'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).
'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, detached relationship to God's truth. (EX. Like weapons-grade plutonium in your garage as a 'hobby.') The divine mandate 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 believing man is that of a perpetual 'truth speaker' (not just truth seeker). In strong churches, the God given mandate of speaking God's truth will not be ignored or relegated to the job of pastors and church leaders. The obedient believer understands that the spiritual state of those in his 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. EX. A well-aimed sniper bullet vs. buckshot. Our courage tends to give out when w e fear being the 'heavy,' a meddler.
What enabled believers like Elihu, Elijah, Daniel, 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). They also knew the power of God's Word: 'Is not My word like fire?' declares the LORD , 'and like a hammer which shatters a rock?' (Jer 23:29).
They knew that the proclamation of God's truth involves a crossroads or turning point. When the Word is spoken into one ' s life, the Lord is calling for ongoing repentance through which our affections and will are conformed to God's truth. The better we understand this, the more willing we 'll be to speak God's truth without fear (be winsome).
The Apostle Paul saw his role as a proclaimer of the Word of God to be a sacred trust carrying massive accountability. What is striking in Acts 20 is that Paul's faithfulness is joined to the fact 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).
Paul's understudy, Timothy was to view his task of proclaiming the Word as the very means of ensuring the salvation of his listeners . ' Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you' (1 Tim 4:16).
Paul repeatedly warned Timothy against the error of allowing timidity and neglect to neutralize his sacred charge of teaching, preaching, and exhorting. ' For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline' (2 Tim 1:7).
APPLICATION: We have been entrusted by God with His almighty, living, sword of truth. It must not be allowed to remain unused like a blade stuck in a rusty scabbard. Those in our sphere are to hear the Word of truth from us. As with Timothy, God has strategically placed us in a position to speak the truth to those around us.
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, prayerfully, and courageously use the 'sword' of truth 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 this from His disciples. I want to give you 5 biblical ways to increase your boldness to speak the Word of God:
I. Boldness to speak the Word comes from abiding in Christ (Jn 15:4-5).
The more our hope and expectations are centered in Christ, the more His cause will become our cause. We will be delivered from the fear of man and the worship of the creature. The approval offered by the people is fickle. Christ alone loves us with immutable/unchanging love. Fellow sinners do not carry our worth and dignity. When we assume they do, our courage dries up. Christ alone is our 'Source Person.' He 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).
When we abide in Christ, there is power and nerve. And we will make it our ambition to please Christ first (2 Cor 5:9). The ambition to please Him is filled with the hope of favorably greeting Him at His 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, boldness is second nature. Those who live to please Christ have the judgment seat of Christ etched upon their consciousness (2 Cor 5:9-10).
Those who live for Christ's approval are continually weighing the glory to come against the temporal (2 Cor 4:17-18). Thus, their value system is adjusted to heaven's standard. This involves communing with the Lord in prayer as a source of boldness : '. . . and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak' (Eph 6:19-20). 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. The one we seek to please first will always wind up evaluating our efforts at pleasing them. It must be Christ, He carries us, our value, not mortal sinful men.
'The fear of man brings a snare' (Prov 29:25). The fear of God and the fear of man have always been, incompatible, and inversely proportional. The greater fear of God a man has, the less he fears men. When one answers the call of true discipleship, his fear of man will be overtaken and ultimately consumed by the fear of God. During our Lord ' s earthly ministry, there were 'wanna be' followers who remained stuck in the fear of man. John 12:42-43 '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. '
John 5:44. Jesus warns that the fear of man and its hunger for status 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?'
APPLICATION: If we are going to demonstrate courage as TRUTH SPEAKERS, we must confess that our narcissistic desire to be liked by all has stolen our boldness to speak the truth in love.' The wicked flee when no one is pursuing, but the righteous are bold as a lion' (Prov 28:1). Our second point of strength deals with conscience:
II. Boldness to speak the Word is from a clear conscience (Acts 24:15-16).
To abide in Christ is to be controlled by the massive guilt transfer which took place 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. Even one sin ' ricochet ing 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).
