to speak God’s truth to one another is undeniably clear. In passages such as Deuteronomy 6 and Psalm 78, it was evident that the role of the believer is that of a perpetual “truth speaker.” Sadly in countless Christian homes, this God-given mandate of speaking God’s truth is ignored and relegated to the job of the pastor (church leaders).
(In Christ, godly manhood is restored so that by means of the truth we function as a teacher, an intercessor, and a protector. This three-fold role for the man can only be fulfilled if he majors in God’s truth. For the godly man teaches, intercedes, and protects by means of divine truth.)
When the truth, backed up by a godly life, is ministered to others; it heals, feeds, corrects, equips, preserves, builds up, and establishes the listener (Col 2:6-7ff.). The obedient believer understands that the spiritual state of those in his or her sphere depends upon his willingness to speak God’s truth. We must come to the point where we can tell ourselves, “I am not loving these people around me properly unless I am willing to speak God’s truth to them!”
When we examine the example of the O.T. Prophets and the example of Jesus and the Apostles, it is obvious that their truth speaking was pointed—it was not general, but filled with penetrating application for their listeners. It is at this juncture that our courage is most likely to give out, and we yield to the pressure exerted by our comfort zone. We fear being the “heavy,” a meddler, or regarded as judgmental, or “holier than thou.”
What enabled believers like Elihu, Elijah, Daniel, Deborah, and Phinehas to fearlessly speak the truth when they were a minority of one? The answer lies in their zeal for God’s honor and glory. They knew that all of history is but a record of the honoring and dishonoring of God, and that only those who honor God will ultimately stand (1 Sam 2:30).
The Christian who is willing to risk misunderstanding and rejection for the sake of the truth also knows that the proclamation of God’s truth always involves a crossroads, or turning point. God commands repentance from those who hear His truth. There must be ongoing repentance through which our affections and will are repeatedly conformed to God’s truth. The progress and spiritual well-being of ourselves and our listeners are bound up in ongoing repentance. The better we understand this, the more willing we will be to speak God’s truth without fear.
The More Reverence we have for God Entrusting us with His Word, the Greater our Courage will be to Speak it (Jer 23:28-29). God has made us His ambassadors. The Apostle Paul saw his role as a proclaimer of the Word of God to be a sacred trust that carried massive accountability. What is striking about Paul’s testimony in Acts 20 is that his faithfulness was joined to the fact that he was never mute when God required him to speak the Word. “Therefore I testify to you this day, that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God” (Acts 20:26-27).
Man’s need is beyond human agency. As redeemed men and women, we carry in our hearts and hands the divine solution to man’s ruinous problem. We are armed with the living and abiding Word of God (Heb 4:12). Paul solemnly charged Timothy, “Preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Tim 4:1-2).
Timothy was to see his task of proclaiming the Word as nothing less than the very means of ensuring the salvation of his listeners (1 Tim 4:16). Paul repeatedly warned Timothy against the error of allowing timidity and neglect to interfere with his sacred charge of teaching, preaching, and exhorting.
APPLICATION: We have been entrusted by God with His almighty, living, sword of truth. The sword of truth must not be allowed to remain unused like a stainless steel blade stuck in a rusty scabbard. Those in our sphere; family, neighbors, co-workers, friends, are in need of hearing the Word of truth from us. As with Timothy’s congregation, God has strategically placed us in a position to speak the truth to those around us. The means God intends to use in their salvation and sanctification is tied to our faithfulness in speaking the Word with courage.
When considering how God had entrusted him with the Gospel, Paul saw himself as a debtor to both Jews and Greeks (Rom 1:14). This same principle of obligation applies to us. The Lord has called us to skillfully and courageously use the “sword” issued to us in order to encourage, build up, reprove, exhort, instruct, equip and admonish. It will take courage to swing the sword in each of these arcs and orbs of application, but God expects nothing less from us as His disciples.
I. Courage to speak the Word comes from knowing God’s purpose to transform us by His Word (the ‘transformation mandate’).
