The Righteous are Bold as a Lion

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Boldness.

It really is a forgotten Christian virtue. Gone it seems are the days when God’s people were characterized by boldness. Where are the Christians like Moses who didn’t fear the wrath of the king as he spoke judgment to Pharaoh and delivered Israel from Egypt, or Caleb and Joshua who courageously faced rebellion and fear among God’s people? Is there anyone today like Elijah who challenged wicked king Ahab to his face or like the apostles and the early Christians who preached the gospel in the midst of significant opposition, or like Paul who not only stood undaunted before hostile governors but who also had the courage to correct an erring apostle when Peter drifted from the gospel? What about men outside of the biblical narrative like Martin Luther who risked life and limb to uphold justification by faith in a land dominated by the Catholic church, or the many others in church history who spoke and lived with boldness for the truth?¹

Yet, because we are swimming in a culture of pseudo-courage and fake boldness—often expressed as “outrage” from the safety of an X account—and it’s true that even those with sinful and self-centered ambitions can live “boldly,” we must revisit this topic and take a serious look into what boldness really is so that we can recapture this virtue for the Church of Christ. What does it mean to be bold?

Solomon provides some valuable insight into this question when he writes, “The righteous are bold as a lion, but the wicked flee when no one pursues them” (Prov 28:1). Before we can answer the question about what it means to be bold, we must ask a more foundational, two-part question: “Who are the righteous, and who are the wicked?” I will answer this question by examining the Proverbs to see how the book as a whole depicts the righteous and the wicked. Let’s begin with the righteous.

Who are the Righteous?
In the book of Proverbs, the righteous are those who fear and trust the Lord. Proverbs 18:10: “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” Throughout the Proverbs, it is the God-ward orientation of the righteous that grounds their lives. That is, they fear the Lord so they gain spiritual wisdom (Prov 1:7) and turn away from evil (Prov 8:13). They trust the Lord so their path is straight (Prov 3:5-6).   

In other words, the righteous are those who are right before God because of their trust in him, and their personal lives reflect the commandments and wisdom of the God they fear. The righteous are not just those who have a right standing with God—they are also those who reflect that right standing in how they live.

We see in the Old Testament what is displayed even more sharply in the New Testament. God provides us with a gift of righteousness through faith alone that gives us a right standing with him apart from our works (Rom 4:5). All our guilt is taken away through the wrath and guilt bearing sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Rom 3:21-26; 5:1). But this right standing through the righteousness of Jesus Christ always leads to a life of practical righteousness (Rom 6:1ff). We see these same realities, in the Proverbs. Who are the righteous? First and foremost, they are those who fear and trust the Lord. But this fear and trust in the Lord bears the fruit of a righteous life. Consider the way the righteous are described throughout Proverbs.

• The righteous don’t trust in their riches (Prov 11:28)
• The righteous think upon good and righteous things (Prov 12:5)
• The righteous are content with what they have and don’t envy others (Prov 12:12; 13:25)
• The righteous guard their tongue (Prov 12:13; 15:28)
• The righteous hate falsehood and speak what is true and right and good (Prov 13:5)
• Due to their right standing with God and the good conscience they have cultivated in their life, the righteous don’t fear death (Prov 14:32)
• The righteous walk in their integrity (Prov 20:7)
• The righteous have the ability to rightly perceive justice (Prov 21:15)
• The righteous are generous (Prov 21:26)
• The righteous persevere through trials and even personal mistakes (Prov 24:15).

The righteous are those who fear the Lord and reflect this fear of God in their daily conduct, both in their thinking and in their dealings with others. And throughout the Proverbs, the righteous are usually contrasted with the wicked.

Who are the Wicked?
Who are the wicked? They are those who don’t fear the Lord or trust in him. Due to their unbelief and their lack of the fear of God, they live in a way that is contrary to true holiness and goodness. In other words, the root is bad so the fruit is bad (see Luke 6:43). Consider how the Proverbs describe the wicked.  

