Be Bold: Part 1

Acts: Church on the Move
Acts 4:1–22 | October 12, 2025

Brief Summary

When bold faith meets fierce opposition, the Holy Spirit gives courage that cannot be silenced. In Acts 4, Peter and John stand before powerful leaders who command them to stop speaking about Jesus—but they refuse. True boldness isn’t reckless confidence; it’s Spirit-filled conviction that proclaims Christ no matter the cost.

Main Idea: Always be ready to preach the gospel with boldness in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I. Proclaiming the Resurrection of Jesus Can Lead to Trouble—Be Bold Anyway

Acts 4:1–4

And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

• Peter and John are imprisoned for healing a man and pointing people to Christ.

• We live in a culture obsessed with tolerance, where truth is often silenced to avoid offense—but the gospel cannot be altered to fit comfort.

• 1. The truth we preach isn’t ours to change.

  • 2 Timothy 2:15 — “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

• 2. The gospel is offensive.

  • 1 Corinthians 1:18 — “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

• When you proclaim Jesus and His resurrection, the world will react with hostility.

  • John 15:18–21 — Jesus warned that His followers would be hated just as He was.

• Yet persecution is a reason to rejoice.

  • Matthew 5:11–12 — “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you... Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”

• The boldness of Peter and John led to their imprisonment, but God used it to bring 5,000 people to faith in Christ.

II. Speak Boldly in the Power and Constraint of the Holy Spirit

Acts 4:5–12

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them... ‘Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth... there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’

• The religious leaders gather in power, but Peter stands in greater power—the Holy Spirit.

• Boldness must never be fueled by pride, but by the Spirit’s filling.

  • Luke 12:11–12 — “Do not be anxious... the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

• Peter answers with fearless clarity: the crippled man was healed in the name of Jesus, whom they crucified and God raised.

• True boldness is not only courage but gospel proclamation—Peter ends with the truth that salvation is in no other name.

III. Have Bold Faith and Trust God with the Results

Acts 4:13–22

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.

• The Greek word for “boldness” (parrēsia) means courage, confidence, and freedom to speak.

• The Sanhedrin recognized that Peter and John were ordinary men—but they had been with Jesus.

• When you live with courage and speak truth, others will see that you walk with Christ.

• Boldness doesn’t guarantee comfort or safety. Like John Huss, who was martyred in 1415, we may pay a price for proclaiming truth.

• Jesus calls us to count the cost of following Him.

  • Luke 14:25–33 — True discipleship means surrendering everything to Christ.

• Faithfulness doesn’t always bring worldly success—but it always brings eternal reward.

Conclusion

To be bold, courageous, and unshaken in persecution, we must live with an eternal perspective.

Romans 8:28–30 — And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good... those whom He justified He also glorified.

We trust God from justification to glorification—setting our hope fully on Jesus.
Be bold. Be faithful. Be unmovable in the power of the Holy Spirit.