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (Jn 17:17).
In addition to the personal contact with Scripture (in study, memorization and meditation); there is also a corporate element. God has set forth a clear plan in Scripture that fellowship be spiritual fellowship. This involves edifying one another so as to build with Christ, and not merely social fellowship. The strength of any individual local church depends upon whether or not its members are committed to Christ’s mandate to grow fully formed disciples through spiritual fellowship (Mt 28:18-20).
Obedience to Christ’s discipleship mandate is only possible if we prayerfully speak the Word of God to one another and train one another. “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Col 3:16-17). “And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another” (Rom 15:14). (NOTE: how this mutual admonishment ability is tied to the health of a local church.)
The chief pathway of Scripture shared/communicated verbally is to be from believer to believer. “Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God” (Col 2:18-19).
This ‘pathway’ (of the Word from believer to believer) is the biblical pattern for spiritual maturity: “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (Eph 4:14-16).
Our fellowship is designed to build with Christ that we might move each member to maturity. “We
proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man
with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me” (Col 1:28-29). Sanctification and progress toward spiritual maturity is a ‘group effort’. By forming partnerships for discipleship; the saints are trained/empowered to wield the Sword of Truth and spiritually influence others with the truths of Scripture. Men must take the lead in this; believing men are called by God to devote themselves to Bible doctrine so that they might grow to be examples in exercising spiritual leadership (Titus 1:9; 2:1, 6-8, 10).
“Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory” (1 Pet 5:1-4).
II. Courage to speak God’s truth comes from loving God’s truth in the inner man.
In order to excel at speaking the truth, the believer must be accomplished at using the Word, the Sword of Truth on himself (1 Tim 4:15-16).
Believers who can wield the Sword of Truth are animated by God’s truth—they desire what God desires—that is God’s truth in their innermost being (Ps 51:6). The godly person rejects the notion that truth for the believer need not rise above mental assent/agreement and admiration. God’s truth has no power over a person unless the truth is loved and obeyed (The Religious Affections, Jonathan Edwards).
Where God’s truth is loved, it will be central in our conversations (Zech 8:16; Mal 3:16; Deut 6:4-9; 11:18-19). Only when God’s truth is loved can it dominate exceptionally in our lives so as to renew us and transform us (Rom 12:1-2). The man or woman of God ultimately can only preach/proclaim with conviction what he or she has first preached to his own heart. He can only call for repentance only where the truth has produced repentance in his own life.
Loving God’s truth in the inner man equips us to speak His truth (Ps 145). “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Your majesty and on Your wonderful works, I will meditate. Men shall speak of the power of Your awesome acts, and I will tell of Your greatness. They shall eagerly utter the memory of Your abundant goodness and will shout joyfully of Your righteousness. The LORD is gracious and merciful;
slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The LORD is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, and Your godly ones shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power; to make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom” (Ps 145:4-12).
“Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name. ‘They will be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.’ So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him” (Mal 3:16-18).
What must be uttered from the mountain tops must begin in the heart. We could refer to this as the principle of the enlarged sphere. There is a logical progression in the enlargement of a Christian’s sphere of spiritual influence. Each step of progression is stipulated on faithfulness in the previous step:
- First: you speak the truth in your own heart. You love the truth in the inner man. You apply the truth to yourself in ongoing repentance. 2.) You speak truth in your home and in your relationships. 3.) The speak truth in the Body of Christ in your conversations. You live of a lifestyle of edifying the body of Christ. You are able to admonish your fellow believers (Rom 15:14). 4.) You speak the truth of the gospel with boldness to a lost and dying generation.
Power in evangelism must be built upon the principle of the enlarged sphere. For each step not only prepares a believer for the next step, but reveals your own relationship to the truth.
