Bold, Courageous, and Gracious
1 Thessalonians 2:1–2
Opening
Prayer
ŌOur
Father, we are so thankful that we can come together to study your Word, to be
reminded of these eternal principles, to focus upon our own spiritual life and
spiritual growth, our continued relationship with You.
Father, we know that we cannot do this on our own, that the spiritual life in
the Church Age is an impossible life, but it can only be fulfilled and carried
out if we are walking by the Spirit. It is by Your
power and not our might that we are able to implement the principles of Your
Word and grow spiritually. As we continue our study in 1 Thessalonians, help us
to understand the principles here and to see the application and implication of
what Paul is saying. We pray this in ChristÕs name. Amen.Ķ
As
we go through this 1 Thessalonians series, it is not one that IÕm teaching
contiguously, IÕm not going every week but am recording early for the benefit
of times when I am either ill or out of the country. What we are reminded of
from the last lesson is that Paul is getting past his introduction here in the
first chapter. He is talking a little more personally to the responders. This
is one of his most personal letters, and he is focused on affirming his own
teaching, his own apostolic leadership towards the congregation that he left in
Thessalonica.
We
saw in Acts 17 that when Paul went, he started in the synagogue. His goal was
to go into the synagogue to begin to teach. Acts 17:2–4 talks about the
fact that he had a dialogue. Typically, in a synagogue, a visiting rabbi might
be asked to teach, and so he taught, he opened the Scriptures we are told.
We
understand what it means by dialogue, in the next participles, he opened the
Word, and he explained what was going on there, specifically related to the
Messiah. He is going back to Old Testament prophecies to show how Jesus
fulfilled those prophecies.
He
also is reminding them of what has been accomplished by GodÕs grace in their
life since he was there. He was in the synagogue for three weeks, but when we
look at what is said in Acts 17, he was probably in Thessalonica for no more
than three months. Most people say two to three months. He did an extraordinary
amount of teaching in those two or three months. As a result of that, the church
was planted and established even in the midst of opposition and persecution,
and they began to grow.
As
he is talking to them and reminding them of what was accomplished there, he
talks about the fact that he himself modeled spiritual courage and boldness.
In 1
Thessalonians 2:1 ŌFor you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in
vain.Ķ — that God the Holy Spirit used it and produced spiritual
growth and stability in your lives. Verse 2, ŌBut even after we had suffered before and were
spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were bold in our God to speak
to you the gospel of God in much conflict.Ķ
What
I want to focus on in this lesson where we stopped the last time is on
spiritual courage and developing that doctrine from this lesson. This is not
something I think IÕve taught before, but something that is important. We are
in a spiritual battle; we are in spiritual warfare and facing the three
enemies: Satan, the world, and our own sin nature.
Our
volition often seems to be cowed because of the overwhelming power and
influence of one or all three of our enemies. Christians always seem to fight
an uphill battle spiritually because we deal especially with this enemy of the
sin nature within us, which is always influencing us to go in the opposite
direction.
Then
we face opposition from the world as well, and that opposition from the world
often is of such a nature that it gives us a basis for justification to the sin
nature to not say something, to not bring up the gospel, to not take a stand
for the truth of GodÕs Word.
Often
we have two issues going on: 1) Taking a stand, and 2) how we take the stand.
Most of us have problems in a lot of situations because we may not have as much
confidence in our understanding of the gospel or our understanding of how to
answer things. We are a little intimidated to begin with, and then a typical
psychological reaction when you are in a position of intimidation is to become
defensive, to become angry, to become a little bit resentful. That can come
across in our attitude and our presentation of the gospel.
There
is a tendency and a trap that I think we have all fallen into at times. When we
are witnessing to someone and theyÕre in opposition or just asking some tough
questions or there is some anger or resentment in their background towards
Christians for whatever reason, rather than being able to just have a relaxed
mental attitude based on grace orientation, what happens is we start to become
defensive. We read those non-verbal signals off of the other person, and we
start getting a little bit nervous or irritated and reactionary, and the next
thing we know, we have two people talking who are trying to prove the other
person wrong.
A
conversation related to evangelism has deteriorated into an argument about who
is right or who knows more about the subject. We have to learn to diffuse that
and to ignore that.
The
Apostle Paul was one, of course, who was exceptionally well trained and was
absolutely brilliant in his understanding of the Jewish position and where they
were coming from and what they would say. He was trained under one of the
greatest rabbis of his generation, Gamaliel.
He
was arguably the greatest student that Gamaliel ever
had. As any student of Torah, any Pharisee of the Pharisees would have known in
that generation, he would have known the entire Old Testament in the Hebrew
from memory backwards and forwards.
