Here’s a link to Acts 4.

Have you ever been confronted by someone because you are a Christian? Someone that’s angry or annoyed that you are talking openly and honestly about your faith in Jesus?

Because that’s how our passage begins. By healing the lame man and preaching to the gathered crowd about Jesus, Peter and John upset the priests, the captain of the temple police, and the Sadducees. More than that, they were arrested and taken into custody.

And when questioned about their actions and threatened, Peter preached even more!

We’re told that they had boldness. According to one dictionary, boldness means a “lack of hesitation or fear in the face of risk or danger or a refusal to be held back by the opinion or judgment of others.”

This means that Peter and John were willing to talk about Jesus even when it would cost them.

The word boldness is used in verses 13, 29, and 31. It’s a word used to describe the followers of Jesus. They also prayed for boldness. Jesus’ disciples were bold in their faith.

But am I? Given analogous circumstances, would I boldly proclaim the name of Jesus in the face of angry opposition? Are there times when I don’t talk about my faith because it might make someone else upset? Is my faith a bold faith? What should that look like in my life? Do I pray for boldness?

We certainly live in a world where those of us who are Christians are going to need more and more boldness. Opposition to those who believe in Jesus is only going to increase. Indeed, in many countries this is already true and has been for a long time. And we may even find ourselves confronted by people who are offended by our beliefs.

May God give us a bold faith–and may we see our need for it and pray accordingly.