III. Courage to speak the Word of God comes from reliance upon Christ and abiding in Him (Jn 15:4-5).
The more our hope and expectations are centered and consolidated in Christ, the more Christ’s cause will become our cause. And the more we will be delivered from the fear of man (and worship of the creature). The love and approval offered by the people around us can be incredibly fickle. Christ alone loves us with immutable/unchanging love. Fellow sinners do not carry our worth, security, and dignity. When we mistakenly assume they do, our courage dries up. Christ alone is our “Source Person.” He alone deserves to be regarded as the unfailing channel of every resource we need. By union with Him, we have a status before God of favor, righteousness, security, and sonship (1 Cor 1:30). (EX. See the current trend of social networks.)
To abide in Christ is to be controlled by the MASSIVE GUILT TRANSFER accomplished by our Lord at the cross. The clear conscience of the person who abides in Christ will show itself in courage (Acts 24:15-16). We cannot make a penetrating application of God’s Word to those around us unless we ourselves welcome examination by God’s Word. Courage in speaking the Word is dependent upon a clear conscience before God and men (Acts 24:15-16).
Even one sin or lust “banging around” in the conscience is enough to dull the edge of our courage. Timothy’s success in proclaiming the Word with courage depended upon his maintaining a clear conscience. “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim 1:5). “This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith” (1 Tim 1:18-19). “. . . but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience” (1 Tim 3:9).
God’s answer to our fear and weakness is found in the mandate to abide in Christ. “But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). In order for us to exercise courage, the blood of the Son of God must be the loudest voice in our conscience. In order for God’s justice at the cross to be believed and reckoned so as to silence the Accuser, we must habitually be mortifying sin by the power of the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:12-14).
APPLICATION: The same man who turned coward when questioned by a servant girl preached the Pentecost sermon less than two months later. The Apostle Peter’s radical move from fear to courage, according to the book of Acts, was the result of two factors. First, he had been with Jesus. “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John, and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were marveling, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). Second, Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit. “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers and elders of the people. . .’” (Acts 4:8).
APPLICATION: Paul asserts that Christ is the believer’s life (Gal 2:20; Col 3:4). To the degree that we cast our entire lot in with Christ so that He is regarded as the entire support of the soul we will have courage. If our persons are propped up upon corruptible, mutable supports, we will lack courage. When our wellbeing is leveraged upon the creature, we shy away from taking the risk of boldly declaring the truth of God’s Word. Courage is the result of habitual dependency upon the Lord. The less dependent I am upon the creature, the more courage I will have to speak the truth to my fellow man.
IV. Courage to speak the Word of God comes from our ambition to please Christ first (2 Cor 5:9).
The ambition to please our Lord is filled with the eschatological hope of favorably greeting Him at His imminent return (1 Jn 2:28). Courage is a byproduct of living to please Christ. When Christ’s approval towers over all other sources of approval, courage becomes second nature. Those who live to please Christ have the judgment seat of Christ etched on their consciousness (2 Cor 5:9, 10). In essence, living to please Christ is a measure of our fear of God.
Those who live for Christ’s approval are continually weighing the glory to come against temporal losses (2 Cor 4:17-18). As a consequence, their value system is constantly adjusted to heaven’s standard.
This fact alone enables us to see how impotent our fellow creatures are when they attempt to rightly appraise us (1 Cor 4:3-4). This involves communing with the Lord in prayer as a source of boldness (Eph 6:18-20). Spurgeon hit the bull’s eye when he said, “Compared to what my heavenly Father thinks of me, the opinions of men are like so many chirping sparrows.”
APPLICATION: The one we strive most to please will necessarily be our primary evaluator. In other words, the one we seek to please will always wind up evaluating our efforts at pleasing them. In effect, we are somewhat suspended upon their approval or disapproval of us. (Christ carries our value, not men).
Paul argues that our pleasing of men must spring from the goal not of seeking our own profit, but from the motive of seeking the other person’s eternal welfare to the glory of God (1 Cor 10:32-33). This perspective places all of our relationships under the eye of Christ’s scrutiny. The point is we are most free and obedient when our actions are “as for the Lord rather than for men” (Col 3:22-24).