• The lives of the wicked are characterized by spiritual confusion (Prov 4:19)
• The wicked get caught in their own iniquities (Prov 5:22; 11:5)
• Their heart of the wicked mediates upon and their mouth pours out worthless things (Prov 10:20; 10:32; 15:28)
• Their lives of the wicked are cut short due to their sinfulness (Prov 10:27)
• The wicked conduct deceptive business practices (Prov 11:18)
• The thoughts of the wicked are characterized by deceitfulness (Prov 12:5)
• The wicked desire to harm others (Prov 12:6)
• The wicked are characterized by cruelty (Prov 12:10)
• The wicked lead others astray (Prov 12:26)
• The wicked are discontent with what they have (Prov 13:25)
• Their lives of the wicked are characterized by constant trouble (Prov 12:21; 15:6)
• The wicked can’t find religious acceptance with their Creator (Prov 15:8-9, 26; 21:27)
• The wicked compromise their convictions and accept bribes (Prov 17:23)
• The wicked are proud and arrogant (Prov 21:4)
• The wicked desire evil (Prov 21:10)
• The wicked are unable to persevere through trials (Prov 24:16)
• The wicked have no hope for the eternal future (Prov 24:20)

The wicked are those who reject the fear of the Lord and whose lives reflect their unbelief. There is no middle ground here: to not fear the Lord is to reject the Lord. Our relative adherence to some of Scripture’s proverbial wisdom or to a moral standard we’ve determined works for us will not rescue us from the wrath of God we justly deserve for refusing to place our trust in Christ. If we are without Christ, the Scripture classifies us as “the wicked” and God’s wrath burns against us.

A Contrast of Character and Courage
Now that we have established the respective character and lifestyle of the righteous and the wicked, let’s go back to Proverbs 28:1 and dig a little more. Here we see a contrast between two kinds of people and two kinds fruit that proceed from their lives.

The wicked flee when no one pursues;
But the righteous are bold as a lion.

Proverbs 28:1

Note the specific contrasts that Solomon makes in this verse. The wicked flee when no one is pursuing but the righteous are bold as a lion. What does this contrast indicate?

If we flee when there is no enemy nearby indicates that we are feeling insecure, fearful of being attacked, and paranoid of what might happen to us. We are not confident in our present location and position. We are ready to flee from your present position because we believe that you are about to be overtaken. But what is most important to notice here is that because this person is wicked, it is likely they are fleeing from their present position because they know deep down they don’t belong there. It isn’t their position to begin with, so when they hear a rustling in the forest, they run.

Why? Well, as we’ve already noted above, the wicked are those whose lives are characterized by unbelief and a kind of ethical conduct that reflects this unbelief. They are living in a way that is contrary to their Creator and therefore contrary to reality. Their lives are burdened by sin and deception and falsehood, so their conscience is fraught with unforgiven sin and guilt. Their out-of-control mouths have created enemies for themselves, so they constantly fear reprisal. They’ve forged a web a deception, so they fear getting caught in one of their myriad of lies. Their lives are a swirl of trouble so the slightest change in the atmosphere sends them running for cover. “Paradoxically,” as one commentator puts it, “because the wicked do not far God, they live in fear of people.”² According to Solomon, cowering characterizes the wicked, not the righteous. 

The phrase “bold as a lion,” however, gives us a picture of one who stands their ground. The lion has claimed its position because he knows that it is his. He has no reason to fear, and he doesn’t need to flee. He is not afraid of being overtaken in his present location because he knows he belongs there and he knows he can withstand any supposed predator or hunter. When confronted, he stands his ground and does not retreat.

How can this be? How can the righteous stand their ground like this? Because the righteous are those who walk without guilt before God because their sin has been forgiven in the cross of Christ. They fear God so they know the truth about God and have acquired true wisdom from his Word. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov 1:7). They have, as Paul reminds us, boldness and confidence in Christ to approach God. They are also those who live with integrity, so they don’t fear getting caught in some scandal or lie; they guard their mouths from speaking harmful or hurtful or slanderous things, so they don’t constantly fear reprisal from someone they’ve unnecessarily offended. They love their neighbors and seek to do them good. They fear God so they don’t fear man. In other words, they have a clear conscience.  

