“The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” - Proverbs 28:1

Righteousness is a powerful concept that is made up of sub-concepts. We are called to seek “his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). Underneath this quality are sub qualities that will be ours when we are righteous. Love, patience, and all the other fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) will be present. And also, boldness will characterize the righteous man or woman of God. You could call this courage or bravery, but righteousness breeds boldness.

How does righteousness lead to boldness? One way is that to be righteous, one must first accept Christ. Our first act of boldness is to come into the presence of God (Hebrews 4:16), boldly, because we are holy by our justification, redemption, and adoption as sons of God in Christ. God fills us with the Holy Spirit who, Himself, is bold. Then as we mature, we learn to care what God thinks of us more than what other people think of us, as we die daily to our old ways and mortify the sin in our flesh. This we do by the power of the Holy Spirit and abiding in Christ in obedience. Finally, as we learn to know the truth in our inner man or woman, we are sure of what we think and believe about things, so that when the time comes for boldness, we are ready to step forward like a lion.

Alternatively, any boldness on the part of the wicked is just for show. Most of them will flee in the face of true and godly boldness. They live life insecure and afraid of being caught in their schemes and deceptions. They have no genuine confidence, and consequently, they must run from conflict except when their adversary is truly helpless, in which case they will attack like cowards.

Reading the gospel accounts of Jesus, show me that He was Bold and compassionate at the same time!