He
had all of that experience behind him, plus for the last approximately 8–10
years as he had been involved in the first missionary journey and now into the
second missionary journey, he had faced a number of opponents within the
synagogues with their arguments. So he had the experience, plus he had the
academic training, and he had a brilliant mind. He was as prepared as anyone.
The
bottom line that we all need to remember is that the opposition that we incur
when we are presenting the gospel to someone who is attacking us isnÕt based on
facts or on reason or on intellectual superiority. It is not about how much we
know ultimately or how well we can articulate the gospel ultimately or how well
we can present our case ultimately. We need to do the best we can, but we have
a secret power and that is God the Holy Spirit.
God
the Holy Spirit is going to use whatever we say in the life of the other
person. It is going to produce one of two responses. It is going to produce a
positive response where they want to know more and they want to listen and they
find it interesting. That may be all it is — it is just curiosity and
then stop at a certain point. Or it may generate a hostile reaction. It doesnÕt
matter how good we are; the issue is going to be a spiritual issue.
Jesus
taught the truth in a gentle, humble, gracious manner, and yet it generated an
incredible amount of hostility. The same with Paul. He
said everything correctly, and he said it the right way. He did the right
thing, and he did the right thing in the right way. Yet it still generated
hostility.
If
we could just get that through our heads that we can just relax because we are
going to see this kind of response. Most of us think that if I can just say it
right or put it out there right then it will make a difference. The fallacy
there is that we are thinking that ultimately our effectiveness in witnessing
is based upon our understanding of the intellectual issues, our ability to
quickly turn a phrase and respond to what somebody else presents as an
objection.
We
tend to get all caught up in this, and we need to just take time to pray, let
God the Holy Spirit calm us down, and just relax.
I
think that just comes with time. IÕm still learning how to do that, and
different people have different personalities. Some people are a little less
focused on some things or are a little less reactionary. It just depends, but
the core issue is going to be a spiritual issue and a character issue.
That
is what Paul brings out here when he says to the Thessalonians ŌÉ as you know, we
were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict,Ķ 1
Thessalonians 2:2. That is talking about the communication of the gospel to the
Thessalonians. He reminds them of all this, and the focal point is on their boldness and courage to present the gospel in
the midst of conflict. That is something that comes with maturity. I think it
comes with experience.
One
of the things I often say with young pastors is the spiritual gift of
pastor-teacher is a communication gift; itÕs not a learning gift. I have run
into a lot of people over the years who somehow have a mystical view of the
gift of pastor-teacher or evangelist—that a pastor-teacher or evangelist
can just sit down and read the Bible, and they are going to understand it.
That
is an understanding and a study issue; thatÕs not a communication issue. The
gift of pastor-teacher is a leadership gift that relates to communication.
Evangelism is a communication gift.
The
learning and acquisition of knowledge have to come under the general standards
of going through a system of training in order to acquire knowledge. A man can
go through seminary and acquire a lot of information, and some of that is going
to transition to knowledge. But to get wisdom (using biblical terminology—chokmah from
the Old Testament), that is getting a skill to do something. A skill comes from
experience, using things.
When
you get in the pulpit, you may be a good communicator and have the spiritual
gift of communication, but you are not necessarily going to be a great orator.
You start off, you are young and nervous; you have mastered your material and
have a spiritual gift and are using it. But it still takes time and practice.
We learn often by our failures and by not doing as well. The only way a pastor
can really learn to teach from the pulpit is to teach from the pulpit.
And
the only way a person can learn to become more effective in witnessing to
people, aside from the study part of it, is they have to witness to people,
especially if you donÕt have the gift of evangelism. You have to work at that.
Unfortunately, it is like riding a bicycle—you have to fall off a few
times before you get the hang of it.
A
lot of people donÕt want to get the hang of it because they donÕt want to fall
off a few times. But in order to get the hang of it, you have to be willing to
risk falling off a few times. As you take those steps of faith to trust God in
the midst of evangelism, especially in hostile circumstances or situations,
then we see how God provides for us and sustains us in those situations.
This
is what Paul has learned and what I want to hone in on a little bit in this
lesson.
Here
is a map showing where Thessalonica is located. Up in the upper right, we see
Philippi. As Paul came across from Troas, they landed at the port of Neapolis and then went to Philippi, which was a Roman
colony. There they were rejected and abused; the Jews in the synagogues reacted
to them; the Gentiles reacted to them. It was a very negative, hostile
situation.
