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[0:00] Would you turn to the book of Proverbs and to the 28th chapter and the subject that you will find in the first verse.

[0:13] Proverbs 28 and the second clause of the first verse of that chapter. The righteous are bold as a lion. The righteous are bold as a lion.

[0:32] The whole verse of course sets a contrast between the wicked and the righteous, between the godly and the ungodly.

[0:46] And the wicked are described as men of fear. The wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion.

[1:00] Now I don't want to spend too much time upon the wicked. I want to preach a positive gospel. To assert these infallible truths that are bound up within the second part of the verse.

[1:17] The righteous are bold as a lion. Nonetheless, just this thought, the wicked will flee from anything and everything, but that which is the most important.

[1:32] They will not flee from the wrath to come. They will not seek a refuge for sinners. They will not turn from their sins and seek the one who alone is able to save unto the uttermost.

[1:48] Let them hear a rumor. Let them hear something that will appeal to their superstitious mind and their natural fear. And they will be quick to flee, even though it be but a rumor.

[2:03] But let them be faced with the solemnity of the eternal issue. Heaven and hell. Judgment to come. Or the gift of God, which is eternal life.

[2:15] And such will not flee. When wisdom calls, they stop their ear. And headlong earn their mad career. The wicked flee when no man pursues.

[2:29] But though hell pursues, they will not flee from the judgment of God. But how different is the case of the righteous here this one.

[2:42] But the righteous are bold. The righteous are bold as a lion. A lion, I hardly mean to describe the figure.

[2:54] Here is that creature which is described as the king of the beast. He has no need to fear because of his strength.

[3:04] He has no need to fear because of his great size and so on. He is supreme in the kingdom in which he rules.

[3:16] He is a creature set before us as a symbol of courage and of strength and of ability to take care of himself in moments of danger or of trouble.

[3:30] The righteous are bold as a lion. Now, where is lies the boldness of the righteous?

[3:41] Why are they bold as a lion when they are compared with the ungodly and with the wicked? Well, the boldness of the righteous lies in their righteousness.

[3:58] It is their righteousness which is their confidence and their boldness. Boldness, of course, speaks of confidence.

[4:09] Boldness speaks of strength and an ability, as it were, to hold one's own against difficulties and against opposition.

[4:22] And the righteous are bold as a lion. And their righteousness is the basis of their boldness.

[4:34] Now, the boldness of the righteous is not in a righteousness of their own making. It is a boldness which is found in the righteousness of their God.

[4:51] But any righteousness, short of God's righteousness, is unacceptable before him, and would certainly give none any occasion to boast or to feel any degree of confidence.

[5:07] We have no confidence in the flesh. The boldness here spoken of is nothing to do with your natural wisdom, nothing to do with your natural strength, nothing to do with your natural ability or your acceptability before God.

[5:26] It is a boldness and a confidence bound up in God himself. So the boldness of the godly is bound up in righteousness.

[5:38] The righteousness of the godly is bound up in God. Their righteousness is of me, said the Lord. Now, in the New Testament, and in the first epistle to the Thessalonians, chapter 2 and verse 2, Paul there makes this testimony concerning certain experience that he had had.

[6:10] At Philippi, we were bold in our God. At Philippi, we were bold in our God.

[6:21] Now this very much sums up the boldness spoken of in the book of Proverbs. Bold in God. The righteous are bold as a lion.

[6:35] The righteous are bold in their God. May I remind you of Paul's experience at Philippi, when he and Silas were caught into prison, having been scourged and having been put in the stocks, thrust into that inner prison by that brutal and callous jailer, they didn't sit and bemoan themselves or cry out against the hardness and harshness of the treatment that was afforded to them.

[7:10] No. We read that they sang and prayed God and the prisoners heard them. They rejoiced in the prison cell and before very long came the earthquake.

[7:26] Before very long it was the jailer who was crying, what must I do to be saved? Now there in that Philippian jail, many hundreds of years ago, we see a demonstration of true boldness.

[7:43] The righteous is bold and a lion. Paul said, we were bold in our God. There with courage, with confidence, yet with complete submission to the will of God, those two saints who had been so shameful to you because of their faithful testimony, sang and prayed in the prison.