The godly person will not have conflict-avoidance (or ‘awkward avoidance’) as his controlling motive (2 Tim 3:12). “Jesus promised those who would follow Him only three things. . .that they would be absurdly happy, entirely fearless, and always in trouble” (Gregg Levoy). (NOTE: my sermon: “9 ways/reasons Christ was not cool.”
How can a Christian develop enough courage and boldness to stand upon, and speak his or her convictions without fear of consequences? An important part of the answer to this question deals with an inescapable reality taught in Scripture—the godly man will be misunderstood. It is par for the course. It follows therefore that progress in our journey toward godly courage is bound up in accepting the reality that we will face misunderstanding and rejection because of the truth.
The Scriptures make it clear that all those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim 3:12). Jesus prepared His followers for persecution by imbuing them with the fact that they should expect the same mistreatment that He experienced (Jn 15:18-16:4). (Though we live in a land that protects the rights of believers, obedient Christians who stand in the truth will frequently experience rejection, ostracism, and discrimination. Our perspective amidst mistreatment must embrace the following truth. It is an inestimable privilege to have the antipathy meant for Christ fall upon us— John 7:7; Acts 5:41; Col 1:24).
“The fear of man brings a snare” (Prov 29:25). The fear of God and the fear of man have always been, not only incompatible, but inversely proportional to one another. The greater fear of God a man has, the less he will fear men. When by God’s grace a man answers the call of true discipleship, his fear of man will be overtaken and ultimately consumed by the fear of God.
During His earthly ministry, Jesus faced “wanna be” followers who remained in bondage to the fear of man. John 12:42-43 provides an authoritative record of these double minded individuals. “Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.”
Some might be quick to excuse the desire for human approval as simply a natural tendency that is not a serious sin. Jesus places this illicit craving under the spotlight in John 5:44. In this passage He warns that the fear of man is so serious, it can keep a person from living to the glory of God. “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another, and do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?” Again, lest we excuse this sin, let us remember that Jesus reserved one of His “Woes” for the sin of man-pleasing. “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for in the same way their fathers used to treat the false prophets” (Luke 6:26). Jesus puts this issue into sharp relief—if we live for the praise and approval of men, we are not living for the glory of God.
APPLICATION: In order to speak the Word to one another, we must repent of our “addiction” to the approval of men. We must admit to God that we have placed the praise of men above the approval of our Heavenly Father. We need to confess that our narcissistic desire to be liked by all has often stolen our courage to speak the truth in love.
V. Courage to speak the Word of God comes from our initial acts of obedience.
First we must know that the cross produces this zeal for good works in every true believer (Titus 2:14). In the parable of the soils, genuine faith is tied to the Word of God which dominates exceptionally so that it brings fruit to harvest (Mt 13:23). You do need to examine yourself (2 Cor 13:5). If you are apathetic about serving God, if you are unconcerned about fruit-bearing, and if you are listless about abiding in Christ, then that does not bode well that you have the right kind of faith (Jn 15:6; 1 Jn 2:28).
Your willingness and determination to obey the Lord and be a truth speaker may be expressed in three stages of growth or development. There is a world of difference between agreeing with God and obeying God—between admiring the truth and obeying the truth.
The FIRST STAGE addresses your relationship to God through Scripture. And, in this foundational stage there is an attitude of heart which ought to characterize every Christian: “I cannot live without the Bible. I have to know what it means. I have committed myself to study it and understand it because I can’t live without it—my life is utterly dependent upon it.” That’s called building upon the Rock (Mt 7:24ff.). “My relationship to the Word is my lifeline in my walk with God. The Word feeds my faith and worship; the Word gets me to God in communion and fellowship.”
And then there is STAGE TWO: “I have to apply the Bible to my life and allow it to define and order every area of my life, prioritizing my world, and controlling my affections and decisions. I will walk by the Spirit so as to make it my ambition to be pleasing to the Lord (2 Cor 5:9). I will see myself as living in the presence of God, presenting myself back to Him daily because He bought me and I am not my own, He has taken possession of me” (Rom 6:11-13; 1 Cor 6:19-20).
