Acts 4 Lesson

Today’s lesson highlights what it means to be “bold in the faith,” including the examples of Peter and John, and the boldness with which they preached the Gospel. 

Theirs is an example that we can all follow by doing three things:

1. Confessing Jesus as our Lord and Savior,
2. Remaining steadfast in our service to the Lord,
3. Exercising our faith so it can grow strong over time. 

We will look at each of these points today, and then the lesson will be yours.

CONFESSING JESUS   

Peter and John were firsthand witnesses to the suffering that Jesus endured on the cross. 

They watched the leaders pursue, capture, and then kill Jesus. 

Therefore, when they were asked, “By what power, or in what name, have you done this (Acts 4:7),” they had to consider the consequences of their answer carefully.    

As they responded to the zealous leaders of the time, they did not hesitate to confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior! 

These are their words as recorded in the Book of Acts:

• “Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead” – Acts 4:8-10.

Having witnessed the cruel death that Jesus suffered on the cross, it was courageous of them to make this confession. 

For Christians, confessing Jesus as our Lord and Savior is the first step toward being bold in the faith. 

The Apostle Paul wrote about this in his letter to the Romans:

• “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” - Romans 10:9-10.

Jesus, Himself, spoke of the importance of confessing His name in the following scripture:

• “Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before people, I will also confess him before My Father who is in Heaven.   But whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in Heaven.” – Mathew 10:32-33.

REMAINING STEADFAST

Being a Christian does not mean that we follow Jesus only when it is convenient. 

Peter and John were thrown into prison because of their faith, yet they remained steadfast in their love for Jesus. 

They were determined to follow Him no matter the cost.

It is this type of faith that we should aspire to have. 

During the most challenging times of our lives, God will not forsake us. 

In the same way, we should not forsake Him. 

Following Jesus is a 24/7/365 commitment! 

When the rulers tried to intimidate Peter and John by warning them not to speak about Jesus, they remained strong and replied:

• “For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” – Acts 4:19-20.

Peter and John were taking a stand.

They had been well prepared for the work at hand and were determined to see it through regardless of the consequences.

EXERCISING OUR FAITH

The third thing that we need to do to be bold in the faith, is to exercise our faith. 

We cannot tuck it away and pull it out on Sundays, or whenever it is convenient for us. 

That is the opposite of being bold in the faith! 

Peter and John were prepared because they had been exercising their faith all along. 

Their boldness did not happen by accident.  

It was something that they worked on and asked God to help them with.  

Luke writes:

• “And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.” - Acts 4:31.

CONCLUSION

To be bold in the faith, we must do three things:

1. Confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior,
2. Remain steadfast in our faith when others try to dissuade us,
3. Exercise our faith. 

Satan will not like this, and we can be sure that he will mount up counterattacks to try and shake our faith. 

Peter warned us about this in his first epistle:

• “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” – 1 Peter 5:8.

The good news for us is that we are not in this battle alone.  

Nothing could be further from the truth!  

Jesus said:

• “These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you have tribulation but take courage; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33. 

As we continue our work in the Lord, we should be emboldened by the knowledge that God is always with us, and that He is stronger than any adversary that we may face! 

If we remain faithful until the end, we will be rewarded with an eternity in Heaven together with God, Jesus, and all the saints. 

We will end today’s lesson with the following scripture written by the Apostle Paul. 

These are the same words that we hope to be able to say when our time on Earth is done:

• “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” - 2 Timothy 4:7-8.