Holy Boldness

A spirit motivated by the fear of man will always seek to “water down” the message from heaven. This must not happen. If one is to be a carrier of the word of God then the fear of the Lord must be deeply es tablished into the heart of the messenger. Even though this is elementary, it bears repeating because the greatest threat to the Gospel is compromise for the sake of not offending people. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Matt 10:29-30) These words reveal the tenderness of Jesus even as he was sharing a difficult concept. The father’s special attention to all that is happening with His own people establishes the assurance and the confidence that nothing happens without His knowing it. He cares for the sparrows. The hairs of our head are numbered. Nothing goes unnoticed. To live in the constant awareness of God’s presence and special care is one of the fundamental benefits of the fear of the Lord. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. (Matt 10:32-33) Acknowledgment in front of men is what confession is all about. The test of the fear of man comes to every person. Willingness to confess Jesus before men is part of the litmus test of authentic Christianity. Secret confession does not fulfill the requirement. If a person is not willing to confess his or her allegiance to Jesus in front of others then that person’s confession does not register with the Lord and He will not acknowledge them before His father. This has an impact on the way the Gospel is presented. In one way or another, every person’s commitment to Christ must come into public acknowledgment. This may be a process. There is a lot at stake in many places in the world. We live in a world where the confession of one’s faith in Christ is far more than a casual commitment. In certain cultures, the confession of allegiance to Jesus involves great suffering, loss of social status, possibly expulsion from the family or community, God Watches over His Own

1 97