It should go without saying, therefore, that the Christian life should be a life of holy boldness. Boldness before the throne of God due to our right standing through Christ (Heb 4:14-16), and boldness with others in speaking the truth (Eph 4:15). But who is bold as a lion? It is the righteous. Don’t miss this. It’s not just anyone. It is the righteous who possess this quality of being bold as a lion.

But how do we define boldness?

Again, it is vital that we get this definition right because there is a lot of cowardice mascaraing as courage today. There are plenty of people who have fooled themselves into thinking they are bold because they let their every opinion fly without discretion when in reality they are simply too scared to speak the truth in love. Ironically, underneath a rough, confrontational nature usually lies cowardice. It is easy to mask the fear of man with ferocity toward man. Especially in a day of social media where you can hide behind a computer and blast people with different opinions, it is easy to think you are a bold person when the truth is you would never speak to that person in such a way if you were with them face-to-face.  

What Boldness Isn’t
So, what is boldness. Perhaps more specific: what is godly boldness. Let’s first consider what it isn’t. 

Boldness is not stubbornness over matters of opinion. It might be easy to mistake boldness for stubbornness. This is where we need tread carefully. When it comes to boldness, I am referring to issues of biblical principle, not mere preference, wisdom, personal judgment, or matters of conscience. A person may be very bold and immovable in their opinions but may not possess godly boldness because they are not motivated by a conviction of biblical truth. But this isn’t Godward boldness—it is a form of self-centered pride because we exalting our opinions and preference to the level of divine truth.

Boldness is not ignorant obstinance. It might also be easy to mistake boldness for your inability to admit that you don’t know what you’re talking about. But this isn’t boldness, this is also a symptom of pride. It is no use to hold a position about which you know nothing. Genuine boldness flows from knowledge of God and of the Scripture. In other words, boldness is rooted in spiritual conviction and truth, not personal prejudice and conjecture. As we will see in a moment, true boldness is actually rooted in humility, so those who are bold for Christ are also those who can admit when they are wrong and recognize when they are presently uniformed.

Boldness is not loudness. You might think that boldness is measured by how high you raise your voice in the face of opposition. But boldness isn’t distinguished by the height of our voices, but by the firmness with which we hold our position. Boldness is a matter of conviction, not decibels.   

Boldness is not rudeness or pushiness. Finally, boldness is not rudeness or pushiness. We can’t make the mistake of concluding we are bold for Christ when we may actually just get a kick out of pressing people’s buttons or because it is easy, due to our personalities, to push our weight around.

So what is boldness? Boldness is a holy conviction, rooted in biblical truth, that you are occupying a position from which you need not remove yourself for anyone. Boldness is expressed in our relationship with God and in our speech and in our conduct among our fellow image-bearers.

Let’s get more specific. Here’s a definition of boldness: Boldness is speaking and living with the Christ-trusting, Spirit-endowed conviction that what you are saying and how you are living is right. Now, that definition might hit some of our ears as inherently arrogant. How dare you live as though what you believe and say and do is right. Who are you to say what is right. But it is precisely this kind of thinking that has disabled many Christians from living boldly.

We are breathing the air of post-modern relativism when it comes to religion and morality, so that the claim made today and imbibed by many people in our nation—and especially in our institutions of higher education—is that universal truth in the realm of religion and morality simply does not exist. Truth is determined by individuals and by communities. The idea of a transcendent truth for all people at all times in all places under all circumstances is an out-moded and unsophisticated idea of the past. To come along and live with the conviction that what you say and believe and do is right when it comes to religion and morality is by definition arrogant. 

But in a strange juxtaposition, we live in a time where there are also plenty of people who, although they are living contrary to God’s Word, would claim that what they say and do and think is right. The pro-abortion movement with its motto “Abortion on demand without apology” is one of the most graphic example of this God-rejecting boldness. Even the Proverbs say “A wicked man puts on a bold face” (Prov 21:29).

