Scripture Reference: Ephesians 6:19-20 – l Thessalonians 2:2
“And for me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel. For which I am an Ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
“But even after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Phillippi, as you know, we were bold in our Go to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict.
Quick answer; with all my heart, in the vast majority of situations, I believe the answer is emphatically NO! This is a subject that is dear to my heart for many reasons and one that is worth giving due consideration. Webster says “Passivity is an acceptance of what happens, without active response or resistance.” In more specific terms, I see passivity as a characteristic of someone who holds back and LETS OTHERS ACT. We’ll examine this in more detail but I believe that Christianity calls its followers to be active rather than passive is almost everything we do.
When our Savior ascended to Heaven following His resurrection from the dead, he didn’t leave us a passive command as to what we were to do. There was no sign of being passive when Christ said, “GO into all the world, and PREACH THE GOSPEL to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Yes, he was speaking to His disciples just before he ascended, but His command was included in holy scripture for every person who has new life in Christ. Right up until the resurrection, they no doubt had many things that they still didn’t understand, but Christ’s great commission was not one of them.
Were the apostles and disciples passive in their actions that followed Jesus ascension? I believe their response is one of the great proof texts to the validity of Christianity. Remember Josh McDowell’s book back in the 1970s, – “Evidence That Demands A Verdict”? His main theme was that Jesus is either Lord, Liar, or Lunatic and that if the latter two were true, no person in their right mind would follow Him. Look at what they did. They turned the world upside down for the sake of the Gospel and nearly everyone died a horrible martyr's death.
No one is going to live the life of the Apostles and disciples unless they were 100% sold out for their cause and calling. And in the two thousand years since He left us the great commission, millions of Christ’s followers have died a martyr's death in service of our Savior. No one would do that if he were clearly a liar or a lunatic; NO, He was Lord; they knew it, and they ACTED on it.
I might as well ask the question that you know is coming, How active or passive are you with respect to Christ’s mandate that he left you? Can you honestly say that you get up everyday with a passion for the lost, where you ask God to give you any and all opportunities to share the message of the gospel. I maintain that passivity is a dangerous attitude and lifestyle and will only keep you in an idle mode.
When I was thinking of putting this devotional together, all I could think of was my years at Folsom Prison where I sponsored and taught the class called “Authentic Manhood.” The class was entitled “33” – based on the 33 years of the life of Christ. It was the most powerful and influential course for inmates that I’ve ever seen. I need to make several remarks about Authentic Manhood as it relates to our subject today.
Authentic Manhood started right off in the book of Genesis, bringing clarity to our subject. Genesis 3 changes everything. It’s in that infamous chapter that Satan tempts Adam and Eve to do the one and only thing God had asked them not to do—to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God had given man “only one no in a world full of yes.”But Satan tries to convince Adam and Eve to believe the lie that this one “no” must mean that God doesn’t have their best in mind and is holding out on them. Here’s how this climactic moment plays out:
“When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Gen 3:6).
Here’s the question for us as men: Where was Adam in this critical moment? Where was Adam when his wife was being tempted by Satan? You might want to believe that he wasn’t around when it happened, that maybe he was out hunting for food or building something. Unfortunately, the Bible makes it clear that he was right there “with her.” SILENT. He passively stood there while his wife was under attack by Satan. In a moment when he could have spoken up and stepped into the 3 situation and acted courageously to protect his wife, he just stood there with his manhood pants down.
Men have been living in Adam’s shadow ever since. Rather than being strong dads, men often just stand there. Rather than being loving husbands, men often just stand there. Why is it that so many men are so decisive, focused, and effective in areas of life that don’t really matter, but tentative, uninspiring, and passive in some of the areas that matter most? It’s as if passivity is in our DNA. And that if we don’t actively fight it, we’ll default to being passive.
The Believer’s Responsibility – SPEAK Boldly
Boldness is the courage to act or speak fearlessly, despite real or imagined dangers. When a person acts boldly, he or she takes action regardless of risks. A petite mother will boldly snatch her child’s hand away from a six-foot stranger. A man may boldly stand up to a dictatorial boss, knowing he could be fired for doing so. Boldness is not to be confused with rashness or aggressiveness. It is, however, similar to assertiveness in that it empowers someone to do or speak what is necessary, in spite of the possibility of a negative outcome.
Boldness was one of the first characteristics the Holy Spirit imparted when He came to indwell believers after Jesus ascended into heaven. The followers of Jesus had been hiding in fear of the Jewish authorities, praying and encouraging one another. Then the Holy Spirit came upon them, and those formerly terrified disciples became fearless preachers (Acts 2).
A short time later, as the disciples faced persecution from the authorities, they prayed for boldness (Acts 4:29). Their prayer was answered, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and “spoke the word with boldness” (Acts 4:31). God gives us boldness when our objective is to obey and glorify Him with it.
Spiritual boldness can appear to be opinionated or extroverted, when in fact the bold person may feel great trepidation. Such boldness comes from the Holy Spirit who compels a person to speak the truth in love even when it may not be welcomed. Healthy boldness can be compared to a woman who is terrified of snakes but sees one on her porch. She is frightened, but she will not let it escape because it is dangerous. She goes after it with a shovel and kills it, even while she is shaking violently for fear herself.
It would not be accurate to state that this woman enjoys confrontation. Instead, her boldness in killing the snake comes from a determination to do what is right to protect her family regardless of her fear. Spiritual boldness pursues the truth, works to destroy lies and error, and speaks what is right regardless of how terrifying such action may be.