[8:06] and God did great things for them. Nonetheless, before we turn back again to further thoughts based upon the New Testament doctrine of Christian boldness, I would just remind you of a few things that we may rest on drawn from the Old Testament.

[8:29] When we think of boldness, we may think of some of those who were recorded in Hebrews chapter 11 as being the great heroes of the faith.

[8:44] Those whom God raised up from time to time to deliver and to lead his people in days of danger and of difficulty, oppression, and opposition.

[8:57] The righteous are bold and alive. Take for example the character of Joshua as he was appointed by God to lead the people of God over Jordan into the land of promise, there to take from the hand of the enemy their inheritance which God had promised them.

[9:20] And he was told then, be strong and very courageous. And bold he won't, not in his own strength, but in the promises that God had given him.

[9:34] He boldly went forth into that land as they passed Royce of through Jordan. And it was a boldness not only in the face of the enemy, not only in the face of the apparently impossible task of overthrowing a city such as Jericho, but a boldness of faith that carried out this work in the light of God's revealed will.

[10:05] Here is where the boldness comes in. They did not sit down and plan and scheme how they should take the city of Jericho.

[10:15] Joshua was given specific instructions from one who described himself as the captain of the Lord's host and as he followed out those instructions to the letter, no matter how they scoffed on the walls of Jericho, no matter even if the people murmured that he was leading, yet still Joshua did exactly that.

[10:45] which was laid down by his heavenly captain, and you know the result. The walls of Jericho fell down by faith, and that great obstacle was overcome.

[11:00] The strongholds of Satan were pulled down. Joshua was bold as a lion, bold truly to face the boat, but bold also to do so, not in his own wisdom, but in the light of God's word.

[11:16] He wielded the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, and the walls of Jericho fell before them. Another character whose boldness stands out may be the character of Samson, bold as a lion, yea, bolder, for he faced a lion, a young lion that roared at him.

[11:40] What was the secret of his success? Not because he didn't cut his hair, though that was a commandment which he was compelled to obey, but because of this, the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him.

[12:00] The spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him. That which gave him the courage, the strength, and made him bold, in the face of that lion, was the spirit of God, so that he rent him as he would have rent a king.

[12:20] Another character which surely is a suitable illustration would be the character of David himself. That great conflict between David and the lion that took place between the armies of Israel and the hosts of the Philistine.

[12:41] There these two men, the one blaspheming, scoffing, and mocking at his foe, because he seemed to be so small and so insignificant, the other going the strength of the Lord his God, making mention of his righteousness, of his own name.

[13:02] a sling, a stone, and the arm of faith went with him. The righteous is bold as a lion.

[13:14] And surely God demonstrated there again a holy boldness, the boldness of faith that is given to those that trust in him.

[13:25] David had ignored the offer of Saul's honor. David had gone where others would not venture, and proved the truth of what we have here, the righteous is bold as a lion.

[13:41] Well, we can think of others also, we can think of Gideon, we can think of Elijah, there upon the bank, facing the hosts of Baal, and there going into open conflict with those prophets regarding the matter of fire from heaven.

[14:00] The righteous is bold as a lion. But I want to turn over now to the New Testament and to remind you of the boldness of the early church, the boldness of those first Christians that bore witness and testimony to the power of Christ and of his salvation.

[14:25] And it was for this reason that we read the fourth chapter of the act of the apostles. And I would draw your attention again to the 13th verse where we commence reading.

[14:41] Now when they saw the boldness, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marred and they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.

[15:04] Now, not only is the believer's boldness in God, but in the New Testament the believer's boldness is in crumbs.

[15:16] Paul specifically states this in Ephesians chapter 3 and I read from the 11th verse, according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

[15:46] So, the believer's boldness is in God. The believer's boldness is something which is the product of the work of the Holy Spirit, as we have already mentioned in the case of Samson, and the believer's boldness is well founded in Christ.

[16:09] So, as we consider these apostles, Peter and John, in Acts chapter 4, and know their boldness, it is relevant to this, they have been with Jesus.

[16:26] They have been with Jesus. Now, before I pursue this theme any further, may I just, at this point, introduce a little more specifically the definition of boldness, as it is put before us in the New Testament.

