Lesson One • Reach
Zach Honnen
“And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” Philippians 1:14
As we see throughout the Bible, we are called, as believers, to reach the lost with the Good News of Jesus Christ. However, for some of us, we have never shared the Gospel with anyone and honestly do not even know how. Others of us are scared to share the Gospel because of the anti-Christian culture we find ourselves in today. No matter which category you find yourself in, there is an answer in this passage, “having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment.”
We see that in the days of the early church the brothers and sisters had confidence in the midst of growing persecution. Where did their confidence lie? What did they put their confidence in? Was it a Gospel class? Was it a Reach conference? No. They put their confidence in God because of the example they saw in the Apostle Paul. Now, I want to clarify that a Reach conference and Gospel class can be great tools, but they are not where our confidence should be placed. That honor is for God alone.
The verse continues, “are much more bold to speak the word without fear.” Now, we see what happens when our confidence is in God and not man. The brothers and sisters had become bold in sharing the Gospel because of their confidence in God and His Word. This is the missing key in our Gospel-sharing mission. For us to reach the community with that Gospel, we must first seek God’s Word on what the Gospel is, and who He is. These two exercises will increase our confidence in who God is and what His Good News is.
Confidence leads to boldness without fear. Once we are confident in God (“If God is for us, who can be against us”), and see the examples of those who came before us and suffered far more than us, then we can be bold in reaching the lost in our communities. Remember, our confidence is in God. To build that confidence, we must know who God is and how He has been faithful to all believers throughout the history of the world.
I want to leave you with one question. Do you know God and His Word well enough to be confident and bold in reaching the lost?
- If yes, then go reach the lost! Come alongside a brother or sister and teach them to do the same.
- If no, search God’s Word, learn who He is, and see how faithful He was to all who believed. Then, in the confidence of who He is, go and reach the lost with the Good News of Jesus.