More Bold to Speak Philippians 1:14

Although Paul the apostle was in prison when he wrote the book to the Philippians, he understood that his bonds furthered the gospel. He knew the good news of Jesus Christ spread not only into the palaces but also in “all other places” where it could be heard. In chapter one and verse fourteen of Philippians, we see how Paul's “bonds” influenced others to be more bold to speak the word of God. We read:

And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

The verse begins, “And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds,...” Paul once again directs his words toward “many of the brethren” or those who were fellow believers in Jesus Christ whom he knew. He stated that they were “waxing confident” which means “to be persuaded, to suffer one's self to be persuaded; to be induced to believe: to have faith in a thing, to believe, to listen to, obey, yield to, comply with, to trust, have confidence, or be confident”. When the other believers saw the “bonds” of Paul because of his sharing of the gospel, it only emboldened them to share it too. It was as though Paul's imprisonment inspired them rather than make them fearful like we might believe.

The verse goes on to say, “ are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” Not only were these fellow “brethren” inspired, but they actually became “more bold to speak the word”, and note how they spoke it “without fear”. Where there may have been a time when these brothers were fearful to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, they were inspired and boldly proclaimed it without any phobias for doing so.

As we ponder these words of Paul, we might ask ourselves, “Are we boldly proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ”? Do we hesitate to share with others when opportunities arise for us to do so? How would we react if someone we cared about deeply was imprisoned for sharing the gospel? Would it inspire us and make us or bold to speak or would it intimidate us and make us fearful? Hopefully we would all find ourselves “waxing confident” as others we know paid a price for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, and may the Lord give us all the boldness to speak as we ought to speak whenever occasions to do so arrive.

Next time Paul shares how the brethren spoke the word in different ways, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

 

Until tomorrow...there is more...

 

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