“Perhaps key among these other aspects I mention is a sense of courage, the spirit of daring and bearing. Courage was not considered worthy to be counted among virtues, unless it was exercised in the cause of righteousness.” In his Analects, Confucius says: ‘Perceiving what is right and doing it not reveals a lack of Courage.’ In short, ‘Courage is doing what is right’”( Inazo Nitobe, The Soul of Japan).
Certainly, as Christians, we must do what is right regardless of the cost. James 4:17 tells us: “to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” Revelation 21:8 condemns cowards putting them in the same category as the unbelieving, immoral, and murders among other sins: “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” We must not be cowardly, but courageous.
The question we must consider is: How do Christians display courage?
The courage to face persecutions
In 2 Timothy 3:1-9, Paul talks about the opposition Timothy will be facing. Godless men who are following their own desires. Paul, however, tells Timothy that he had chosen a different path:
“Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:10-12)
Notice Timothy needed to prepare himself to follow Paul into the areas of persecution and suffering as well. Paul goes further and says all Christians need to prepare themselves. Every single person who wants to follow this lifestyle will have a cross to bear (cf. Luke 9:23). There are no exceptions. Those who desire godliness are going to become a target. While we know the Christian life brings difficulties, but we have examples we can look to for encouragement. Many of the faithful men and women of the Bible suffered much more than we are likely to today.
Many have not prepared themselves to face persecution. Especially in America today. Since there is no physical persecution, it sometimes seems there are no persecutions. Jesus, however, described persecution as when people insult you, lie about you, and say evil things about you because of your faith (Matthew 5:10-12). This certainly happens today and many have fallen away because they were not prepared to face such persecutions.
We need to have the courage to face persecution. To have faith that will not back down nor waver despite the opposition and consequences facing us.
The courage to confess Jesus
In reality, this is an extension of the courage to face persecution, but there is an important distinction we need to understand. Persecution doesn’t always cause one to fall away in an obvious way. They cause some to go through the motions of Christianity without ever having the courage to truly follow Christ. Some who claim to believe act like they don’t believe. This was the case during the earthly ministry of Jesus. John 12:42 talks of men (leaders in fact) that believed in Jesus but were afraid to confess him for fear of the Pharisees and what they could do to them. They were cowards. This is cowardice condemned in Revelation 21:8—those that were too cowardly to die for the sake of their faith and instead compromised.
In 2 Timothy 1:7-8, Paul tells Timothy:
“God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God.”
This passage emphasizes the power we have from God, but before we consider that notice what verse 8 says about the purpose of that power—to testify about our Lord even if it means suffering. God doesn’t give us a spirit of silence. He doesn’t give us a spirit of shying away or backing down. Instead, He gives us:
- He gives us power—He has given us the ability and energy to get the job done. We just need to trust him and realize there is power in our faith.
- Love—If the message is preached in power without love it will not be effective. He wants us to preach with love (cf. Ephesians 4:15).
- Discipline—It refers to self-discipline and having a sound mind.
A failure to live openly and confidently as a Christian is not only cowardice but a lack of faith in what God provides.
In Matthew 10, Jesus is sending the twelve out in what we sometimes call the limited commission. He teaches them not to fear men because they can only kill the body and they will have to give an account for what they have done, rather we should fear God (Matthew 10:26-31). Fear of leaving and disobeying God is the only fear we should have. Jesus then tells them:
“everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33
Do we have the courage to be rewarded?
We should be ready to give a defense for the hope within us (1 Peter 3:14-16), to be the pillar and support of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15), to be a light shining in a crooked and perverse generation (Philippians 2:14-15). We must fulfill our commission to go into the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). We must make the decisions that we are going to truly and openly live as Christians. We must reject timidity and decide to live courageously for Christ.
The courage to lead
As men, we are called to lead. From the very beginning, God has desired men to take up the mantle of leadership within their families. All the way back in the Garden of Eden as God is telling Eve the consequences of her sin, He told her: “your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you” (Genesis 3:16). In 1 Corinthians 11:3, Paul writes that “the man is the head of a woman” just as “Christ is the head of every man.” Furthermore, in Ephesians 5:23-24, wives are commanded to submit to their husbands as to the Lord. If women are instructed to submit, there must have something to submit to. They ought to be able to look to their husband for leadership. If your wife ought to be looking to you for leadership, your children ought to be as well. As fathers, we must provide leadership our families can follow, including being an example to imitate, settings goals to strive towards, and making decisions to be heeded.
Many men do not feel up to the task nor worthy of it. Yet, we are called to this responsibility. It takes courage to step up and lead. Men must become leaders in the home.
Consider these words from Major Dick Winters: “War exposes the best and worst of those who are called to fight. I know of no man who lacked character in peace and then discovered his character in combat.” We must start living courageously today. Whether or not we currently face persecutions or opposition, we must make the decisions to serve Christ and do what needs to be done regardless of the cost.
By Jeremy Sprouse
Jeremy has been married to Erynn since August 1999. They are blessed with six children: Jaden, Isaiah, Isaac, Ean, Joseph, and Evelyn. Jeremy preaches for the Patrick St. church of Christ in Dublin, TX and is the author of To Train Up a Knight.
Other lessons in this series:
- Spiritual Bushido
- The Way of Righteousness
- Heroic Courage
- Benevolence
- Respect
- Honesty
- Honor (coming soon)
- Duty/Loyalty (coming soon)
- Self-Control (coming soon)
Knights of The Father 