[16:47] It is not only a matter of courage and of confidence, that freedom from fear in the face of the enemy, whether it be physical dangers or spiritual opposition, but it is positively relevant to the word and to that utterance, that powerful liberty of utterance that was given to the apostles, and I believe has been given to many of the Lord's servants since, wherein they spoke the word with boldness.

[17:27] Now, this comes out in other parts of the Acts of the Apostles. Take, for example, Paul. After his remarkable conversion, we read in the Acts of the Apostles, that Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly.

[17:57] You see, preached boldly at the Massacre. And again in verse 29, he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus.

[18:10] In the 13th chapter, where Paul and Barnabas were in conflict with the Jews, Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said it was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you.

[18:27] In the 18th chapter, where we read of the call and the commissioning of Apollos, we read he began to speak boldly.

[18:42] In the 19th chapter, with reference to Paul's ministry, in a certain synagogue, he went into the synagogue and spake boldly.

[18:53] So there is within the meaning of this word here translated as boldness, that which is particularly relevant to liberty of utterance, confidence in testimony of the things of God and of Christ.

[19:15] So that we may take it from the Old Testament into the New Testament context, the righteous is bold as a lion, a boldness proceeding from God, a boldness proceeding from the Holy Spirit, and a boldness that is specifically relevant to the person of Christ, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John.

[19:41] Now you will see that this 13th verse in Acts chapter 4 underlines what I have said about this boldness and liberty of usherence.

[19:52] they perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men. It didn't mean they couldn't read or write. It didn't mean that they were crude in their manner of speech.

[20:06] But they were not trained, approved preachers of any particular Jewish school. They were ordinary folks, such as you and others.

[20:17] There was no apparent reason, what, they should have had such liberty, such ability to speak, such power, in what which they said, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled.

[20:39] And what was the conclusion, what was it they discovered as they were brought thus to mind? They took knowledge of that, that they had been with Jesus.

[20:53] I would put it forward this evening that one of the fundamental secrets of true boldness in the believer is being with Jesus.

[21:07] Being with Jesus. Now as this chapter unfolds, you will note that as they were threatened by the council, and as they returned to their own company, have held that remarkable prayer meeting here recorded, in the 29th verse, the burden of their prayer is clearly stated.

[21:34] And now Lord, behold their threatening, and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word.

[21:46] with all boldness they may speak thy word. The righteous is bold as a lion. The council couldn't silence them, you see.

[21:57] They could not repress them. It sent them to prayer, seeking help of God. And when they prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

[22:18] They spake the word of God with boldness. So that as we consider, this subject is he, the righteous is bold.

[22:29] As a lion, we may reflect that it is a boldness that was manifested in the early church, and was particularly relevant to the preaching of the gospel.

[22:44] And it may move us this evening to pray, that in this day of spiritual decline, this day of small things in our land, this day of small things in our churches, there may be raised up of God, those who will speak the word with boldness, without the fear of man, without seeking the favour of man, but that will speak the world the word with boldness.

[23:14] The righteous is a boldness and a lion. But it is not only something that I would say about preachers this evening, for this boldness goes much further, much deeper than that.

[23:31] And it is a boldness which each one of us as individuals needs to have an understanding of and an experience. Well, tell me my friend, are you a bold Christian?

[23:45] You say, well, I don't want to be presumptuous. No, of course you don't. But there is a right and a wrong sort of boldness. The Pharisee was bold in his boasting before God, telling him all that he was and all that he had done and so on.

[24:05] But that was indeed the boldness of presumption. But nonetheless, there is a right and a righteous boldness defined in the New Testament.

[24:19] And I want now to remind you of what is recorded in Hebrew chapter 10. In the 10th chapter of Hebrews, we have the conclusion that is reached as a result of a very lengthy consideration of various aspects of the New Covenant.

[24:45] The law made nothing imperfect. The bringing in of a better hope did, by the which we draw nigh unto God.

[24:56] And here is the basis of the Christian boldness. Boldness of utterance not now before man but before God.

[25:07] You may say, dare I approach this holy God? Dare I address him? Dare I make my request made known to him? Would he hear me even if I did approach him?

