A Time to Be Bold! Mark 8:34-38

Text: “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto Salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Romans 1:16.

Good morning, obvious Christian!  Your Christian faith is clearly manifest for all to see – both, in your belief in God, and in your sincerity to openly practice what you profess to believe. 

You are not ashamed of your Saviour/Lord nor His words of Gospel truth, and for your boldness we praise God.  Christ NEEDS bold women and men to serve Him in this day of increasing apostasy; when many are turning from the truth of God’s Word to please themselves and the unregenerate multitudes.  Preach on, beloved, preach on! 

“Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

Bold to Call: (V.34) When was the last time you and I boldly called together a meeting in order to tell people about Christ?  Oh, I know it is not considered to be the trendy thing to do these days, and a John Baptist type would be frightfully frowned upon were he/she to suddenly appear to stir up local sleepy, often self-righteous, congregations. 

But we Christians are not called of the Lord to please the world or to adhere to its popular trends.  We are called to preach the Word instantly, and to reprove all that is ungodly via our knowledge of the doctrines of Christ and, of course, by our daily Christian living. 

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Today’s message reveals Christ in His boldness to call His people to come and be saved.  (John 15:16) (Romans 10:8-15)

Bold to Deny Self: (Vs.34-35) Being bold to call folk together, contrary to popular trends, is in itself a self-denial.  Self-image can suffer a blow when once the Christian waxes bold in witness for the Lord.  The world, the flesh; and the Devil’s legions are all immediately up in arms against the outward-going Christian witness.  (Acts 7:51-60) (2 Timothy 3:12)

Oh yes, beloved Christian, being bold for Jesus costs much; many have suffered great physical sufferings, some even death, for being bold in the service of Jesus Christ.         (2 Corinthians 11:16-33)

Today’s Bible reading exhorts us to be bold in denying self.  To be ‘obvious Christians’.

Bold to Feed the Soul: (Vs.36-38) Faith in Christ ALONE saves the sinners’ souls.  (Ephesians 2:8-9) Faith ALONE feeds one’s soul with the Spiritual food necessary for fervent Christian survival and sincere, fearless, service as ‘obvious Christians’.

J.C. Ryle Comments:

“We learn, for one thing, from these verses, the absolute necessity of self-denial, if we would be Christ’s disciples, and be saved. What saith our Lord? “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

“Salvation is undoubtedly all of grace. It is offered freely in the Gospel to the chief of sinners, without money and without price. “By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.”          (Ephesians 2:8- 9)

“But all who accept this great salvation, must prove the reality of their faith by carrying the cross after Christ. They must not think to enter heaven without trouble, pain, suffering, and conflict on earth. They must be content to take up the cross of doctrine, and the cross of practice, —the cross of holding a faith which the world despises, and the cross of living a life which the world ridicules as too strict and righteous overmuch. They must be willing to crucify the flesh, to mortify the deeds of the body, to fight daily with the devil, to come out from the world, and to lose their lives, if needful, for Christ’s sake and the Gospel’s. —These are hard sayings, but they admit of no evasion. The words of our Lord are plain and unmistakeable. If we will not carry the cross, we shall never wear the crown.” (J.C. Ryle’s Expository Thoughts on the Gospels 1816-1900)

As Bible-believing Christians are well aware, this necessary faith is found in one place only - amidst the pages of the Word of God.  (Psalm 119:11;105)

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

“…I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”  (Job 23:10-12)

God’s Word brings necessary faith, guidance, encouragement; and clear direction to the sinner’s hungry soul.  Therefore, be bold to feed God’s faithful flock. (1 Peter 1:1-5)

In conclusion therefore, let us determine never to be ashamed of the Christ who saved us, nor of speaking His life-giving Word to those perishing all around in their sins.  Bold soul-feeders are what pleases the Lord.  The Christian, unashamed, today - shall be the Christian unashamed in the day of the Lord’s soon return.   “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”  Amen.

Thought:  How many words have YOU spoken for Christ today?  Be bold, brother!