Chapter Two--Courage, Defence

Lesson Two COURAGE, DEFENCE

Courage The word "courage" as considered in this lesson is from the Greek tharsos. In classical Greek it means confidence or courage, the opposite of anxiety or fear. Epictetus 11.13.3 describes the lute player who can face his audience without fear: "Accordingly, when he has skill, there he has confidence." In Homer, Illiad XXI.547 we read of Agenor preparing to face Achilles in combat and how Apollo "put courage in his heart." There is no instance of the use of tharsos in the papyri. In its sole use in the New Testament it has essentially the meaning as in classical Greek: "And from thence the brethren, when they heard of us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius and The Three Taverns; whom when Paul saw, he thanked God and took courage" (Acts 28:15).

Why did Paul need courage? For the trials that faced him in Rome, so that he would faithfully proclaim the gospel no matter what difficulties might beset him. Why did Paul take courage? Because the providence of God had brought his friends to him, thus reassuring him that God Him-self was continually with him, giving him all sufficient grace to meet his responsibilities as a Christian and apostle. When he gratefully contem-plated the abundant blessings and presence of God, courage to faithfully serve the Lord in Rome inevitably and naturally followed. It was God who made his courage possible, and it is God who makes possible courageous, confident living in every other Christian. This is plainly corroborated in the use of tharreo, akin to tharsos, in Hebrews 13:6, "So that with good courage (tharreo) we say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear: What shall man do unto me." In the preceding verse the inspired writer declares, ". . . for himself hath said, I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee." In light, then, of the realization that the Lord will not fail nor forsake us and that He is our constant helper, we can face any difficulty, danger, or trial without fear, with undaunted and unflinching courage. We can say in the words of Paul, "If God is for us, who is against us?" (Romans 8:31). One who truly trusts in the Lord, who by faith realizes His constant presence and help, has wide horizons, long outlooks, steady hopes in spite of the evil in the world.

"God will never forsake His people. He will constantly be their peace and support. His omniscience will always reach and help you--if you go to the ends of the earth. The Lord will not forsake His people. No palace walls, however thick, no guards, however brave, no breadth of sea, no number of miles, no impassable desert, shall intercept the visits or arrest the interposition of God. There is no sting in the human heart , there is not a shadow, however blighting, on the human soul, w hich God sees not. A voice louder than the noise of the sea waves, and more musical by far, will bring comfort to your heart: 'It is I; be not afraid'" (J. Cummings).

Used interchangeably with tharreo in the New Testament is the verb tharseo, also akin to tharsos, meaning "be cheerful, be courageous." It is translated from classical Greek by such phrases as "have taken heart" (Homer, Illiad IX.420) and "be of good cheer" (Aeschylus, The Suppliant Maidens 732). One example of its use in the papyri is in the phrase "eye of my soul, take courage." It is translated "fear not" from the Septuagint: "And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of Jehovah, which he will work for you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. Jehovah will fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace" (Exodus 14:13-14). Here we see that in the Old Testament, as well as in the New Testament, the command to be courageous, to be devoid of fear, was expressed in connection with the promise of God's presence with His people and the aid He would give them.

In the American Standard Version of the New Testament tharseo is uniformly translated as "be of good cheer," but the implied meaning is always that of "be courageous," the opposite of being fearful. When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water, supposing Him to be a ghost, "they were troubled . . . and they cried out for fear" (Matthew 14:26). The record states that Jesus immediately allayed their fear by saying, "Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid" (verse 27). Here we can see that being of good cheer is the opposite of being afraid, thus the same as being courageous. Moreover, it is noteworthy that the very presence of the Lord was meant to give His disciples courage or good cheer. And this was true in every other case where the Lord told people to be of good cheer. Carefully read Matthew 9:2; Matthew 9:22; Mark 6:50; Mark 10:49;

Acts 23:11.

In His farewell message to His disciples, Jesus commanded them to be of good cheer or courage in the face of all tribulation because of the power they would receive from Him to overcome the world: "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye may have peace. In the world ye have tribulations: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Cf. 1 John 5:4. These words of comfort have come down through the ages to instill courage in every person who would look to Christ for the power to live victoriously in a world of sin and trouble.

God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform; And plants His footsteps in the sea, And rides upon the storm.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, The clouds ye so much dread Are big with mercy, and shall break With blessings on your head.

Defence

The word "defence" is from the Greek apologia, the derivation of our English word "apology," meaning "a verbal defence, a speech in defence." An example of its use in classical Greek is in Thucydides, The Peloponne-sian War 111.61, where the Thebans say to the Lacedaemonians, "We should never have asked to make this speech if the Plateans on their side had contented themselves with shortly answering the questions, and had not turned round and made charges against us, coupled with a long defence of themselves upon matters outside the present inquiry."

Apologia was the technical word used in the Greek law courts to designate the activity of a lawyer making a verbal defence for his client , proving that the charges against him were false. The legal aspect of this word is portrayed by its use in the New Testament, an example of which is in Acts 25:16, where Felix says to Agrippa, "To whom I answered, that it is not the custom of the Romans to give up any man, before the accused have the accusers face to face, and have had opportunity to make his defence concerning the matter laid against him." See 2 Timothy 4:16.

