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"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, NKJV)
Have you ever been in need of evangelistic confidence? Every believer, at some time or another, has needed that kind of confidence. One way believers have found confidence over the years has been to enroll in evangelism training. Evangelism training has provided them confidence by teaching them a gospel script that they can memorize so they will know what to say when they evangelize.
While evangelism training can provide us with confidence to know what to say when we share the good news, it does not necessarily always give us confidence to begin evangelistic conversations. How, then, do we find the confidence to share the gospel with those who are open to hear it, as well as with those who are hostile against it?
Consider the evangelistic confidence of Peter and John as recorded in Acts 4:13. Having healed a lame man in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:1-10), Peter and John were preaching the resurrection from the dead through Jesus in Jerusalem (Acts 3:11-26; 4:1-2). The priests, the captain of the temple guard, and the Sadducees took offense and arrested them (Acts 4:1-3). Nevertheless, five thousand of those who heard their message believed in Jesus (Acts 4:4).
The next day, the apostles were put on trial and asked by their accusers, "By what power or by what name have you done this?" (Acts 4:7b, NKJV) With complete confidence and filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter responded that they had done this in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene (Acts 4:8-12). Then, Acts 4:13 records:
"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."
(NKJV, emphasis mine)
Notice that the members of the Sanhedrin in amazement observed the confidence of Peter and John in spite of the fact that they were both uneducated and untrained men. They attributed the apostles' confidence to the fact that they had been with Jesus. Evangelistic confidence is not attained merely by what you know (such as a memorized, evangelistic script); it is attained by Whom you know (Jesus Christ).
You don't have to muster up the courage to tell someone about Jesus on your own. If you are in Christ and Christ is in you, you can share the gospel with anybody at any time! Because Jesus is both with and in you, He will give you the courage to speak about Him to others if you will determine you will do it. Find a friend, family member, or stranger who needs to hear about Jesus, and trust in Him to help you share the good news with him or her today.
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