NOTE: The text below is an edited version of a sermon I preached entitled The Gospel According to the Cowardly Lion at Broomfield Community Church in Broomfield, Colorado back in 2007.

I remember well at the tender age of 15 sitting on a bench with a friend while waiting for the number 100 bus. We were both Christians and we both desperately wanted to be obedient to God and to win the world for Christ. Looking across the street we saw another guy waiting for his bus and it struck us both that we should make an effort to tell him the gospel. We had probably 20 “Knowing God Personally” tracts in our backpacks. We sat there and looked at each other. Finally I stood up and said, “that guy needs Jesus” and started walking across the street.

Wadsworth seemed unimaginably wide. It was like a nightmare, the kind where you keep walking but you never seem to get closer to your destination. During that long walk a thousand thoughts ran through my mind. Part of me wanted to chicken out right there, and part of me thought if I did my buddy would never let me forget it. Eventually I made it, and I was standing in front of this random stranger. He was looking at me; I had to say something.

“While you’re waiting for the bus, here's something to read.” I handed the guy a tract which he took politely. “Um, if you have any questions, I'll be right over there” I said while pointing across the street. Then I turned and quickly marched back across the street. My courage was solid before I was challenged but failed in the end. My motive was pure at the start, but turned into just not wanting to be ridiculed by my best friend. So like I said, more like the cowardly lion.

And I don't think I'm alone. I think most everyone in this room can think of a time they knew, they KNEW, they should tell someone about Jesus, and didn't. I think there is a little bit of the cowardly in us all. If that’s true, then how does the gospel ever become preached? If we’re all being honest here, it is usually much easier to have friendships with others without bringing up Jesus. So how does evangelism ever happen? The answer is courage. How do the cowardly gain courage? That depends on what motivates them.

Some are motivated by money, and so we see on television a host of so-called evangelists who are more interested in raising money for their lifestyle than in promoting the gospel. They find courage when there is the promise of monetary reward.

Have you ever seen someone motivated by malice? In high school some friends of mine and I handed out Christian literature to students as they got off the buses. This literature clearly explained the gospel message and we were thrilled to be able to share it with our classmates. The teachers, on the other hand, were less enthusiastic. That’s not exactly true, for we saw a very enthusiastic group of teachers in the school office, waving the literature angrily at the principle, wanting us stopped. In fact, in the first period class my instructor help up a copy of the work and told the student not to take it if offered. What effect do you think that had on the student body? That’s right. Everyone wanted a copy!

Just like my high school days, in Paul’s day some found courage through malice. They mocked Paul and his message, but in doing so they helped advance the message. So instead of hurting Paul they served God’s purpose.

Still others find the courage to preach the life, death and resurrection of Jesus out of love and good will. There is no promise of reward and in fact they face the very real possibility of ending relationships by bringing up Jesus. Even so, they do so because as hard as it is to see a friendship end it is harder still to love someone and know that they will spend eternity in hell.

In verse 14 Paul uses the word for courage, or a variant of it, twice. The Greek word used here is  and can mean both courage and boldness. A variant is used in the word “encouraged”; this word means “to inspire with courage”. So in verse 14 Paul is saying that his courage in prison has served to inspire freemen to also be courageous and fearless in preaching the gospel.

Therefore some gain courage by witnessing the courage of others. Billy Graham once said, “Courage is contagious; when a brave man takes a stand the spines of others are often stiffened.”

Where did Paul find his courage? In love; in his love for God and for others. This is the highest form of courage. It is the kind of courage that enables a mane to lay down his life for someone else.

Where do you find your courage?

There are a few dangerous ideas that come from this passage, and I feel it is important to take a moment to warn against them.

First, we see Paul attributing motives to other evangelists. Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and I doubt that any of us can make that claim. This is a case of “do as I say not as I do.” The first warning is: Do not start witch hunts among your church leadership. In other words, do not go looking for false motives among those who serve in your church. You cannot know the heart of a man or woman, only God can. Trying to discern their motives only results in gossip and treachery when the body needs truth and grace instead.

Second, do not second guess the motives of your fellow Christians. This is different from the first one in that instead of focusing on leaders it focuses on your Christian friends and family. Judging the motives of others results in unhealthy division and unfair accusations. The devil isn’t called “The Accuser of the Brothers” for nothing. Do not take up his mantle and serve Satan by possibly falsely accusing someone else of wrongful motives.

Third, do not hesitate to judge your own motives. While it is unhealthy to judge the heart of others, there is something to be said for understanding your own. This isn’t meant to paralyze you or cause you to become inactive in serving God until you can know with certainty that your every motive is righteous. If we all did that nothing would ever get done! But it doesn’t hurt, every once in a while, to gauge the inclination of your heart and see what areas of your life need to be taken captive to the obedience of Christ.

Finally, remember that you are not alone. We all struggle to do the right thing REGARDLESS of the motive, so how much harder is it to do the right thing for the right reasons? Paul was first imprisoned in Rome for casting out an evil spirit from a fortune teller. His prayer group not only brought him three square meals a day and water and blankets, but they prayed for him. Their prayers lead to his eventual release.

There will come a day when everything we are, as imperfect as it is, will be made perfect. We will know perfect courage in the face of any adversity. Our job is to try to get as close to that perfection as possible here and now. We can only do that with the help of the body of Christ and the Holy Spirit’s guidance.