In the sermon 'Righteous Boldness' by Peter Allison, the speaker focuses on Proverbs 28:1, emphasizing the contrast between the wicked and the righteous. The wicked flee when no one pursues, while the righteous are bold as a lion. This boldness stems from a clear conscience, the removal of guilt, and the assurance of God's favor. The sermon draws on John Bunyan's allegory to illustrate how a corrupted conscience can hinder boldness. The righteous, free from the fear of death, financial debt, and God's wrath, can confront sin, promote a just society, resist tyranny, and witness boldly for Christ. The speaker highlights that spiritual freedom and God’s sovereign presence empower believers to act with courage and confidence.

Proverbs chapter 28. We'll be looking at the first verse. I'd like to read the first 14 verses. The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. Because of the transgression of a land, many are its princes, but by a man of understanding and knowledge right will be prolonged.

A poor man who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain which leaves no food. Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them. Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all. Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich. Whoever keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons shames his father.

One who increases his possession by usury and extortion gathers it for him who will pity the poor. One who turns away his ear from hearing the law even his prayer is an abomination. Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, he will himself fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit good. The rich man is wise in his own eyes, but the poor who has understanding searches him out. When the righteous rejoice there is great glory, but when the wicked men arise men hide themselves.

He who covers his sin will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. May these statutes be our songs in our pilgrimage. Almighty Heavenly Father, we ask that you would open our eyes, that we may behold wonderful things out of your law, for it is a reflection, a transcript of your character. So we ask that you, our Savior, might be shown to us this morning in this word.

And we ask that you would sanctify these sinful lips to proclaim the gospel of grace. In Jesus' name, amen. In Jesus' name, Amen. Well, it's a very simple message this morning. The righteous are bold as a lion.

That's the message. That's the message of the Word of God. And I hope that with this simple message that we will be encouraged, encouraged to be bold as lions. The wicked flee when no one pursues but the righteous are bold as a lion." That's speaking of the the conscience And Bunyan in his great work of the holy war gives an account of the fall of the city of Mansoul to Diabolus, the dragon, the great beast. And it's consequent conquest and redemption by King Alshadai.

It's an amazing story. Banyan is a great storyteller and this is a great story. If you haven't read it, I commend it to you. But in this account, he describes Mr. Conscience in this way.

He says, As for Mr. Recorder, whose name was Mr. Conscience, before the town was taken, he was a man well-read in the laws of his king, and a man of courage and faithfulness, to speak truth at every occasion. And he had a tongue as bravely hung as he had a head filled with judgment." He's describing the man in this verse. He goes on, now this man Diabolus, who is Satan, our great adversary.

This man, Diabolus, could by no means abide. Diabolus could not abide Mr. Conscience, Mr. Recorder, Because though he gave his consent to his coming into the town, the conscience had to agree to let it happen. Yet, he could not by all the wiles, trials, stratagems, and devices that he could use, make him holy his own.

True, he was much degenerated from his former king, and also much pleased with many of the giants, referring to Diabolus' laws and service. But all this would not do, for as much as he was not wholly his, He would now and then think upon El Shaddai and have a dread of his law upon him. There's the fleeing. And then he would speak against Diabolus with a voice as great as when a lion roars. Yes, and would also at certain times when his fits were upon him, for you must know that sometimes he had terrible fits, make the whole town of Mansoul shake with his voice and therefore the now king of Mansoul could not abide him.

Diabolus therefore feared the recorder more than any that was left alive in the town of Mansoul, because as I said his words did shake the whole town. They were like the rattling thunder and also like thunder claps. Since therefore the giant could not make him wholly his own, what doth he do but studies all that he could to debauch this old gentleman, and by debauchery to stupefy his mind and more harden his heart in the ways of vanity and as he attempted so he accomplished his design. He debauched the man, and by little and little, so drew him into sin and weakness, that at last he was not only debauched as at the first, and so by consequence defiled, but he was almost, at last I say, past all conscience of sin. And this was the farthest Diabolus could go.

Wherefore, he be thinks himself of another project, and that was to persuade the men of the town that Mr. Recorder was mad, and not so to be regarded. And for this he urged his fits and he said if he be himself why does he not do thus always? But, Quoth he, as all mad folks have their fits and in them their raving language so has this old and doting gentleman. Thus by one means or another he quickly got man's soul to slight, to neglect, and despise whatever Mr.

Recorder could say. For besides what you already have heard, Diabolus had a way to make that old gentleman, when he was merry, unsay and deny what he and his fits had affirmed. And indeed, this was the next way to make himself ridiculous, and so to cause that no man should regard him. And now he never spake freely for king Shaddai, but also by force and constraint." That's Bunyan's description of the conscience. When it is backed by the word of God, it is bold as a lion.