They
left there and then made their way to Thessalonica. They are going to be faced
with a lot of hostility and reaction there. So he is exactly right that he is
boldly proclaiming, boldly speaking the gospel in the midst of conflict.
This
is typical of Paul. Acts 19:8 says the same kind of
thing. He goes into the synagogue, which was his standard operation: to the Jew
first and also to the Gentile.
He
always started with a congregation in a synagogue that had an Old Testament
framework of understanding God is the Creator of the heavens, the earth, and
the seas, and all that is in them; a God who had promised redemption. They had
a framework for understanding sacrifices and the need for substitutionary
payment for sin that was seen in the various sacrifices.
HeÕs
got a frame of reference there that is biblically solid from the Torah, so he
can start there and then build. They would be familiar with Messianic
prophecies, and he would have a reaction point.
What
was interesting was when he went to Ephesus, which is the context of Acts 19:8
he was in the synagogue for three months before it started a conflict. Whereas,
when he was in Thessalonica, the conflict started after three weeks. He would
speak boldly—he was not fearful, he was not cowed, he was not restrained
because he may generate some reaction. He has that level of confidence.
The
word that is used in 1 Thessalonians 2:2 is the word PARRESIAZOMAI, which means to
speak with confidence, with boldness, with courage. Paul is definitely going to
speak out and address the issues. It addresses not only the motivation behind
his teaching and his attitude, but it also addresses the fact that he is not
going to let any sort of fear, worry, or anxiety impact what he is doing.
HeÕs
not going to come across as being defensive or hostile because he is not
operating from a position of weakness in terms of fear. He is operating from a
position of strength. As he goes forward, he makes the gospel very, very clear.
As
we look back last time, we saw that sometimes this produced this kind of hostility
as it did in Philippi where the people were very much against him. They beat
them and threw them into prison, but God eventually released them and he went
on. There is always the risk of some sort of hostility.
LetÕs
look at the doctrine of spiritual courage. What does the Bible teach about
spiritual courage? First of all, as we do in any doctrine, we need to
understand the basic vocabulary, the basic words. Vocabulary is so important.
This is one reason today we see a battle that has been going on for the last
two generations. The foundation for this goes back even into the 1950s,
attacking language, attacking the meaning of words and interpretation.
This
is very much prevalent in post-modern thinking that words really donÕt have
meaning. They can mean one thing to one person and mean something else to
another. If thatÕs true, then how can any of us communicate?
How
can those post-modern folks even communicate with us because they want us to
interpret the words that come out of their mouth or the words they write
literally, but in the process, they are saying that nobodyÕs words can be taken
literally, and that nothing should be interpreted in the light of the intent of
the author. But their words need to be interpreted in the light of what they
intend to communicate. It is completely irrational and illogical.
We
have to start with words and vocabulary. Here is the Greek word that we find in
this particular context: PARRESIAZOMAI. It means to speak with boldness, to speak with
confidence. It has the idea of expressing oneself freely without any
inhibitions, speaking openly and fearlessly. It has the idea of having the
courage to go forward even in the midst of opposition. The noun form is PARRESIA, which refers to
the state of boldness or a state of courage or confidence.
For
those of you who like language, there are some of these grammar-based websites
that are putting funny little things out there. One of these I saw said, ŌWhat
is a synonym for synonym?Ķ I thought about that for a long time—I donÕt
think there is a synonym for synonym.
This
is another synonym—THARSEO—which is used in similar contexts, and it also has the idea of
being confident or courageous. In fact, this is the word that Jesus uses in
John 16:33. John 16 is in the context of the upper room discourse: ChristÕs
instruction to His disciples the night before He goes to the cross.
In
chapter 13, they are having the Passover meal; in chapter 14, they are still in
the upper room; in chapter 15, they are leaving and walking on the way to the
Garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus has continued to instruct them. John 17 is
JesusÕ high priestly prayer when He arrives at Gethsemane.
John
16:33, ŌThese
things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have
peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world.Ķ If we just think about that verse a little bit, we
need to say Ōjust what are the contrasts and
comparisons that we have here?Ķ
In the
first place, Ōin HimĶ—that means when we are walking in fellowship, when
we are abiding in Him, all the way through the upper room discourse, Jesus uses
that phrase Ōin MeĶ to relate to those who are abiding in Him, those who are
walking in fellowship, those who are trusting Him.
If
we are trusting in Him, we can have peace. That means you can have contentment,
you can be relaxed, you can have a relaxed mental attitude, you donÕt feel
threatened or anxious or stressed out because you have to take a stand and
witness to somebody.
