November 9, 2025 Sharing Our Faith: Speaking the Word Boldly | Acts 4:1-31

Today, we will be reflecting on Acts 4:1-31, Speaking the Word Boldly. Peter and John have been told not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus. Their witness was so powerful that people believed their witness about Jesus and accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and this threatens the rulers and elders of the Jews. Peter, John, and the other apostles led many people to Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit and were able to clearly and boldly share who Jesus is and show the people their need for Jesus.

Transcript

Speaking the Word Boldly

Acts 4:1-31

Peter and John have just healed a lame beggar and are sharing the good news of Jesus with the crowd, who recognize the beggar and that he can now walk! Peter’s preaching in the temple court and the priests, Sadducees, and temple guard come up to Peter and John and are disturbed by what they’re saying about Jesus, especially the Sadducees who don’t believe in resurrection. Peter’s telling the people that the beggar was healed by the name of Jesus and the faith that comes through Jesus. Peter also tells them that they’re responsible for killing Jesus and calls on them to repent and turn to God for forgiveness and receive Jesus. Peter and John are thrown into prison for the night, but many who heard them believe in Jesus. The good news continues to spread and the number of those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Saviour keeps growing! 

What are some of the things you’re excited to talk about with friends, co-workers, fellow students, and neighbours about? Many of us have favourite sports teams, politics and political parties can create passionate discussion, important current issues that capture our attention or hearts are some of the things that can bring people together for zealous conversations. We talk about the things that are important to us, things that show others who we are, and what we care about, yet ultimately, these are not important things, they’re distractions Satan uses to keep us from talking about life changing eternal things, like our salvation and Jesus, so many people are distracting themselves to death, never going deeper in any relationships with others or God.

When it comes to sharing the gospel news, sharing our faith and talking about who Jesus is and how important he is to us, many believers find themselves tongue-tied and mostly quiet. Some of this comes from accepting culture’s insistence that public life and faith should always be separate, others believe talking about faith or politics is impolite, and it’s easy to use these excuses to be mostly quiet about what we believe. Speaking the Word boldly begins with understanding and experiencing the power and presence of the good news in our own hearts and lives, how Jesus is an on-going part of the transformation happening in our lives, our relationships, our priorities, and how we even understand the world and our place in it. As we talked about last week, it begins with spending time together in reading the Scriptures to come to know Jesus more personally, and to teach it to others. 

The next morning, the religious leadership have Peter and John brought to them, asking them what power or name did they heal the man. Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit boldly tells them that it’s by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and that there’s no salvation found in anyone else. This is a powerful testimony before this powerful council of leaders, Peter clearly declares to them that they’ve missed the boat, that with all their knowledge, they’ve missed that Jesus is “the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.” Jesus is the promised Messiah, the one from God who has come to save the people, but they can’t see it, but need to be shown this through their testimony. 

The leaders are afraid because they see how this faith in Jesus is spreading, but can't stop it. They see the lame man walking and can’t deny the power they have, power that comes from believing in Jesus, so they command Peter and John to not to speak of Jesus any more and let them go. Before they leave, Peter and John tell them, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Peter and John have to decide whether to listen to Jesus’ command in Matthew 28, “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age,” or the religious leaders. Peter and John know Jesus, they’ve sat at his feet for three years learning about the kingdom of heaven, they didn’t always understand, even ended up denying Jesus, yet they also learnt the power of grace and forgiveness, the beauty of Jesus’ way, how he’s the truth, and how we find our life in him. It’ a no-brainer for them to choose to listen to Jesus over the religious leaders. Our culture tells us to not share our faith, that it's private, but we’re called to share the good news with everyone, to make disciples and teach them to obey out of a spirit of gratitude for our salvation; we have to choose who we will listen to. 

Peter and John share what happened with their own people who follow Jesus as Lord and Saviour, and they praise God and acknowledge he’s sovereign, asking for the Spirit to give them the ability to speak God's Word with great boldness. Sharing our faith with boldness begins with having a passion for Jesus, for recognizing and experiencing the power of Jesus and his forgiveness and grace in our own lives, knowing with our hearts and lives that he died for me personally, and for every other person; all we need to do to receive this forgiveness and grace is to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.

Sharing our faith needs to be rooted in prayer, seeking the Holy Spirit's power and guidance, trusting that the Spirit will give us the words and the boldness to tell others who Jesus is and what he’s done for us in his life and on the cross. We share what we believe is important and precious to us, what we are passionate about, and there is nothing more important than our salvation. Our salvation is an eternal thing; it impacts who we are and what our future all the way into eternity. Our tendency is to think about the right now, where can I experience joy and fulfillment, where can I experience pleasure or fulfillment right now. This always Satan the space to distract us with our wants, keeping us away from thinking about our need for salvation, for an eternal relationship with Jesus.

Sharing the good news doesn't take an education or degree, it's for everyone and is best received from ordinary people living ordinary lives with the presence of God shaping us. Praying for those we’d like to share the good news with, the Praying for Five cards help us with this, praying for opportunities to share about Jesus is the best place to begin. When an opportunity to talk with one of your five comes up, one of the best ways to find out how to share the gospel is to ask them to tell you their own story. When they share their life stories, we have the opportunity to listen well; but this means we need to spend more time listening than telling in order to be able “to share the gospel of Jesus in a way that meaningfully speaks to the heart of others,” as Francis Shaeffer teaches. We need to listen to their stories with the gospel story of Jesus in our minds. As you listen to their stories, ask yourself, where are they looking for answers that the gospel provides, how does the gospel meet them where they’re at in life, who is the hero of their story, and how is Jesus a better answer than what they’re going after or trusting in right now. This means we also need to know our culture in order to speak Jesus into the lives of people.

As you learn the other person’s story, you then have an opportunity to share how Jesus is an on-going part of the transformation happening in your lives, your relationships, your priorities, and how you even understand the world and your place in it. We speak about what we've seen and heard, how have you seen God working in your life, how have you heard God speak to you?

As you build these relationships, Francis Shaeffer teaches that the skill we need for evangelism and discipleship is to “have enough compassion to learn the questions of our generation.” Before we can answer the questions of our generation, we need to listen well to Scripture and the Holy Spirit in order to identify the gospel answers to the questions people are really asking. Peter and John, Paul and the other apostles and early preachers and evangelists in the early church knew Scripture, and were able to share God’s history with his people and how all his promises are fulfilled in Jesus, and how Jesus speaks into our lives. 

Speaking the Word Boldly: know Jesus as your saviour personally and deeply, be deep in Scripture, talk regularly with God in prayer for others, for your 5, to come to accept Jesus, listen to the stories of others so you can speak Jesus into their lives, and keep asking the Holy Spirit to help you to speak the Word with boldness.