“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. – Acts 4:13
In Acts 4, Peter and John had recently (through the power of the Holy Spirit) healed a lame man and were continuing to boldly preach the Word of God to the masses. The Sadducees, as the aristocratic ruling class and self-proclaimed Christ deniers, could not understand the reasoning behind Peter and John’s spiritual guidance and influence, nor were they accepting of the message that Jesus Christ was the resurrected Lord and the only true way to heaven. Thusly, they apprehended Peter and John and held them overnight for questioning.
The next morning, Peter and John were asked the following question before the elders, rulers, high priest, and Sadducees: ‘By what power or by what name have you done this?’ (Acts 4:7). Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, responds: ‘[…] let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.’ (Acts 4:8-10).
The elders and Sadducees were blown away by this bold response and instantly knew that these seemingly untrained and uneducated men were doing the miraculous work of Jesus Christ, the Almighty God.
Wow. What an amazing reference to being bold in Christ. Every time I read Acts 4 I feel empowered by the Holy Spirit. Peter and John, Galilean fishermen, were winning people over for Christ and outspokenly defending their faith in Him. By trade, they were just a couple of blue collar nobodies with limited educations, but in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, they were unabashedly brazen, influential, and powerful.
How often do we, businessmen in secular workplaces, feel untrained or ill-equipped in our knowledge of Christ? Moreover, how often do we allow our lack of knowledge to serve as an excuse to avoid ‘God conversations’ with our non-believing peers?
Peter looked the aristocratic ruling class directly in the eyes and spoke God’s Truth, but he wasn’t alone! He was emboldened and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Fellow businessmen, go about your workweek looking for opportunities to be bold for Christ. Simply begin a conversation with a peer and be the conduit through which the Holy Spirit can speak. It’s not your job to have all the answers, but God does miraculous things with ‘uneducated and untrained men’!