He says, ŌÉ in Me you may have
peace ÉĶ That means the potential is there for every believer, but if you
are not in fellowship, you wonÕt have it.
That
is contrasted with what you have in the world. In the world outside the body of
Christ, there is tribulation and opposition. The world is in a state of chaos
and corruption due to sin. ŌIn the world, you will have tribulation ÉĶ Inside there is peace
and tranquility, you are calm, but outside there is all of this chaos and
opposition and hostility.
ŌBut be of good
cheer, I have overcome the world.Ķ This is a great passage in dealing with
the concept of being an overcomer because Jesus uses
a perfect tense verb here indicating that before He goes to the cross, He has
already overcome, He has already had victory over the world.
The
verb for overcome is the verb NIKAO, which means to have victory. It is from the noun NIKE, which relates to the goddess
of victory in the Greek pantheon. But NIKE has been anglicized to Nike,
and that is where we get the brand name for the Nike athletic shoes and
supplies.
It
is the idea of having victory in a contest. ItÕs not talking about salvation;
itÕs talking about the fact that Jesus has been living in the world since the
time of His birth, and before He goes to the Cross, He can say, ŌIÕve had
victory over the world system.Ķ
The
pressure brought against Him by the world system, the culture in which He was,
did not win the battle with Him. He has had victory, and that victory has been
completed before He is arrested. Before He goes to the cross, He has won that
battle.
This
is really a spiritual life issue. The words overcoming and victory are always
related to spiritual life.
Most
Christians believe that. A few in the free grace movement tragically donÕt
understand this, and they want to make ŌovercomingĶ a positional issue that
every Christian has overcome. But we all know that not every Christian is a
victor, not every Christian wins in the spiritual life. There are many who have
become run-over by the world system.
Because
Jesus overcame the world, we can overcome the world because His resources are
the Word of God and the Spirit of God, and our resources are the same Word of
God and the same Spirit of God. He is saying we can have courage, and that is
this word THARSOS. This spiritual
courage is not the kind of battlefield or moral courage that unbelievers have;
this is a distinct kind of courage that comes as a result of abiding in Him.
Point
2: Now that we have looked at the basic vocabulary, letÕs look at defining the
term. Aristotle once said a lot of argument and disagreement can be dealt with
if we would just carefully define our terms as we talk about them. LetÕs try to
carefully define what courage is.
It
is the ability to do something even when we are afraid, even when we are in
pain, or even when we are overwhelmed by emotions, such as grief or sorrow, or
despite possible negative consequences. It means the ability to go ahead and do
something even though it may hurt, even though it may cost us something, even
though there are other circumstances where it would be much more comfortable to
do something else.
Sometimes
we would rather do anything than what this calls upon us to do. In spite of
those negative consequences, we are going to go forward and do the right thing
the right way and let the chips fall where they may. It is important to
understand those things.
We
have to therefore know what the right thing is. What does Scripture say we are
to do? Then we have to know the right way to do it.
For
the Christian, we know that we are to deal with the unbeliever in grace because
for the unbeliever, we are their point of contact with the grace of God. The
only way they can come within any kind of concrete way to understand GodÕs
grace is by looking at us and watching us, which is why living according to a
gracious manner and dealing with them in grace is so important.
We
want to deal with them not on the basis of what they deserve but because they may be an idiot; they may be abusive
or hostile to us. That doesnÕt mean that we are just going to be someone that
they just walk over, but we are going to respond to them in kindness and
gentleness and grace even though that may be the last thing that we think they
deserve.
We
are going to deal with people in grace and humility because we understand that
we are in a relationship with God. God has said to take the gospel to the
world, and we are on that mission. It really doesnÕt matter how that person
responds to us in one sense, because we are doing what our Lord has commanded
us to do, and we are taking the Word to an unbelieving world and expecting
opposition.
Because
we expect opposition, we shouldnÕt be surprised. Unfortunately, in our country
because there is historically so little opposition, we are surprised today that
the environment is so much more hostile.
We
respond in grace, humility, and kindness. We are not treating them on the basis
of what they deserve but on what they donÕt deserve. We donÕt let anger seep
in.
We are
basically self-absorbed, and that is the orientation of our sin nature. We take
things personally. Rejecting Christ isnÕt necessarily rejecting us. We often
think, Ōif youÕre rejecting the gospel, youÕre
rejecting me.Ķ We take it personally and get mad or upset or let other mental
attitude sins become apparent in how we are handling people.