Worldly boldness, on the other hand, can become pushy or confrontational. It thrives on popular approval and often ignores caution or sensitivity. The incredulous words, “What were you thinking?” follow in the wake of a bold fool. We should not be bold in doing evil, accepting dares, or crossing boundaries simply to prove we can. Boldness without discernment can lead to foolish words and risky behavior. The majority of all my friends in prison can attest to this truth.
The book of Proverbs often connects rash boldness with folly. Proverbs 13:16 says, “Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.” Foolish people are so blind to their own error that they shamelessly brag about it. They are bold in proclaiming their erroneous viewpoints and even bolder in carrying them out. Boldness is no more fitting for a fool than jewels are fitting for a hog (see Proverbs 11:22).
Proverbs 28:1 says, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” The righteous are bold because they know that God is for them and what they have to say is important (Hebrews 13:6). When the apostle Paul was in prison, he wrote to the churches asking for prayer that he be bold in continuing to proclaim the gospel (Ephesians 6:19).
Godly boldness is motivated by passion for Christ and His truth. It is rarely self-centered because it requires us to set aside our natural desire for comfort and popularity. For Paul to speak boldly would most likely mean more persecution. Stephen spoke boldly and became the first Christian martyr (Acts 6:8–10, 7:1–2, 54–58).
As followers of Christ, we should pray as Paul did that the Lord will grant us supernatural boldness to speak and live as He would have us do. In this age of great deception and resistance to truth, we need boldness more than ever. Boldness, coupled with love and humility (1 Corinthians 13:4–8; 1 Peter 5:6), is like a light in the darkness (Matthew 5:14). When we are convinced that our message is life-giving and eternal, we can speak with boldness, knowing that God will use it to impact our world (Isaiah 55:10–11).
Where does passivity reign in your life? Is it at home? Or with your finances? Or in your career? Or with your wife or girlfriend? Where are you doing nothing when you should be doing something? Where are you being silent when you should be speaking up? Authentic men reject passivity. They refuse to live in the shadow of Adam and instead choose to fight for what truly matters most. They find their strength in the grace of Jesus and follow His example of rejecting passivity—ultimately by coming to earth to rescue us.
Passivity is a characteristic of someone who holds back and lets others act
To be passive is to abstain from resistance and yield to external influences. Passivity can stem from good or bad foundations and can bring positive or negative results. The Bible gives plenty of examples of those who exhibited both good and bad passivity.
Passivity is appropriate when we are being submissive to the will of God. Jesus demonstrated this kind of passivity on the night He was arrested. Rather than allow His disciples to fight for Him, He willingly submitted to the abuse of His captors. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23). Jesus Christ, the Lord of all, stood in a courtroom, bound with ropes, and allowed Himself to be mocked, beaten, and insulted by men—and He did nothing to stop them. He had earlier told His disciples, 6
“Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 6:23). Jesus’ passive behavior had a deeper significance, and His inaction was actually quite active: the Lord was actively giving Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world (Galatians 1:4; 1 John 2:2). To fight back or defend Himself would have been to thwart the plan of God (Matthew 6:24). Jesus’ passivity was within the will of God and therefore right.
There are times when we must follow the example Jesus set and remain silent when ridiculed or attacked (Matthew 5:39). Even then, in being passive we are making an active choice for the good of the other person rather than burying our heads in the sand and pretending we don’t see the wrong. I can’t tell you how hard it is for my guys in prison who are new or immature believers to grasp this important truth. Passivity in prison is looked at as weakness. Men who don’t follow “the code” so to speak of prison behavior can find themselves being singled out for some act of violent behavior.
Some actions may appear passive when, in fact, they are calculated choices. For example, Billy Graham refused to take sides politically. Although a conservative Christian, he remained passive about politics so that he would be welcomed into any White House. He certainly had political views but refused to be drawn into public battles so that he could achieve a higher aim—maintaining influence on Presidents on either side.
However, there is no place for passivity when God has called us to action. Joshua had to take action to root out the evil in Israel (Joshua 7); there came a day when Barak had to mobilize the army to combat the Canaanites (Judges 4). The apostle Paul was one of the most active proponents of the gospel, yet, while in prison, he asked the Ephesian church to pray that he would have boldness when he spoke about Jesus (Ephesians 6:19). Boldness is the opposite of passivity. Boldness moves forward while passivity holds back. Boldness takes action while passivity refuses to engage.
The instructions throughout Scripture rarely require passivity. They call us to take action. We are commanded to put away passivity and do these things:
• pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
• preach the word (2 Timothy 4:2)
• encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13) 7
• love one another (1 Peter 1:22)
• flee from sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18)
• honor parents (Ephesians 6:2)
• “put to death . . . the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5)
Obedience of God’s commands often requires us to leave our comfort zones and speak out, make a choice, or move toward the goal God has set. Jesus’ last instruction to His followers was to “GO and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20). If the disciples had chosen passivity, Christianity would have died quickly and none of us would have heard about Jesus.
Final Thought
GOD is not passive. He sent His only Son to redeem us (John 3:16–18). He is a defender of widows and orphans (Psalm 68:5). He fights the battles for His children (Exodus 14:14; Deuteronomy 1:30; Nehemiah 4:20). When we could do nothing to save ourselves, Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). We are called to know Him, love Him, and be like Him (Mark 12:29–30; Romans 8:29).
Father we ask that you would give us the desire to reject passivity, demonstrating the genuineness of our faith by doing the right thing. Give us wisdom and discernment to know those times when our faith must be active and alive, and those times when you call us to diffuse a situation by taking the high road of humility and passivity. In all things, we seek to honor you in word, thought and deed. Amen
From: Fight the Good Fight of Faith & Life Journal: By Gregg Harris
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