It made the whole town of Mansoul tremble. Of mansoul tremble. But when it was corrupted by sin, it became an old and doting fool, an old and doting gentleman who unsaid the things that he said earlier and so was easily forgotten, ignored, and disregarded. The righteous soul is bold as a lion, The wicked flee when no one pursues. I'd like to look at a couple of the characteristics.

Why are the righteous bold as a lion? What makes them bold as a lion? And secondly then, what are the consequences, what are the results of righteous men who are bold like lions? First of all then, what is the source of this boldness? Guilty people are a fearful people.

A man, this proverb says, a man burdened with bloodshed, or a little later in this chapter will flee into a pit. He's afraid. A man burdened by bloodshed will flee into a pit and Let no one help him. Why is he fleeing to a pit? Because his conscience is chasing him.

And no one, no matter how fast a foot can outrun their own conscience. The guilty man lives under constant fear of being exposed, of being found out. No one else may know their guilt, but a guilty conscience will nevertheless be always looking over its shoulder, always afraid, always fearful when no one is after them. How many times have policemen through fear gotten confessions that they never expected? Fear drove the guilty when no one was pursuing.

Conscience, as one man said, within a man is like one end of an electric wire, whose other end is fastened to the heavenly judgment seat. Conscience is like one end of a wire, an electric wire, within the heart of man, whose other end is fastened to the heavenly judgment seat. Psalm 32 describes the terror of the guilty conscience. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long, for day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My vitality was turned into the drought of summer." It's hard to be bold when your vitality is turned into the drought of summer. The righteous are bold because their guilt is removed. Their guilt is removed. They are no longer under the condemnation and guilt of their sin.

That burden has been removed. And with it then comes this ability to be bold. The righteous are also bold because their debts are paid. The righteous are bold because their guilt has been removed and because their debts are paid. Financial debt produces a timidity.

We step more carefully because we're more vulnerable. People in debt are more compliant at work than those who are not because the consequences of losing their job are not nearly as severe for somebody who is not in debt as for somebody who is. Debt has played a very crucial role in the defeat of the United States. A people that are mired in debt are compliant they are unable to resist because they lack the strength to do so. If you look at, if you look at the character of the men who in the war for independence were able to stand against the greatest army in the world at that time.

You find that these are men who were not indebted. They were men who owned the means of production. Many of them lost much of what they had. But these were not slave men, these were free men. Because they had no debts, because they were not living in that debt bondage, they had the ability to act boldly.

And The same is true in an analogous way with the righteous. The debt of the righteous has been paid. Christ has paid the debt of our sin. He's born that debt, and He set us free from that debt. So that we have the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out the Father instead of the spirit of bondage leading to fear.

Thirdly, the righteous are bold as a lion because they are not under the wrath and displeasure of God. The righteous are no longer under God's condemnation. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Our debts are paid, our guilt is removed, and the wrath of God has been turned away from us. To live under someone's displeasure is crippling.

It's crippling. Children need our blessing. They need to learn to work alongside of us. Now they need our correction too and exhortation, but they also need our blessing. A child that lives under the constant displeasure of a father is going to be somebody who is timid and fearful.

Always concerned that they are going to incur displeasure and wrath. Always having that spirit of bondage again to fear. A husband who lives under the critical eye of a wife who is not able to honor and reverence is a husband who is going to be a fraction of what he could have been. You know, people we need, we need to know the favor of those with whom we live. And especially We need to know the favor of those with whom we live.

And especially we need to know the favor of the God who created us. To have that spirit of adoption. The wicked live under the constant displeasure of God. Their conscience may drown it out, they may become used to it, they maybe have known nothing else. But the wicked live under the constant displeasure of God.

It's very hard to be bold when you are living under constant displeasure. The righteous can be bold as a lion because we know God as our Father who is in whom we are accepted in the beloved in Christ. We know him as a loving father. We know him as a God who blesses, a God who delights to bless. We know him as a God who delights to give us the things that we need.

And that's another reason then that we are able, the righteous are able to be bold as a lion. Fourthly, the righteous have for their father the King of Kings. The righteous have for their father the king of kings. The righteous have for their father the king of kings. You know, maybe you have worked in a company with the owner's son.

Well, you know that he's not going to have a fear of being fired or kicked out. He knows the owner as his father. We know God as our father. He has the whole world in his hands, the cattle on a thousand hills and all the gold within them belong to our heavenly father. And so we are then to be are those who don't have to take any thought of of what we wear.

Our father is the king of kings, the creator of the world. He's the one who controls the tides, controls the fires, controls the earthquakes, controls the thunderstorms. He's the King above all other Kings. What is there to be afraid of? There is nothing in anywhere that we could ever go in this world that is outside of or beyond the control, the direction of the King of Kings.