Maybe
if we think that we are going to be involved in a witnessing situation, we may
need to pray a lot and memorize various Scriptures, such as Proverbs 15:1, ŌA soft answer
turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.Ķ We need to pray through
those promises, claim those promises, and repeat those promises as we go into
these kinds of situations. Christmas and Thanksgiving are coming up, and we
have to deal with unbelieving relatives and friends.
We
have all been involved in circumstances and witnessing situations where we get
insulted, where somebody says something that is hostile, and we have to learn
to just step around it in grace and in humility.
One
of the things that I have become more and more aware of over probably the last
decade, even though IÕm a far cry from developing skills at this, is the
importance of taking a lot of time to listen to somebody say what they are
going to say and listen to their objections without just jumping in and telling
them the answer because I know the answer.
We
know whatÕs right, and we want to get that out there. A lot of times what I see
with a lot of Christians is they know the gospel. They have got John 3:16, John
3:36, Acts 16:31, Ephesians 2:8, 9 memorized, and
what they want to do is pull out their gospel gun and starting shooting
somebody with it without preparing the groundwork, doing the spade work before
they plant the seed.
People
are on all kind of places on that spectrum. Some have never had a seed planted;
some have never had it watered. Paul uses that analogy that he planted and Apollos watered, but God gave the increase (1 Corinthians
3:6). A person may take 10 minutes or 10 years or 30 years to finally trust
Christ as Savior.
We
canÕt be impatient or in a hurry to give them the gospel because people donÕt
necessarily understand why they need the gospel because they donÕt understand
sin. It may take some time to help people understand what sin is.
There
is such a distortion, even in the Christian community, about what sin is, not
to mention the reaction that comes out of the unbelieving community. They think
of sin only in some judgmental way.
Sadly,
they probably run across some fighting fundy legalist
who has been bashing them over the head that they are going to Hell for all
their sin. They havenÕt properly been grace oriented or understood the issue
and have been very judgmental in the whole approach.
Sometimes
we have to really stop and think and ask people questions to make sure we
understand where they are coming from and what their thinking is and what kind
of understanding they have about Christianity already. We just ask questions.
One
of the things IÕve read lately that has impressed me about this is this book The
Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champagne
Butterfield. She was reared in a nominal Roman Catholic home and drifted very
quickly to a far left radical political persuasion, Marxist, lesbianism. She
got her doctorate and was hired to teach at Syracuse University. She had an
agenda to convert everyone to her radical, feminist, Marxist ways. She was in
the process of writing a book to expose and debunk the Christian right, and she
wrote an article in the Syracuse paper.
All
the letters from those who loved what she said went in one box, and the letters
that hated what she said went in another box. But a pastor wrote her a letter
and just asked her questions. They werenÕt gotcha questions; they werenÕt
questions that were designed to put her down.
They
were thoughtful questions asking her to further explain what it was that she
believed and where she got the information to support what she said. It was
done in kindness and grace, and she couldnÕt figure out what to do with that
letter, whether to throw it in the hostile pile or in the pile that liked her.
She would throw it in the trash and then take it out of the trash.
Finally,
she called the pastor, and to make a long story short, the pastor and his wife
invited her over for dinner. She didnÕt know what to expect. She has got a
butch haircut and all this other stuff. She goes, and they never mention the
gospel. They werenÕt in a hurry to shoot her with the gospel.
They
wanted to get to know her, and this went on for months. They developed a
friendship and discovered they had a lot of mutual intellectual interests together.
Some things they agreed on, and some things they didnÕt agree on. Their debates
and discussions were always agreeable.
Over
time, her defenses went down, and she would ask this pastor some questions. One
thing she knew was that she needed to read her Bible in order to attack the
Christian right because that was their marching orders. So she began to read
the Bible. She would ask him questions, and he would say she needed to read
this or that. He let her sort of take the initiative.
It
took about two years, and then she trusted Christ as Savior. She has gone from
the far left to not necessarily the far right, but from being anti-family,
anti-children, anti-marriage person, she is now married to a pastor.
She
was too old to have children by the time they got married, so they have adopted
and fostered a number of children. She has homeschooled them all, so she has
gone from being a feminist, Marxist, liberal to being a free-market capitalist,
who is a believer and homeschooling her children.
There
are some things that we might quibble with in terms of her theology because she
was saved in a Presbyterian Reformed background, but what is remarkable is the
way that she handled herself in the midst of crowds.
You
can YouTube some of her videos and just watch how she handles herself in the
midst of a hostile audience, and thatÕs fascinating. What we see in looking at
her is the importance of this dialogue that took place and not being afraid to
ask questions and just to go through that process.