'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 Jn 1:7; Prov 28:13). In order for us to exercise courage, the blood of the Son of God must be the loudest voice in our conscience (Rom 8:33-34).
III. Boldness to speak the Word is part of 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, there is also a corporate element. God has set forth a clear plan that fellowship be spiritual. 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).
It is remarkable just how many N. T. commands govern how believers are to speak to one another. Some of the most common imperatives are encourage, exhort, comfort, admonish, implore, edify, stimulate, serve, and speak to one another, etc.
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).
The chief pathway of verbally communicating Scripture 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, to 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 spiritual leadership (Titus 1:9; 2:1, 6-8, 10). How does our commitment to the transformation mandate begin -so it becomes a lifestyle? It will if we love God's truth in the inner man-now to our fourth point:
IV . 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 become accomplished at using the Sword of Truth on himself. This is inseparable from loving the truth in the inner man (1 Tim 4:15-16). To desire what God desires is God's truth in their innermost being (Ps 51:6). In the book of James, we read: 'Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was' (Jas 1:21-24). Love the truth; Practice the truth: Speak the truth. God's truth has no power over a person unless the truth is loved and obeyed (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). The man of God can only proclaim with conviction what he has first preached to his own heart. He can only call for repentance where the truth has brought repentance in his own life.
'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 rooftops begins in the heart (Mt 10:27). This is the principle of the enlarged sphere. There is a logical progression in the Christian's sphere of spiritual influence. Each step is stipulated on faithfulness in the previous: 1) First: you speak the truth in your own heart -that is 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. You speak truth in the Body of Christ in your conversations. 3) You begin to live a lifestyle of discipleship and edifying the body of Christ. You are able to encourage, exhort, and 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 is built on the principle of the enlarged sphere. For each step prepares a believer for the next, and reveals your own relationship to the truth. Obedience doesn't develop in a vacuum; each act of faithfulness leads to the next.'... the people who know their God will display strength and take action' (Dan 11:32).
V. Courage to speak the Word is built upon our initial acts of obedience.
Your determination to obey the Lord and be a truth speaker may be expressed in three stages of growth. The FIRST STEP addresses your relationship to God through Scripture. In this, the 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 -my life is utterly dependent upon it. That's building upon the Rock (Mt 7:24ff.). My relationship to the Word is my lifeline in my walk with God. STEP TWO : I apply the Bible to my life and allow it to define and order each area of my life, reordering my affections. In my walk I will make it my ambition to be pleasing to the Lord (2 Cor 5:9). I see myself as living in the presence of God, presenting myself back to Him daily (Rom 6:11-13; 1 Cor 6:19-20). A life characterized by conformity to the truth sets us on a path which Jesus called the narrow way (Mt 7:13-14) . STEP THREE in our obedience 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 (biblical self-confrontation).
Many Christians are unfruitful because they are biblically mute -their swords are permanently corroded and held fast in their sheathes by years of disuse. They could be spiritual influencers, but they have side-lined themselves and need to relearn what it means to follow Christ by waging war with the Word of Truth. A true disciple is constantly waging war against sin, ignorance and darkness by means of the Word.
Begin speaking the Word by 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 weapons to neutralize the people of God. Determine that you will obey God by being a blessing to others in the Body. Determine to move your conversations from mundane t o meaningful by prayerfully speaking God's Word .
Think ahead of time about what you may share -premeditate. '. . . 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 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 . ' Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the LORD. ' (Ps 27:14). The ability to act in boldness is a function of waiting on the Lord -with the confident expectation He preserves the faithful, and empowers them to bear witness to the truth (Jn 15:26-27).
Those around us need our willingness to speak 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 boldness. They will not put their confidence in God unless they see the faith of their fathers and brothers -hearing from them the joy of God, the works of God, and commands of God (Ps 78:3-8).