True, godly boldness, therefore, must begin with the gospel. We must first possess the conviction that we are right with God and on his terms. Boldness begins with and grows from the root of trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and the truth that his life, death, and resurrection has provided for me perfect righteousness by grace alone so that I now stand before God blameless with regard to his law. The greatest inhibitor to godly boldness is guilt, and that guilt has been removed in the cross of Christ (Col 2:13-14).

So, boldness actually begins with Christ-centered humility. That’s why some have called Christian boldness a “humble boldness.” We are standing upon Christ and his truth and seeking to honor his name, not our own. We are holding a position that is determined by and rooted in another, namely Jesus Christ. Humble boldness doesn’t fight for it’s own rights and recognition; it stands for the truth of Jesus Christ.  

Interestingly, the word translated as “bold” in in Proverbs 28:1 is often translated as “trust” and “security” throughout the Old Testament. It doesn’t exactly mean “trust” or “security” in Proverbs 28:1, but this usage in the OT shows us that there is an irreducible connection between faith and security in God, and genuine boldness. Furthermore, the word for “bold” in Proverbs 21:29 I quoted above (“The wicked man puts on a bold face”) is a different word than in our text (“the righteous are bold as a lion”). What does this mean: It means that the quality of wicked boldness is entirely different than the quality of godly boldness. 

For the wicked, boldness begins and ends with self. For the believer, boldness begins and ends with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. When you have the conviction that you are right with your Creator and that guilt no longer weighs upon your shoulders (Rom 5:1), that Christ holds your life and your future in his hands and is always doing you good (John 10:27-30; Rom 8:28), and you are assured that heaven is yours (Col 1:5), you can live with holy boldness. Godly boldness is a humble boldness. It is a happy boldness. It’s not an angry or bitter boldness. It’s a hopeful boldness. We can see this last point illustrated in a story from church history.

Chrysostom was a theologian in the early church. He lived and ministered in the forth century and died in the fifth century (AD 407). When brought before the Roman emperor for his refusal to renounce his Christianity, this is how he responded to the Emperor’s interrogation.

Chrysostom was brought before the Roman emperor, who had threatened him, saying, “I will slay thee.”

Chrysostom replied, “No, you cannot, for my life is with Christ in God.

The emperor threatened, “I will take way your treasures.”

Chrysostom responded, “No, that you can’t do, for, in the first place, I have none that you know of. My treasure is in heaven, and my heart is there.”

The emperor then warned, “But I will drive you away from man, and you shalt have no friend left.

“No,” said Chrysostom, “and that you cannot, for I have a Friend in heaven from whom you cannot separate me. I defy thee, there is nothing you can do to hurt me.”³

Centuries ago, King David said, in Psalm 56:11, “in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?” And again in Psalm 118:6, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Boldness grows from a heart that is freed from the fear of man. And we are freed from the fear of man when we realize that in the scheme of eternity, man can do nothing against me. Nothing.

But we must also say that boldness is also guided by the Word of God. So we might add to our definition: Boldness is speaking and living with the Christ-trusting, Spirit-endowed conviction that what you are saying and how you are living is right in God’s eyes.

Again, a person may be bold in how they speak and live because they are convinced they are living rightly, but the basis of their conviction is that they are doing what is right in their own eyes. Godly boldness flows from the man or woman who is seeking to do what is right in God’s eyes. And how do we know what is right in God’s eyes? By looking to Scripture, the Word of God, and walking diligently in its truth.

Some of us lack boldness because we lack conviction, and we lack conviction because we have not been diligent to strengthen our convictions in the Word of God. If you are not attending carefully to the preaching and teaching of Scripture at church and in personal study, you will lack conviction, and you will, as a result, lack boldness.

Are we listening intently to the Word of God as it is preached and taught, or have we become bored of the routine? “Here’s another sermon, here’s another message (yawn).” Are we daily meditating on Scripture in with the intention of growing in our convictions of what is true? If we are neglectful here, we will find it exceedingly difficult to walk in holy boldness.      

