Wisdom, Understanding, Discernment and Boldness

If one is looking to gain wisdom and understanding, and increase their ability to discern good from evil and right from wrong, the book of Proverbs is probably one of the best places to start. Verse after verse compares the wicked to the righteous, the foolish to the upright, the sluggard to the diligent, folly to wisdom, hate to love, and evil to good. It is a treasure trove of knowledge. I am currently reading through Proverbs and one of these comparisons stuck out to me as a must-have in our duty to contend for the faith. Proverbs 28:1:

The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.

The first part of that verse basically means that the wicked [ungodly] are guilty and they know they’re guilty – their conscience condemns them. Not only that, but they are so aware of their guilt, that they tend to be paranoid about it; they think everyone else might find out too. Because of this they are always on their toes, ready to flee at a moment’s notice, always in fear.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever done something wrong, or broken the rules, or sinned in some way or another and you were afraid someone else was going to find out? You might be worried that you will be caught in your lie, so you become nervous when you talk to people and you take second glances to see if they look like they might know something.  I know I've been there and it’s usually not a peaceful state to be in.

photo credit: katiew via photopin cc

In contrast, those that are righteous are bold as a lion. To be ‘bold’ is to be absent of fear. Usually confidence accompanies boldness; you typically have confidence in something. In our context, that confidence comes from our righteous standing with God. No longer do we have a guilty conscience, but a clean one – one that is made clean through our faith in Jesus Christ whereby he imputes, or ascribes, His righteousness to us!

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21

Once we realize that we have become righteous in God’s eyes, because of Jesus, there is no more condemnation:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) 

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:18)

In ancient Israel, David displayed this proverbial kind of boldness in confronting the Philistine giant Goliath, when everyone else was cowering in fear:

And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him [Goliath]. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 1 Samuel 17:32

In Moses’ time, the people of Israel were given a promise of boldness in their battles so long as they walked in God’s statutes and observed His commandments and did them:

Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. Leviticus 26:8

We too need this kind of boldness in our lives on a daily basis, especially if we are to contend for the faith and fight for the Truth. In reading that proverb, I thought to myself “What good are wisdom, understanding, and discernment if we don’t have the boldness to do anything with them?” Sure, we can be selfish and keep all of those things for ourselves, but isn’t it our imperative to use those abilities for all the saints at a minimum – and possibly even for those whom have yet to believe?

Many Christians today aren't bold at all, but instead live their lives in fear and worry. In fact, it is fear and worry that prevent many of us from carrying out the great commission of spreading the [true] gospel. The worries of this life weigh us down. Many Christians are afraid that they will offend someone if they tell them their views, or if they object to someone’s line of thinking – so they don’t say anything at all. This fear has also crept into the church and we have believers and even pastors unwilling to confront the lies of the enemy head on, with authority. People refrain from using words like ‘evil’, or ‘sin’, or ‘abomination’, or ‘heresy’. My friends, if you don’t know this already, the gospel of Jesus Christ IS OFFENSIVE to those who are perishing! (1 Corinthians 1:18). We are not instructed to water it down, or make it more appealing by leaving out certain truths, or dumb it down so as to distort it. No, instead we are told to proclaim the full gospel in its unfiltered, unaltered entirety.

And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. Philippians 1:14 (NIV)

Paul knew the gospel was offensive, but he and those he taught proclaimed it anyway. We have to stop being politically correct and compromising God’s Word to make it more palatable to the masses. If you present a false [incomplete] gospel, you will get false converts - PERIOD.

Will this come easy? No. Will you suffer persecution? Yes. Will you be hated at times? Yes.

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” John 15:18

Are you willing to be hated for the sake of the gospel? Jesus was. They hated Him with such a passion that the Jewish leaders gave Him an unfair trial and executed Him as quickly as they could in hopes of silencing Him and His teaching.

Depiction of Sanhedrin trial of Jesus
by José de Madrazo Agud

So how do we do this? How do we be bold on a daily basis? Well first of all I truly believe that that boldness comes primarily from two things:

(1)    The recognition that we have been forgiven and our debts have been paid and we are no longer under a state of condemnation. As stated earlier, this is a realization and faithful trust that we have Jesus’ righteousness. Because of God’s perfect love for us, all fear is gone and we have no obstructions in our way. (1 John 4:18) (Ephesians 3:11-12) 

(2)    The empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Peter and John were unlearned men, but when empowered by the Holy Spirit, the people around them marveled at their boldness and proclamations. (Acts 4:8,13) Acts 4:29 and 31 indicate that by the Holy Spirit, the disciples in the early church ‘spoke the word of God with boldness’. When we become believers, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. (2 Corinthians 1:22) (Ephesians 1:13) As we are sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:16), He will empower us to be of service in the gospel of God.

Secondly, the book of Philippians is a great book of encouragement that you should read if you want to learn how to live out your life on this Earth, but as a citizen of Heaven. In 4 short chapters, you will find ways to grow in your commitment of service to God and to other believers. Boldness is a gift that comes along with righteousness; we just need to learn how to put it into practice. I’d recommend reading the 4 chapters of Philippians every day for a week to really sink it into your mind.

Paul says in Philippians 1:27-30 [emphasis mine]:

Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

I pray that you have been reminded of the wonderful grace of God in Him providing a way for us to be in a right standing with Him. Furthermore, I hope you are encouraged to be bold in your daily lives, not giving into fear or worries about your [our] opponent (the world, the lies, the evil one).