[25:20] For I am such a sinner and he is the high and holy one that inhabited eternity. Well, listen to the conclusion of the matter. the epistle to the Hebrews unfolds the great doctrine of Christ as Melchizedek.

[25:39] It unfolds the great doctrine of the new covenant blessing bound up in the offering and sacrifice of the cross of Calvary. And here in Hebrews chapter 10 we have this statement in verse 19 having therefore brethren boldness.

[26:00] Having therefore it's based upon the new covenant it is based upon the witness of the Holy Ghost having therefore brethren boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.

[26:21] Now how vital that is. By the blood of Jesus. What is the believer's confidence? His boldness in approaching God.

[26:33] Not his righteousness but the righteousness which is by faith of Jesus Christ. A righteousness which is imputed through his precious blood.

[26:47] Once offered, once shed upon the cross of Calvary. The believer's boldness is the blood of Jesus. A new and living well which he has consecrated for us through the veil that is to say his flesh.

[27:07] And having an high priest over the house of God let us draw me with a true heart in full assurance of faith.

[27:20] You say well this isn't the boldness of David and the life is it? This isn't the boldness of Joshua. This isn't the boldness of those apostles.

[27:32] My friends it's a greater boldness than this. For you are a sinner man. And he is a holy heart searching God. And yet through his own dear son and through his shed love he has made a well whereby sinners such as you and I may draw nigh unto him not fearing his wrath not fearing his condemnation remain drawn near but it's mentioned isn't it earlier in the fourth chapter where we read let us therefore come boldly let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need with holy boldness may we come though of a sinful race thankful to father there yet is room before the throne of grace of course you have no confidence in the flesh if God has shown you what a sinner you are but if he has shown you the perfection of Christ and his acceptability before him the efficacy of his shed love mentioned in chapter 10 then you may come with boldness with confidence unto the throne of grace but there is another aspect of

[29:06] Christian boldness which is found in the first epistle of John and in the fourth chapter and there in the seventeenth verse we read herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment because of he is so are we in this world there is no fear in love but perfect love casteth out fear the wicked flame when no man pursueth they are in fear where no fear was but there is a fearful day to come it is the day of judgment and we must all appear before the judgment seat of crime he is coming to judge the world in righteousness it is inevitable that day must surely come when all the secrets of all hearts will be revealed when you must stand before the throne my friend how will it be with you on that day will you have boldness then if you should stand among those who boast of their good word those who try to tell him what they done for him my friends where will it stand in that day there will be no faces for boldness there to summon tongue heaven or hell joy or everlasting sorrow what will your portion be what will my portion be well the answer is the love of

[31:14] God he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him here is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment that boldness is clearly spelled out for us in the epistle to the Romans particularly in the beginning of chapter 8 there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemn sin in the flesh if you're in

[32:15] Christ your sin has been dealt with it has been punished it has been judged how wonderfully the words of Romans 5 come to mind as we consider the person of Christ God commandeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us much more than being now justified by his blood we shall be saved from wrath through him boldness before the throne of grace it is a very wonderful thing isn't it boldness before the judgment throne one hymn writer said bold shall I stand in that great day for who up to my charge shall end he was resting in the blood and the righteousness of the

[33:20] Lord Jesus God another said I will my fierce accuser face and tell him thou hast died the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God now that's a believer's boldness you will see it has nothing to do with natural self confidence it has nothing to do with complacency or indifference shutting our eyes to the facts but it has much to do with the person of Christ and the cross of Calvary and the work of the Holy Spirit and of regeneration hearing all his true boldness the righteous is bold as a lion but may we move on to another aspect of the boldness of the believer to this boldness will be found again in the epistle to the

[34:27] Hebrews and in the last chapter that is the thirteenth chapter where we read this in the fifth verse let your conversation the manner of life that is be without covetousness and be content with such things as ye have for he hath said I will never leave thee nor forsake thee so that we may boldly say the Lord is my helper and I will not fear what man shall do unto me now what a wonderful statement that is here is the worldling he is looking for this and that and the other to make life more pleasing to him that he may have more pleasure that he may have more wealth that he may have more of this and that and the other that he thinks that he wants let your conversation be with covetousness and be content with such things as he has this is one of the last things that my dear mother said to me about the last time