The meaning of apologia is made clear by the literal meaning of its verb form apologeomai; "talk oneself from (apo, from, lego, to speak)." Thus for one to make a defence, apologia, is to talk himself off from a charge preferred against him. Paul was charged by certain of his brethren as being a false apostle, to which he offered his defence, literally talking himself off from this unwarranted accusation (1 Corinthians 9:3 ff). Before the angry mob of Jews that had dragged him out of the temple and was seeking to kill him, the apostle boldly stood up and said, "Brethren and fathers, hear ye the defence which I now make unto you" (Acts 22:1). His defence was the vindication of his position as a follower of Christ. Accused before Felix by the orator Tertullas of being "a pestilent fellow, and a mover of insurrections among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes: who moreover assayed to profane the temple," the apostle proceeded to talk himself off from these charges, beginning with the statement, "I cheerfully make my defence (apologoumai)" (Acts 24:10). See Acts 25:8; Acts 26:1-2; Acts 26:24.

The most significant defence Paul was constantly called to make was of the gospel itself, that which he boldly proclaimed as a faithful apostle of Christ. The gospel was constantly being attacked by the Jews, to whom it was a stumbling block, and by the Greeks, to whom it was foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:23). Thus Paul was constantly called to defend it against these false charges. He wrote to his fellow saints in Philippi, ". . . both in my bonds and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye are partakers with me of grace. . . I am set for the defence of the gospel" (Php 1:7; Php 1:16).

The gospel of Christ is still under attack. It is charged with being a man-made message, full of inaccuracies and myths. Its message of sal-vation in Christ Jesus is openly and widely ridiculed. Thus the Christian is called to defend it against every false charge. The apostle Peter exhorts, "But sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer (apologia) to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15). Here the apostle exhorts us to make an apologia concerning our hope of heaven. And since the reason for this hope is the salvation and sure promises we have received through the gospel, the defence Peter here advocates is tacitly of the gospel itself.

Who is prepared to make defence of his hope of heaven, thus of the gospel itself? Only he who has sanctified in his heart Christ as Lord. Since Christ is the fountain of all sanctity, it is He alone who can sanctify us; then, and not until then, we sanctify Him in our hearts. We sanctify Him by acknowledging his greatness, power, and goodness, by allowing Him to have the control of our lives, by studying His word and incorporating it in our lives. Then, and only then, are we prepared to make a worthy defence of the gospel. Unholy men may blatantly argue in favor of the gospel; theirs, however, is not a defence of the gospel but an offence to it. They do far more damage than good to the cause of Christ. Cf. 2 Peter 2:1-2.

How is the Christian to make defence of his heavenly hope, thus of the gospel itself? With meekness and fear. This means that he is to be courteous, gentle, and reverent in every utterance he makes in defence of the truth of God's holy word, always "speaking truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). As Martin Luther aptly expressed it, "When you are asked about your hope you are not to answer with haughty words and carry things off with audacity and force as though you meant to tear up trees, but with fear and humility as though you stood before God's judgment and were making answer."

The loving Christian defends the gospel not merely with the desire to win an argument and to down those who disagree with him, but with the desire to convince the gainsayers of God's holy truth and so win them to Christ. Thus he obeys such injunctions of God's word as the fol-lowing: "Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear" (Ephesians 4:29); "Let your speech be always with grace , seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one" (Colossians 4:6).

There are those in the church who have a "keeper of orthodoxy" complex, who express a fanatic self-assertiveness in their defence of the gospel. In their snarling, harsh, unloving censure of those who disagree with them as to what God's word teaches, they express not a real love for Christ and His gospel, but simply project their deep-seated hatred for people. They also indicate that they are not really sure of the doctrinethey are trying to promulgate, for the man who truly believes in what he teaches does not have to bolster his arguments by insulting those who disagree with him.

"There is no excuse for a Christian's conversation becoming rude and churlish. It may be necessary to speak plainly and boldly at times--the way of doing even that graciously ought to characterize Christians. It requires much practical wisdom to be able to speak well and wisely about religion to both objectors and inquirers, and only the man accus-tomed to carefully weigh his words and guard his utterances can become adept in this work. Every Christian may cultivate the wisdom which governs his tongue, and is bound to do so (1 Peter 3:15)" (George Barlow).

Questions

• According to Acts 28:15, for what did Paul need courage and why did he take courage?

• Discuss the good courage designated in Hebrews 13:6.

• Discuss the use of tharseo in both the Septuagint and the New Testament.

• Do you face the difficulties of life courageously, truly believing that God is your constant companion and helper?

• What is the meaning of apologia? How was the word used in the Greek law courts? Give some examples of the portrayal of its legal aspect in the New Testament.

• What is the literal meaning of apologeomai?

• Discuss 1 Corinthians 9:3 ff; Acts 24:10; Acts 25:8; Acts 26:1-2; Acts 26:24.

• Why was Paul constantly called to make defence of the gospel?

• Who is prepared to make defence of the gospel? How is this defence to be made?

• What should be our motive in making defence of the gospel?