But as we’ve already noted, the righteous are not those who merely profess faith in the Lord and study his Word; their lives reflect that profession and study by the way their conduct themselves. In order to have boldness, we must have a good conscience, and keeping a good conscience involves trusting the death of Christ to cover our sins and seeking to walk faithfully to the Word of God (1 Tim 1:5; 1 John 2:6).

In other words, genuine, godly boldness can only be cultivated in the soil of personal holiness. If we are not striving to live righteously in every way the Proverbs depict the righteous life—fear of God, integrity, honesty, contentment, an unswerving commitment to the truth, and so on—we will find that we consistently lack boldness.

This does not mean that we must attain to a kind of Christian perfection before we will have boldness, but it does mean that those who are unwilling to do the hard work of pursuing holiness may still make attempts at boldness, but it won’t be a real or enduring boldness.

When it comes to our relationship with God, we must never presume we can just waltz into God’s presence through Christ with ongoing and unrepentant sin. If this is our it comes to boldness with others, their conduct will likely be harsh, overbearing, bombastic, unfeeling, unloving and ultimately unhelpful. When we make an attempt at boldness without a requisite righteous life, our boldness will often be inconsistent. We might act with great dogmatism and forcefulness in one instance, and then run like a coward in the next. Only the righteous are bold as a lion.    

The Lion of the Tribe of Judah
It is no coincidence that the illustration of boldness is a lion, and that the supreme example of boldness is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. The one in whom you place your trust is also the one who shows you what it looks like to live a life of God-pleasing, Spirit-dependent, humble boldness. He was gentle yet uncompromising with the truth. His commitment to the truth didn’t cause him to lash out at others; it caused him to speak the truth without compromise and it took him to a cross where he gave himself for others. In holding his ground, Jesus Christ sought the glory of his Father, not his own glory. Jesus Christ, the Son of God: impartial, unmoved by flattery, never rude, but always ready to speak the truth in love, even in the face of serious opposition. That’s godly boldness.  

And because Jesus Christ is both the one who provides the very foundation for our boldness and is the example for what godly boldness really looks like, this call for boldness is a call for all Christians. You can be a man or woman, a pastor or a janitor, a politician or a doctor, young or old, well-built or small of stature, healthy or feeble, black or white, Chinese or Indian, and possess genuine, Spirit-wrought boldness. The text doesn’t say, “The righteous man or the righteous pastor is bold as a lion.” It says “the righteous are bold as a lion.”

Applying the Truth
How might we apply these great truths to our lives? I will offer four practical actions we must take in order to grow in holy, happy boldness.

• Place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and secure your eternal future with him (Prov 3:5-6; Acts 16:31) – Having your sins forgiven and your future secure will provide you with boldness before God that will, in turn, give you a boldness with others. This is not an arrogant boldness, but a confidence in God’s presence that you can fully approach him in Christ without fear of judgment and condemnation. Boldness before God will flow out into boldness with others.  

• Pursue practical holiness (1 Pet 1:16) – Boldness can only grow out of the healthy soil of a good conscience. If we’ve allowed the weeds of sin to grow up and choke out the word, it will be difficult if not impossible to speak and act with boldness around family and friends who do not know the Lord.  

• Perfect your convictions through faith and obedience (Heb 5:11-14) – Boldness is the fruit of conviction, and spiritual convictions can only be formed by the Word of God. Listen carefully to the Word of God on Sunday mornings, at Bible studies, and when you read Scripture at home. But because boldness flows from conviction, and our convictions must be sharpened by constant use, so believe the word you hear and do what it says.  

• Pray for boldness (Acts 4:29-31) – Finally, pray for boldness. Join with the early apostles and ask God to provide you with a boldness to speak the word with clarity, without fear, for God’s glory, and with love for your fellow image-bearers.

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NOTES

¹Some of this section was adapted from Charles Bridges, Proverbs (1846; repr.m Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1998), 525. 

²Bruce Waltke, Proverbs, NICOT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005), 2: 406. 

³Taken from Ron Prosise, Preaching Illustrations from Church History (The Woodlands, TX: Kress Publications, 2016), 40.