APPLICATION ARTICLE | T. Sean Sullivan | Paragould, Arkansas
Introduction
Our Lord and Savior demonstrated great boldness (John 7:26), and we can have the same (Hebrews 13:6).
Boldness is confidence, and confidence is from the knowledge of truth. Jesus was bold in His approach to teaching, preaching, and living, because He certainly knew truth in an absolute way. Are we bold in the knowledge of truth, like Jesus? Or, do we allow for doubts to ruin our boldness? The timid can be convinced that faith is an empty fairy tale.
With confident boldness in truth, we will change our lives and all our actions to follow God’s rules. We will surrender our will to God’s leadership, and we will seek Heaven beyond this life.
Jesus was bold in the knowledge of these three statements: God is real. His directions are the truth. He is worthy of our confidence. We need to take on the boldness of Jesus in all truth, including these thoughts.
Boldly Declare: God is Real
For most souls who will read this lesson, the word of God alone is their immediate source for proof of God – and that is a good thing, because we believe the Bible. We know Psalm 14:1 that begins with, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’”. And, Proverbs 1:7, which says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…” We embrace the New Testament wherein the declarations of God are direct and emphatic, with no room for doubt. Paul’s lesson at Athens in an example. Paul declares, “God, who made the world and everything in it…” (Acts 17:24-27). We should all know the Hebrew writer’s statement in 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
However, there may be those who lack the boldness of faith in God. Perhaps these logical observations will help us all to become bold. There can be no other reasonable explanation that works with this proven scientific law than a supernatural being who is beyond (outside of) our material nature, and more powerful than our material world, to have made it happen. God who made all the parameters of our existence: time, space, matter, force, and motion (Genesis 1:1-2).
- “In the beginning” – time.
- “made the heavens” – space.
- “and the earth” – matter.
- “…the Spirit of God moved over the face of the water” – force and motion.
God is the answer to our origin. God is eternal (Revelation 4:8). God is all-knowing (1 John 3:20). God is all-powerful (Revelation 19:6). God is the only explainable, rational, and valid conclusion that fulfills the need of all that is required to explain this world’s existence.
Be boldly confident that God is.
Boldly Declare: The Bible is Real
The Bible is God’s given word (James 1:17-22), the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), and the Holy Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15-17). James describes the word of God as among His good and perfect gifts (James 1:17-18). He continues to tell us that in order to work, as it should, we must confidently accept and boldly apply His direction – being doers of the word (James 1:19-25).
Do not let those who question the Bible cause you to lack confident boldness. The Bible always stands the test. The Bible is not “a History Book,” but it contains absolutely accurate history. One example is “The Hittites” – Some “experts” have questioned the existence of the people referred to as Hittites in the Bible (Genesis 15:20; Genesis 23:10; and 46 other references). The proof of the Hittites was unearthed in the early 1800s, and by the early 1900s, it was verified. Of course, believers knew all the way alone, from reading and trusting the Bible, without having to dig. In Acts 18:12-17, Luke wrote that Paul was brought before Gallio, the proconsul of Achaea, and, even though many doubted this reference over time, archaeology confirmed this as fact. We can also consider that we have fragments of the New Testament as early as 150 AD and full Greek manuscripts from the mid-300s AD (Codex Sinaiticus). We have over 20,000 fragments, which prove our New Testament. Every scroll and piece of a scroll fully supports the New Testament that we have right now. The critics also help demonstrate the accuracy of the Scriptures. For centuries, the enemies of God’s word have searched for evidence of error that they can use against God’s word, and they have never found any true reason to reject these words.
Be boldly confident that the Bible is real.
Boldly Declare: Faith is Our Obedience
Some people refuse to accept God’s promises, because others who claim to be believers do not live as they should. We must have a great confidence, a great boldness, to live God’s will consistently – remembering that we are the light of the world (Matthew 5:16).
We boldly declare faith by living in faith, like Paul, who said,.
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal of the price of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.” (Philippians 3:12-15)
The bold practice of faith provides us with a better way to live today (Galatians 5:22-25) and the opportunity to gain eternal life after this life is over (1 John 2:24-25).
The way to Heaven is clearly revealed in the Scriptures (John 14:1-6). The pathway is not a “random hope” or “luck of the draw”; it is bold obedience to God. To boldly obey God, we must know what He expects (Ephesians 5:8-10). To boldly obey God, we must properly understand His directions (2 Timothy 2:15). To boldly obey God, we also must do what He expects (Matthew 7:21).
Be bold in your faith and confidently obey God always.
Conclusion
Doubt and misgivings are the opposite of the example left for us to walk in (1 Peter 2:21-23). Do not allow any doubts to creep into your hearts. Throw away your doubts, take on true belief. Be bold in your life’s declaration: God is real, His word is real, and faithful living is real. Bold confidence in hope of Heaven can be yours if you are willing to begin right now.
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GROW magazine | July 2026 PDF
a work of the Limestone Church of Christ
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