Out of gospel promises believed and lived, comes an ethical lifestyle of sanctification (I belong to God; I am set apart to Him as His beloved possession). This life direction is characterized by conformity to the truth. “Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 1:5-8).
The ability to enter STAGE THREE of course depends upon the prerequisites of living obediently in stages one and two. Stage number three of spiritual growth means that you wield the Sword of Truth on others by way of encouragement, edification, exhortation, and admonishment (2 Tim 3:16-17). This is only possible because you have become experienced at wielding the Sword of Truth on yourself (you are masterful at biblical self-confrontation).
Now by way of review: in stage one your relationship to the Word of God becomes a barometer of your relationship to God himself. In stage two, you have learned to wield the Sword of Truth on yourself with biblical self-confrontation, believing, repenting, seeking God and ordering your walk before Him. In stage three you spiritually influence all those around you that they might catch fire, that they might be ignited and the desires of their heart might be aligned with God’s Word.
Now without the diligent pursuit of these stages, and without this vision to spiritually influence others by means of Holy Scripture, you are walking around with our spiritual growth in a state of retardation (Heb 5:11-14). Steady progress toward spiritual maturity depends upon bringing the story of God to all around us because our world is perishing. God defines believers as His ambassadors (2 Cor 5:20), as His witnesses (Is 43:10-12). This world is getting darker every day.
So the challenge is this: “Will you confirm the fruits of faith? Will you take your orders from Christ, Who rules His people by His Word. The only faith that can take you to heaven is a faith that is confirmed by fruits of good works (James 2:14ff.). The only kind of faith that can take you to heaven is a faith that is zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).
Because of being MUTE, so many Christians are harmless to the powers of darkness—their swords are permanently corroded and held fast in their sheathes by years of rust and disuse. They’ve just been neutralized, they’re not spiritual influencers; they are paralyzed spiritually. They have forgotten that to follow Christ is to wage war with the Word of Truth. That’s what a Christ follower does. A true disciple is constantly battling and waging war by means of the Words of Truth. A true follower of Christ is a fisher of men, a disciple-maker (Mt 4:19; Mk 1:17).
We can begin by obeying in small doable steps: consider questions you may ask fellow believers. What has the Lord been showing you from Scripture? Where have you found the hottest part of the spiritual battle field in your life? Is there a ministry idea you want to pursue? Who are you discipling? How may I pray for you? May I share with you how God has been encouraging me from His Word?
Start with encouragement. Everyone needs encouragement; discouragement is one of the enemy’s greatest weapon to neutralize the people of God. Determine that you will obey God and be a blessing to others in the Body. Determine to move your conversations from mundane and casual to meaningful by prayerfully speaking God’s Word and truth into the lives of others.
Think ahead of time about what you may share (“premeditate”). “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word
as is good for edification according to the need of the
moment,
so that it will give grace to those who hear
” (Eph 4:29). “. . . and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Heb 10:24).
Our faith is both strengthened and challenged when we see the faith of others expressed by means of the truths of Scripture. Bonhoeffer notes that when we hear others speaking the truths of Scripture to us, it strengthens our faith. “For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you
while among you, each of us
by the other’s faith, both yours and mine” (Rom 1:11-12).
In the final analysis, God is the source of our courage. We are to allow our hearts to take courage (Ps 27:14; 31:24). The ability to act in courage is a function of waiting on the Lord. Faith’s object is the goodness of the Lord and the confident expectation that He will preserve the faithful, and empower them to bear witness to the truth (Jn 15:26, 27).
Those around us need our courage in speaking the Word of God. It was a penitent King David who prayed, “Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee” (Ps 51:11, 12).
The next generation is depending upon our courage. They are waiting for our faithfulness. They will not put their confidence in God unless they see the faith of their fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters—hearing from them the joy of God, the works of God, and commands of God (Ps 78:3-8).