Parrésia

1 John 5:14 “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

Confidence, it is a term that often implies a measure of boldness in whatever you set your mind upon. It’s hard to approach something difficult without confidence. If you’re unsure of yourself or you doubt the outcome, it can affect the way you approach the task.

Confidence isn’t always a good attribute. I’ve seen people with a lot of confidence do things that were very foolish. As a kid we would go to the bridge and jump into the water below. The height of the jump was somewhere around 30-40 feet but it looked much higher when viewed from above. If you jumped and didn’t land correctly, the pain that followed was one remembered for a long time. I’ve known of people being paralyzed and even dying from confidently jumping into water that held hidden dangers.

Spiritual confidence has attributes that can either provide much blessing or a tremendous amount of shame. Depending on who you place your confidence in, and the manner in which you act on it makes all the difference.

The word Parresia is the greek term for confidence, or boldness. The Bible says a lot about this attribute and so it is worth considering in your spiritual walk.

Confidence Produced

Within the Kingdom of God there is great hope. Do you know what that hope produces? You got it….Parresia!

2 Corinthians 3:12 “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.”

If I needed to have surgery, I would not ask my neighbor to complete the task. He doesn’t like the sight of blood, matter of fact he told me that he passes out at the sight of it. If I was laying on the operating table and saw my neighbor walk in to perform the surgery, my confidence would be very low. But if my surgeon came in and told me all he planned to do, I would have confidence in knowing that his training and experience will lead him to perform the task faithfully.

If I entrust my life to anyone other than the Creator of Heaven and Earth, I place my hope in something that is false.

Hebrews 3:6 “But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast.”

Jesus is the strength of the Church. It is because of Christ that christians have a hope and confidence that does not fade away. If I were to trust in myself, my confidence would be greatly shaken the moment things didn’t go as I had planned. Every time I made a poor decision or recognized the number of variables I can’t control, the overwhelming insecurity would cause much anxiety.

But when I place my hope and confidence in the One who loved me enough to step from glory into shame and carry my sin to the cross, my fear is turned to strength in my Savior.

Jesus not only proved His love, He demonstrated the power that overcomes all fear and doubt. He then left His people with the same power He used to accomplish that great task.

Romans 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Confidence Lived

We can read about Jesus’ life and death and be astounded at all He completed. We can read the prophecies that predicted all that He would accomplish and be reminded that God has a plan and purpose for His people. We can hear the testimonies of those who walked with Jesus and be reminded of what is to come, but all of it is just a nice story until it is experienced personally.

When the Bible becomes personal is when the reader experiences God for themself.

I’ve heard many atheists tell me they read the Bible in full and act like they have insight into God’s Word. Anyone can read the Bible and be impressed by its claims, but to know God takes far more than reading about Him, you must encounter Him yourself.

Listen to a man who once did his very best to eradicate christianity from the earth….

Ephesians 3:14-19 “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,  that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,  that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,  may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—  to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

The hope of Paul was that everyone would know God personally. It wasn’t until Jesus appeared to him and called him to repent did Paul begin to understand the fullness of God’s power.

To know God is to be united with God in His Spirit. If the Spirit of God isn’t indwelling within the self-proclaimed christian, then they are only living a lie.

To know God is to be filled with the nature of God that comes through faith and belief. The Father cannot and will not entrust the name of the Son of God to anyone who doesn’t love Him.

Faith arises when the Father calls, belief is the response of the humble and contrite in spirit. The Lord calls, the person responds, and a miracle happens. The presence of the Lord enters into the heart and a transformation occurs unlike anything on earth.

No false religion can mimic the transformation that occurs when the presence of God’s Spirit enters into the life of a believer.

When God enters, so does the confidence of knowing and walking with God. The joy and hope of Christ inspires a confidence that exceeds anything the world can conjure up.

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled; do not be afraid.”

Jesus reminded His disciples that He was going to supply them with everything they need to accomplish His purposes in them.

In life and Death

*When the believer can’t see what is coming in life, the peace of God reminds them that God is the One doing the leading.

*When the believer faces persecution and trials, it is the joy of the Lord that gives them the strength to endure.

*When the believer faces death, it is the hope of eternal life, secured in Christ alone that gives them reason to sing.

The man and woman of God carries with them the life of Christ. Through the Spirit who dwells within them, Jesus intercedes on their behalf, leads them in righteousness, and forms them into the image of God.

Colossians 1:13 “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love”

Jesus alone is the confidence of the believer.

Every false religion has attempted to convey life by their own terms.

C–Christianity rejected

U–uses a new truth

L–looks to salvation apart from Christ

T–teaches another Jesus

True christianity was defined and demonstrated in God’s Word, through the life of Christ and by the early apostles. False religion always tries to add to the narrative, by substituting their own truth in place of God’s revealed Truth, they warp the way that leads to life. Cults attempt to achieve salvation apart from Christ alone, by doing ‘good’ works, they attempt to achieve what has already been achieved. They strive to reinterpret Jesus’ life and assign him to a position that He did not reveal.

Every false religion lacks power and confidence because God is not in it.

-Mormonism, Jehovah’s witnesses, Islam, Baha’i, Buddhism, Oneness pentecostals, and even Roman catholicism represent the myriad of false religions who attempt to substitute Jesus by another gospel. They have built their beliefs upon men who have rejected the Word of God.

Where is true belief found?

In Christ alone.

Any church that teaches the Word of God faithfully, teaches that salvation is in Christ alone. They don’t relegate Christ to anything or anyone other than what Jesus proclaimed Himself. They don’t exalt the pride of man, they don’t pray to anyone other than God himself….they exalt the name of Jesus and worship Him alone.

John 1:1-5 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”

Jesus is, has always been, and will always be. He came down to earth as God and took our form that He might be the substitutionary atonement for our sin. He returned to Heaven as God and has made a way for us to go to live with Him.

For all who place their hope and confidence in Christ alone, there remains a future and a hope. To all who have placed their hope in anything other than Christ alone, their hope will be dashed upon the rocks of unbelief.

Confidence comes with knowing Christ, by walking in the Spirit, and living righteously before Him.

Do you want to live your life confidently?

Know Jesus.