How To Be A Courageous Christian

In our previous article we highlighted the need for courageous Christians. While certainly the issues covered in that article highlighted the fact that we do need courageous Christians, the more difficult question lingers in the air, what does a courageous Christian look like? Unfortunately we live in what could be referred to as an outrage culture, and anytime you live in an outrage culture the prevailing thought of courage is loud and bombastic. Not so for the Christian. The Christian will be marked by a seriousness about the truth with a temperament of wisdom and care that describes them. Simple enough, right? No. Despite our best efforts to be courageous we can feel if we are on one extreme of the spectrum of response.

So where do we turn? Simply put, the Bible. God’s Word provides us with clear strategy that shapes the way that we think about courageously standing on the truth of the Scriptures. Let’s look at how this plan can be implemented.

We Need to Speak the Truth in Love

Ephesians 4:15-16

15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

1. Love

What should frame the attitude and speech of a courageous Christian? Love. Our culture is obsessed with their own meanings of love, so Christians must be willing to show the love of God to those around them as they seek to live courageously. This means we need to have the right frame of mind when we get ready to engage those around us. Christians operate from the conviction that every human being they encounter is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). With that conviction the Christian then guards his or her heart as they address people. They desire for them to come to the knowledge of Christ so they are not hateful or overly argumentative. They truly operate from the standard of loving others as Christ has loved them.

2. Truth

An essential aspect of what will be said by the Christian is made clear. Paul instructs the Ephesians that when they speak to one another it is to be the truth. What truth does Paul have in mind here? Is it subjective or objective truth? How can we know what the truth even is? This is where Christians must remember the words of Jesus Christ as he prayed in John 17,

“17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”- John 17:17

So courage demands not settling for “versions” of truth but the settled truth of God’s Word. So before a Christian ever moves into the public square to engage someone on a particular thought, they are working to be sanctified by the Scriptures and let that formulate the way that the think. Further, the Christian is thinking in terms of God’s truth as the ultimate truth. So that when competing truth claims are put on the table, the one that the Christian goes with is God’s Word.

You may wonder, what is the strategy for being someone who is saturated by the truth, knows the truth, and lets the truth inform their day to day living. Paul tells us in a separate passage how we can know this truth:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.- Romans 12:1-2

So it is through the daily process of renewing our mind through the Scriptures that we have a strategy for letting the truth drive us. Once I get myself under the control of the Scriptures, I am ready for the final part of the strategy.

3. Speak

I fear that far too many Christians (myself included) start here instead of finishing here. They read the text, speak the truth in love, and just start the way that the text does. However, what we realize is that before I speak up on a particular topic I need to be informed by the Scripture as well as have the proper mindset that goes into speaking out on a particular topic.

What kind of speaking should accompany my engagement? Once again the Scripture are clear:

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.- Psalm 19:14

3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.- Psalm 141:3

5 Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.- Colossians 4:5-6

19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath –James 1:19

While this is just a small sampling of verses on how we should speak, they do help us to frame up the way that we think about engaging those around us.

What about the person who is shy or nervous about speaking? The truth of the Scriptures is that we cannot remain silent. Speaking is going to remain an important part of our ministry to those around us. However, I think the context of this verse helps us to prepare for speaking to others on the issues we have previously discussed. Paul writes here to the church at Ephesus about how they should speak to one another. So the simple understanding of speaking the truth in love starts in the life of the church.

If we can speak to fellow Christians in our church in this manner then we are preparing ourselves to engage with those who do not know Christ. In other words, courageous Christianity is always an overflow of the life of the local church.

Conclusion

The days in front of us may seem dark and discouraging but that is why we must remember that when the world is the darkest, the light of Christianity shines brightest. So we will pray and seek for opportunities to be courageous both inside and outside of our church. We will pray and ask the Lord to help us think through what we should or should not say, even in the moment that the conversation happens. By implementing this small and clear strategy we can have an effective and set apart witness for Jesus Christ and impact the communities around us for Him.

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