“And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.” Mark 13:11

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13

In the age we live in we can expect, as Christians, the possibility of being brought before authorities if we stand for the Truths of the Word of God. The world hates the moralities of Christianity and anything that speaks against their godless lifestyles. This is true even in America. However, when we are called on to defend the Faith, we should not be anxious about what to say because the Holy Spirit will give us the words to speak. It will not be us speaking but the Holy Spirit. How comforting this assurance is to us!

In Acts, Peter and John, though uneducated and common men, astonished the learned Jewish authorities with their boldness and accurate knowledge of the Scriptures. Though given strict orders not to teach about Jesus they boldly stated, with the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, “We must obey God rather than any human authority” (Acts 5:29). Stephen also, full of the grace and power of the Holy Spirit spoke with such wisdom that none that argued with him could withstand his arguments (Acts 6:8-10).

We are generally instructed to obey authorities with the exception of when they order us to do something that is against the clear instruction of the Word of God such as speaking the Truth. In those instances, we can depend on the indwelling Holy Sprit to speak for himself and allow us to boldly and convincingly proclaim the Truth of the Word of God.