There
are a couple of other books IÕve got and have read bits and pieces of both of
them. One is by Os Guinness, who has written a number of books. He is one of
the late Francis SchaefferÕs sons-in-law. He has a book that just come out in
July 2015 that I havenÕt had time to get into yet called FoolÕs
Talk. ThatÕs the focus of this book—how to talk to unbelievers.
The
unbelievers arenÕt the fools. I think he takes that from the fact that Paul
talks about the focus on Christ is foolish to the Greek, but he was a fool for
ChristÕs sake. It is to help believers come to understand how they can
cultivate this ability to dialogue with unbelievers.
Another
book is called Conversational
Evangelism by Norm Geisler and his son David,
who has had a campus ministry for about 25 years or so and has really developed
the ability to ask questions and develop conversations with unbelievers that
donÕt end up becoming head-butting contests.
One
thing we need to remember is that as we are presenting the gospel it is not
only giving the right information but also doing it the right way. It is the
old adage that you attract more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.
The
problem is that a lot of us come out of a background where the people who
talked about how you say what you say were not at all concerned about what you
said. We all know that it is important what you say, but it is important how
you say it. Paul exhibits this and is very clear to present the case the right
way.
It
takes courage to engage unbelievers; it takes courage to engage the world. One
example we have just seen in Houston is the stick-to-itiveness, the endurance, the perseverance of the pastors who took a stand against
this Houston equal rights ordinance. That was spearheaded to
a large degree by Dave Welch who exhibited this kind of courage and, in fact,
started the Houston Area Pastors Council, the Texas Pastor Council, US Pastor
Council—heÕs trying to expand this. Houston is ground zero for
this pastoral organization and involvement. They lost a lot of battles over the
last 18 months until they won the war.
That
just shows the importance of continuing to trust God, continuing to persevere,
and continuing to deal with the unbelieving/non-Christian community with grace
and kindness. IÕve seen how Dave handled himself in a number of situations, how
other pastors did as well in confronting the mayor and city council members and
talking through the issues here in trying to reach an agreement leading up to
this.
The
other side just didnÕt want to go along with it and kept doing all kinds of
things to circumvent and told public lies. We have to have the courage of our
convictions to get out into the marketplace and to take a stand for the truth
of GodÕs Word.
Courage
means the ability to do things even when we would rather be doing a thousand
other things. We want to do the right thing and do it the right way.
Point
3: There are different types of courage. We talk about physical or battle
courage. We all can think of numerous examples of men and women whose valor has
been recognized on the field of battle with bronze stars and silver stars,
Distinguished Service medals, and Medals of Honor.
That
battle courage is something that just kicked in as a result of their training.
They didnÕt stop and think about it; they were trained well, and in the heat of
battle, they did the right thing. They stood up even when it might cost them
their life.
A
lot of people may have battle courage, but that is a lot different from moral
courage. A lot of literature talks about the difference between battle courage
and moral courage. Moral courage is the strength of our convictions in areas
related to ethical or moral challenges.
We
have a lot of people who can function that way in terms of battle courage, but
then they donÕt have the strength of morality to handle it in that kind of a
battle.
An
example of physical courage was seen just recently in the situation that
occurred with that shooter at Umpqua Community College in Oregon about a month
or so ago. There was one student, a guy by the name of Chris Mintz, who was a 30-year old Army veteran and had military
training. On that particular day, it was also his sonÕs birthday.
When
he heard the gunfire, his training kicked in and he ran to the sounds of the
gunfire and put his life on the line to save his fellow students. He was shot
seven times in the process, but he survived. ThatÕs a great example of physical
courage.
In
moral courage, you have people where it takes longer perhaps, but they are much
more aware of the dangers to their life. A great example of this was Oskar
Schindler, who was responsible for saving the lives of hundreds of Jews during
the Second World War.
He
was not a Christian, so it is not spiritual courage, but he was a German
industrialist, and he was a member of the Nazi party. He is credited with
saving the lives of over 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust because he employed
them in his factories and, as such, he got them designated as being necessary,
and therefore they survived.
A
man here in Houston, Leon Cooper, who just recently passed away, started a
company in the early 1970s called the Houston Pecan Company. ItÕs still in
operation now—his daughter runs it.
I
just inadvertently found myself there about four years ago. Jim Myers and I
were going over there to get some Texas pecans to take over to Israel to give
as gifts to the guides and other people we worked with over there. We walked
in, and I had no idea the owner was Jewish. I just needed pecans and wanted to
get good grade Texas pecans.
We
saw this old guy (about 90 at the time) scooting around with his walker. I was
talking to his daughter, and I thought she may be Jewish. I told her we were
going to Israel, and her eyes lit up, and I told her what we wanted the pecans
for.