[35:51] I saw her to have conversation with her I asked her how she was and she said I am content I am content he has said I will never leave nor forsake me what more do you want than that when you think about that we may boldly say the Lord is my helper and I will not fear what man should do unto this the wicked fly when no man pursue it the godly will be pursued they will often be tempted they will often be persecuted they will often be mocked many have ended their life at the state or in other terrible forms of death yet in the face of all this oppression and persecution they have stood firm they have shown a boldness in the midst of their meekness and submission to that which has come upon them well the lord is my helper the lord is my helper thy grace suffice the saints of old it made them strong it made them bold and it suffice it still that we may boldly say the lord is my helper well you've got to say anything else tonight

[37:27] I hope not I trust not we may boldly confidently say the lord is my helper I will not fear what man should do unto me the righteous are bold as a liar but there is another aspect to this boldness that you will find in the epistle to the Philippians and in the first chapter of that epistle where Paul was there enduring much for Christ's sake he had written to the Philippians from his own prison where he had been enduring many things and yet his witness had not been silenced and as he said earlier my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in other places and many of the brethren in the

[38:33] Lord waxing confident by my bonds are much more bold to speak the word without fear there was that in Paul's imprisonment on suffering for the gospel sake which had strengthened the witness of other believers as they had seen him enduring seen him upheld seen his testimony in those fine conditions but a little further down in the chapter in verse 20 he says this according to my earnest expectation and my hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed but that with all boldness as always so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body whether it be my life or my death for to me to live is

[39:36] Christ and to die is gain as Paul viewed his suffering body the afflictions that were imposed upon him by his persecutors he was not concerned to escape them he was not concerned to be relieved of them his concern was that Christ should be magnified in his body whether by his life or by his death what boldness to consider his afflictions to consider the fact that the death sentence might well have been passed upon him at that time and yet he could say that now with all boldness as always so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body whether it be by life or by death for to me to live is

[40:43] Christ and to die is gain I was recently called upon speak at the funeral of the late Lily Kindle of Kahn and this was the verse I spoke from to die is gain to die is gain she had nothing to lose she had everything to gain but she had such remarkable views of Christ waiting to receive her that she couldn't wait to be gone boldness the chilling flood meant nothing to her she stood where Moses stood and viewed the landscape all the death cold stream and Jordan's flood couldn't keep her from the shore

[41:44] I tell you it was wonderful to witness it was reality these were no ramblings you know of somebody who was influenced by God they were the faithful testimony of one who was in Paul's position that Christ shall be magnified in my body whether it be by life or by death boldness boldness before God boldness in the light of eternal judgment boldness in the light of this I will never leave thee nor for safety boldness in the light of this to live is Christ to die is gain this is the boldness of the believer the devil has no answer to it my friend we're not trusting in our fallible nature we're not trusting in coming to divine fables we're resting in the eternal

[43:01] God and in the Son of God and in the will of God and the word of God and of so great salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord he had a change the same yesterday and today and forever the righteous are told as a liar or no I've sought this evening to touch upon some aspect of the boldness of the Christian there are one or two thoughts that one might well introduce but in view of the time I feel I must leave the subject at this point sufficient for me to clothe with this how is it with each one of us where is our confidence have we this true spiritual boldness the boldness that is in

[44:13] God the boldness that is in Christ the boldness that is the work of the Holy Spirit whether it be as we bow before the throne of grace and prayer or whether we face a troubling world or whether we are called upon to bear witness and testimony to the truths that we confess as we have boldness have confidence we are not suggesting something militant something rampant something that is reminiscent rather of the roaring lion walking up and down seeking whom he may devour like the devil's tactics but no that confidence which comes from Christ alone for he is the believer's boldness and confidence in every circumstance and particularly in the light of divine judgment and the things which are to come the righteous are born as a lion may it be that some of us who would ever desire to be numbered amongst sheep as lambs in the flock and the pasture of our

[45:39]  God may yet by grace demonstrate that we are also as bold as a lion may the Lord have his blessing Amen Amen