So the righteous can be bold as a lion. We have, the righteous also have the sovereign with us. Joshua told the people, the children of Isra as they were about to go into the land that this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do it according to all that is written in it have I have I not commanded For then you will make your way prosperous and have good success. Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid nor be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Wherever you go. He's given to us His commandments, His precepts, and we can meditate upon them day and night. They're written down, and then we will make our way prosperous and have good success. The wicked have no such promise. The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.

Their prayer, the sacrifice of the wicked, is an abomination to the Lord. That's why David could say in Psalm 23, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Though an army would encamp against him, he said, in this will I be confident. He had no fear, no reason to fear.

The King of Kings was with him. The Sovereign in all the world is with him. And he's with us too. The righteous are also bold as a lion because they have the victory over the evil one and over the world. The world is under the sway of the evil one, John said.

But the righteous lives in the confidence that Christ has overcome the world. You are of God little children and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than He who is in the world. When Jesus sent his 70 disciples out, they returned with joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name. Jesus' response was, I saw a saint fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Nevertheless, don't rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. But we have no need to fear the evil one or this world because through Christ we are victorious over them. And the promise of the Word of God is that as we resist Satan, he must flee. He will. This gives us boldness also in the day of judgment.

And we have known and have believed, John says, the love that God has for us. God is love and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this that we may have boldness in the day of judgment because as he is so are we in this world. There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment.

But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. So brothers and sisters, we being in Christ, having our sins, the debt of our sins paid, the guilt of our sin removed, The condemnation and wrath of God turned away from us. We who walk with the Father, we also can walk in boldness in the victory that Christ has won over the evil one. We can also be bold as a lion because of the storehouse of riches that belongs to us. Jesus told his disciples don't worry about your life.

Don't worry what you're going to eat or drink or what you're going to wear or what you're going to put on. He says, your Father knows you have all these needs. Look at the birds of the air. They don't sow, they don't reap, and they don't worry about what they're going to eat or wear. Your Heavenly Father feeds them.

Are they, are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his statue? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field. I say to you, Jesus said, even Solomon in all his glory is not arrayed as one of these.

And so if God can close the grass of the field, which today is here today and gone tomorrow, how much more Can he not clothe us? So don't worry Jesus don't worry God has in his hands all of the riches of the earth all of the food all of the Things supplies that are needed for shelter for clothes and so on And He will supply them to us. We also, the righteous also have the spirit of power. Paul said to Timothy, stir up the gift of God that is in you through the laying out of my hands, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind. We have the spirit of power that has been given to us.

A spirit that empowers us. A spirit that enables us to live in victory. A spirit that enables us to do all that the Lord calls us to do. We have that spirit. Spirit.

We don't, there's another reason why we do not need to be afraid. We are free to live boldly. And lastly, the righteous are able to be bold as lions because they do not fear death. For the righteous, the sting of death is gone. Paul could say to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Precious. In the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. To die is gain because we go to be with Christ. This was the instruction that Jesus gave His disciples in sending them out. He said, Behold, I send you out in the midst of a sheep in the midst of wolves.

Sheep in the midst of wolves. That's a terrifying thought. Have you ever seen a sheep? They're pretty helpless. And dogs can chase them around and worry them to death.

Literally. We're going out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be wise as serpent and harmless as doves. Beware of men for they will deliver you to the councils and scourge you in their synagogues and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak, for it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak.

For it is not you who speaks, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." There's the Holy Spirit that's been given to us. And you're going to be, brother will deliver up brother to death and a father his child and children will rise up against parents and cause them to put to death and you will be hated by all for my name's sake, But he who endures to the end will be saved when they persecute you in this city flee to another If they have called you the master of the house Belzebub how much more will they call those of his household?" Jesus being the master that they said he cast out demons by Belzebub. He says, if they did that to me, what do you think they're going to do to you? But don't fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed and hidden that will not be known.

Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light, and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear him Who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell? Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin and not one of them falls to the ground apart from your father's will? But the very hairs of your head are all numbered do not fear therefore you are of more value than the sparrows.

The righteous do not need to fear death. Its sting has been removed. It is, but for the righteous the entrance into glory. So now what are the consequences of the boldness of the righteous? What effect does it have?

Well one immediate effect is that we are able to confront sin. One reason Christians don't confront others in their sin is because they're aware of the sin in their own lives. And we're afraid, and in one sense rightly so, to try that if we correct somebody else, they will point out the sin in our life. And I know many situations like that, even at the level of the church. There's an inability to confront sin.