Jim
is over by the wall, and there are these newspaper clippings that are framed,
and I saw Jim reading these clippings. He turned around and asked Toby, the
daughter, if the articles were about her dad. They were articles written in the
Houston Post
in the late 1980s, when the movie SchindlerÕs List came out. Spielberg came to
Houston, and Leon Cooper was highlighted in the newspaper because he wasnÕt one
of these 1,200, but he was also saved by Oskar Schindler.
Here is a Gentile honored by the Jews as the ŌRighteous Among the NationsĶ
because he was willing to put his life on the line to save the lives of Jews.
That
is an example of moral courage, but that is different from Corrie
ten Boom. I want to make this distinction clear. Corrie
was a believer, and she and her family were hiding and saving Jews during World
War II. That story is told in The Hiding Place. If you have never seen the film, see the film and
read the book, Jeannette Clift George, who played Corrie
ten Boom in the film that came out in the early 1970s, is the founder of the
Christian theater group here in Houston called the AD Players. They always do some
very fine work over there.
CorrieÕs sister died in Ravensbruck and her father died in prison. They had
spiritual courage because they were acting in the power of God on the basis of
the Word of God to defend the Jewish people.
ThatÕs
why I want to make this distinction between physical or battle courage and
moral courage. Somebody who has physical or battle courage may not have moral
courage. There are a lot of people who have moral courage because they have the
strength of their convictions and are willing to do that.
I
just came back from Preston City, and we had the 200th anniversary
of Preston City Bible Church. It takes physical courage to cut through 18
inches of ice and get baptized in the icy water—that is real strength of
your convictions. That may be spiritual courage too because it is related to
obeying the Scripture.
Moral
and spiritual courage may look the same, but the difference is whether the
person is a believer and operating on obedience to the Word and the filling of
the Holy Spirit.
Fourth
point: Courage is often related to confidence. In physical courage, we have
confidence in our training. We have confidence in our physical strength, our
physical skill to face a physical threat.
In
moral courage, we have confidence in the rightness or the correctness of our
position and the rightness of our action.
In
spiritual courage, we have confidence in God and His ability to sustain us in
times of adversity, hostility, suffering, or persecution.
In
Proverbs 28:1, ŌThe
wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.Ķ The
wicked have a complete lack of courage. The boldness of the righteous relates
to physical courage, spiritual courage, and a recognition
that the battle is the LordÕs.
Hebrews
10:33, ŌPartly
while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations ÉĶ He
is writing to a Jewish audience, Jewish believers who are probably from the
priesthood but face a lot of hostility, adversity, and opposition.
Hebrews
10:33–34, ŌÉ and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated;
for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering
of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for
yourselves in heaven.Ķ Their personal sense of their eternal destiny gave them courage
and strength in the midst of hostility.
Point
5: In spiritual courage, our confidence is in God, so we can act courageously
in fulfilling GodÕs mission for us under the power of God the Holy Spirit. We
are walking by the Spirit.
It
doesnÕt involve the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, but we have passages like
Psalm 138:3 where the psalmist says, ŌIn the day when I cried out, You answered me, and
made me bold with strength in my soul.Ķ
Even
in the Old Testament without the Holy Spirit, God emboldened believers to do
the right thing the right way. This spiritual courage is also in our passage 1
Thessalonians 2:2.
Sixth
point: What is the action plan? How do we become spiritually courageous? First
of all, we have to be in fellowship; we have to be in right relationship with
the Lord, which means we need to keep short accounts and confession of sin.
When we are walking by the Spirit, God the Holy Spirit can strengthen and
empower us to do the right thing the right way in grace orientation and
humility.
Point
7: Spiritual courage is always grounded in our relationship with God—our
faith is directed towards Him, so there has to be a sense that God and His
provision is more real to us than the opposition, the rejection, the hostility,
the adversity, the persecution, maybe even the loss of life that we might face.
You
can only have that kind of occupation with Christ or occupation with the Lord
when we spend a lot of time with Him. We build to that, so that as we grow and
mature, as we go through that process of facing opposition and hostility in
small ways along the way, it strengthens our spiritual muscles so that we are
prepared to face the large challenges.
Ephesians
3:12, ŌIn whom
[Christ]
we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.Ķ It is
directly related to our growth and maturation in faith.
Point
8: Courage is needed in every area of application of doctrine but especially in
those areas involving people. We are so sensitive to rejection and hostility
that when we witness or teach or encourage others or give, we are vulnerable.
When
we bring up subjects that need to be addressed in family situations or with
close friends or at work, especially where someone might take offense or react,
we sometimes step around it or avoid it or not face it head on.
When
we get in any situation where the issue is doctrine, we know that God the Holy
Spirit will strengthen us. But we also know that we live in the devilÕs world,
and we may experience some pushback to one degree or another.
2
Corinthians 10:1, 2, ŌNow I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness
of Christ—who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward
you. But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that
confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we
walked according to the flesh.Ķ
There
he talks about different kinds of boldness, and that boldness is mixed with
humility directed towards the change in the life of those to whom he is
ministering.
Point
9: In 1 Thessalonians 2, Paul reminds them of the spiritual courage he had to
speak boldly and to face the physical consequences of torture and imprisonment
when he was in Philippi. This is exhibited in different other settings.
2 Corinthians 11 is a fascinating chapter.
It is one I have read through many, many times simply because at one time in my
first church, I had never gone through the kind of personal assaults that I
went through in that congregation. It was a very divided congregation. About
half the congregation wanted to know the Word, and the other half didnÕt. That
generated some incredible hostility.
Listen
to what Paul says here where he is dealing with these false teachers. As he
deals with those false teachers, he is giving his own credentials and relates
some of his own experience.
2
Corinthians 11:23, ŌAre they ministers of Christ [the false teachers]?—I speak as a
fool—I am more [meaning, look at the evidence]: in labors more abundant [I work harder
than anyone else],
in stripes above measure [IÕve been whipped, flagellated more than anyone
else], in
prisons more frequently [I get imprisoned for the gospel], in deaths often
[the possibility of imminent death].Ķ
Verse
24, ŌFrom the
Jews, five times I received forty stripes minus one.Ķ The reason is
according to the Jewish law, you werenÕt supposed to give more than 40 stripes,
so they would always subtract one just in case they missed counted so they
wouldnÕt give 40 stripes or more.
Verses
25–28, ŌThree
times I was beaten with rods [one of those was in Philippi]; once I was
stoned [in Damascus]; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the
deep; in journeys often [accosted on the highway], in perils of waters, in perils of robbers,
in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the
city, in perils in the wilderness [had to camp out a lot and who knew what
might attack you in the wilderness], perils in the sea, in perils among false
brethren, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst,
in fastings often [not fasting for religious
reason but fasting because you donÕt have any money or food], in cold and
nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep
concern for all the churches.Ķ
It
took courage to go be a Christian, to do what God said to do and just to go
through the daily activities of his Christian mission.
Paul
was not necessarily exceptionally courageous as a human being. Some people
might say that Paul was a tough guy because he sounds that way; he just had
great courage. But thatÕs not necessarily true.
1
Corinthians 2:3, ŌI was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling.Ķ He is
speaking from the fact that he has reacted, and he is in situations where his
sin nature is influencing him towards fear, worry, and anxiety.
2
Corinthians 7:5, ŌFor indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we
were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears.Ķ
PaulÕs not some super human without a sin nature. He is just as tempted to let
things slide and maybe not address it right now as the next person. But he had
the spiritual courage to always do what he was supposed to do.
The
solution is to walk by the Spirit and trust in the Lord. Hebrews 13:6, ŌÉ The Lord is my
helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?Ķ Psalm 56:11, ŌIn God I have put
my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?Ķ
Just
a couple of other verses you might want to look up. Deuteronomy 31:6, ŌBe strong and of
good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is
the One who goes with you; He will not leave you nor forsake you.Ķ
In
commissioning Joshua in Joshua 1:9, the Lord said, ŌHave I not commanded you? Be strong and of
good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with
you wherever you go.Ķ
Psalm
27:14, ŌWait
on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I
say, on the Lord!Ķ That means relax and let the Lord handle the situation.
Psalm
31:24, ŌBe of good
courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.Ķ
Psalm
34:4, ŌI sought the
Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.Ķ
Closing
Prayer
ŌFather,
thank You for this opportunity to be reminded of the fact that You strengthen
us, You encourage us, You embolden us, and that the key issue is our own
spiritual life, that we learn your Word, we prepare, we trust in You, and we
walk by the Spirit. Then we can do whatever we need to do no matter what the
consequence because we know that the worst that can be done is just to hurt the
body, but we have eternal life with You, and so we should
fear no threat, and we should trust in You.
Father,
we may come to a time in this life in this country where we are attacked and
assaulted for our Christianity, where we are thrown in jail, where we are
physically abused and persecuted, and we need to develop now the ability to be
bold, to have courage, and to trust in You. We pray that we might do that. In ChristÕs name. Amen.Ķ