But the righteous have confessed their sin. It's not that they don't have it, it's that they've confessed it, that they're walking in the light. And they are walking in the power of the Spirit. And their sins have been confessed, and the guilt is then removed. And there is no fear that somebody will point out the sin in our life, because it's already been pointed out, we already know about it, we've already confessed it.

That which is confessed and forsaken doesn't hold any power over anyone. So it's not that the righteous have no sin. It's that the gospel delivers. The gospel sets free. And the gospel enables us to lovingly and gently confront those sins in others that we have already confronted in ourselves.

And to help others to find the same freedom from those sins that we have found in Christ. Secondly, the righteous, one of the results of the righteous, boldness of the righteous is that there's a boldness in confidence to preserve and promote a free and godly society. And I just remind you of Abraham was the man who was made righteous by faith. In Genesis there were 14, there were you remember a bunch of kings, I think about five kings that attacked some other kings in the area. And they carted everybody off and they included Lot and all his family, Abraham's nephew.

And when Abraham found out about that, when he heard about it, somebody escaped and told Abraham, the Hebrew, when he heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his 318 trained servants who were born in his house and went in pursuit. Now that's a bold man. To take his own house, just the servants in his own house, and go in pursuit of five kings. I've always marveled at that. He had 318 trained soldiers.

So that's a good number, but five kings. Five kings. He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobo, which is north of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods, and he also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people. That's a man.

Bold as a lion. Because he was righteous. The righteous are bold as a lion. And where we have that, when we have righteous men in our community, then we will also see that kind of boldness to preserve the weak, the women, the children, and to resist outside invasion and those who would bring us into slavery. Thirdly, when the righteous are bold, or the boldness of the righteous enables them to resist tyranny.

People have the government that they are willing to accept. I received an email this week from a very highly respected physician who announced that he was taking down everything on his website that was contrary to government medicine related to COVID and the vaccines. Because the thuggery, the intimidation, the threats of violence had simply become too great, too great a personal cost for him to be able to maintain just a website with information. Most of it peer-reviewed information, journal articles and so on that told a different narrative than the government medicine. But he's been he's been targeted by the highest levels of of authority in the world as well as in our government.

He's been targeted by very wealthy people, him and other people like him. Daniel tells a similar account of three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who were told by a king to bow down to a statue of gold when the music started to play. And they didn't. And they came and told the king that there are these Hebrews that weren't bowing down, when the music started to play. And the king thought, well, maybe they just didn't understand, maybe they were Forgot or got distracted or occupied, otherwise occupied.

He said to them, well, if you're ready, when you hear all these musical instruments, then fall down. But if you don't worship, fall down and worship this image, then you're going to be cast into the middle of a burning fire. And who is the God who will deliver you from my hands? So he made it very clear. You either bow down when you hear this music, or I'm going to throw you in a fire and burn you up.

And who will be able to deliver you? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said, well we don't need to answer you. If that's the case, our God whom we serve was able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us from your hand. But, but if not, he might not. Then let it be known to you, O King, that we don't serve your gods, Nor will we worship the golden image which you have set up." That's the boldness of the righteous to resist tyranny.

Tyranny is those people who make it harder to obey the law of God. That's tyranny. Good government makes it easy and helps us to obey the law of God. Tyrannical government makes it hard for us to do so. And these men, their boldness, they stood up to it.

But fourthly, the boldness of the righteous leads to a bold witness for Christ. A bold witness for Jesus Christ. Stephen was full of faith and power and he did great signs and wonders among the people. And when he was brought before the Sanhedrin and falsely charged, It says they saw his face like the face of an angel. This was not a man who was afraid.

This was a man who was bold as a lion. He was standing in front of people who were going to kill him in a little bit. But his face didn't look like it was afraid, it looked like the face of an angel. A terrifying face, a powerful face, a face that strikes fear into the people looking at him because of his bold confidence and trust in God. And he went on to give them, in chapter seven, that lengthy account of their history and of the work of God in redemption.

And it only made them more enraged and they ran at him to tear him up. But he being full of the Spirit gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God and he said look look I see the heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God that's a bold witness that is a bold witness The righteous are bold as a lion. And as we have a nation of righteous men, there will be likewise boldness in witnessing for Christ. May God enable us to have the boldness of the righteous. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you that you are the righteous one and that you impute your righteousness to us, so that we who are sinners and defiled and Corrupted can know what it is to be righteous in your sight, to know the appeasing of your wrath, the propitiation of your wrath, expiation of our guilt, and your redemption from bondage and slavery. You know, Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would give to us that spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind. That we might be bold as witnesses for Christ, that we might be bold in resisting those who make it hard to obey your commandments. To obey your commandments. No, Father, may we not have a fear of death, for you have conquered that.

You have conquered death. You have taken away its sting. Father, we ask that we might be able to live in that knowledge and in that boldness. Through Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.