The Call for Courage
To Fear or Not to Fear
Many people have observed that “do not be afraid” is one of the most oft-repeated commands in the Bible (1). It seems that God repeats this command because he knows how prone we are to fear.
However, it’s not just fear itself that is the problem—it is misdirected fear. You see, fear is one of those inescapable concepts. It’s not whether you will fear something, but rather what you will fear. And more often than not, we find ourselves fearing the wrong things in the wrong way.
But the Bible also tells us things like, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10, emphasis mine). And in Exodus 20:18-21, as Pastor Greg recently preached on, we are even shown that there are right and wrong ways to fear God. So fear can also be appropriate and good when it is ordered in the right way toward the right things (cf. Heb. 10:31).
The Lost Virtue
Yet, if the command “do not be afraid” is going to have any meaningful resonance in our lives, then how are we to navigate this tricky terrain of right and wrong fears?
Enter the—almost lost—virtue of courage.
Perhaps this virtue seems lost because of the way it often operates behind the scenes. As C.S. Lewis says, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.” Rather than necessarily standing alone as a distinct virtue, courage undergirds and galvanizes all the other virtues when the going gets tough.
Or perhaps courage seems lost today because of our atrophied chests, the part of us that trains our fears, emotions, and sentiments (see Cameron Ostrom’s The Abolition of Man post here). Perhaps we have failed to exercise this virtue when it matters most in our world and therefore it has gone dormant through lack of use.
Regardless of how or why courage seems to be waning, what exactly is courage? In his excellent book Courage: How the Gospel Creates Christian Fortitude, Pastor Joe Rigney defines courage like this, he says:
Courage is a stable habit of heart that masters the passions, especially the passion of fear, through the power of a superior desire (or a superior fear).
—Joe Rigney
In other words, courage is the organizing principle that guides and orders our fears and desires. We need it so that we can learn to fear God (rightly) above all worldly fears. We need it so that people can seem small to us and so that God can seem big. So that the fear of man might find its proper place (Ps. 118:6). So that the word of God might be rightly esteemed and defended.
Biblical Courage
For the Christian, we can even take this definition of courage a step further. To quote Rigney again, he says:
Biblical courage means clinging to and pursuing the eternal good in the face of all earthly dangers, from confidence that one has been delivered from the greatest eternal danger.
—Joe Rigney
For the one who has been saved from sin and death and hell, for the forgiven saint…
Who [or what] shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
—Romans 8:35–39
Do our lives reflect bold belief in this reality or do we cower in fear at the slightest pressure? Do we live as functional atheists or as glad and stout-hearted saints? Do we float along in the current of our truthless world or do we stand firm for what is true, good, and beautiful?
I know that too often for me there is an incongruence between my courage and my confession. There are times when I forget the promises of God and the unwavering hope that is set before me. And in those times, I need the courageous example of those around me to encourage me to hold fast in the uncertainties of life.
Courage Is Contagious
Because, believe it or not, courage and cowardice are both contagious—they spread. Think of King Aragorn’s speech at the Black Gate (2), or David’s boldness before Goliath, or Puddleglum’s bravery beneath Narnia, or John MacArthur’s fortitude in the face of egregious COVID lockdowns. When people see courage, they can’t help but feel a little bit of courage rising up in themselves. Courage inspires more courage.
But the same goes for cowardice too. Cowardly fear is not just an isolated feeling but something that infects entire communities. It’s the thing that keeps people from openly acknowledging that the emperor has no clothes (can you think of anything else that is obvious but that you aren’t allowed to say?). It is paralyzing and enfeebling.
And if cowardice is like a contagious virus, then courage is like a healthy communal immune system that keeps the virus at bay. And we need to be mindful of the ways in which cultivating biblical courage is a community project.
Courage Is Discerning
Courage is also bound by prudence. In the book referenced above, Pastor Rigney also reminds his readers that:
Courage is the opposite of recklessness or rashness.
Courage is guided by reason and wisdom.
Courage distinguishes between necessary and unnecessary risks.
To be courageous does not mean to be careless or stupid. It is not a call to be unkind or callous. And it does not mean that every battle is every person’s fight. Courage is able to navigate through the questions of where, and when, and how much. And while courage is discerning, it is not flimsy or fainthearted. It stands upon God's word and calls sin, sin.
Courage In Christ
Lastly, biblical courage is dependent on God. It does not rely on our own strength but on the strength of our Savior. We look to Jesus as the founder and perfecter of our faith, and we look to him as the perfect exemplar of true courage. Hebrews 12:1-2 says,
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
—Hebrews 12:1–2
The courage of Jesus as he approached the cross was fueled by the joy of eternal glory that was set before him. As his followers, may we too grow in Spirit-wrought courage as we consider the promise of eternal gain and life forever in the presence of God, and looking to Jesus, may we fear no man.
Footnotes:
(1) — https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-most-repeated-command-in-the-bible
(2) — Quote from the movie and not original to Tolkien (don’t sue me): “My brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of Men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the Age of Men comes crashing down, but it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you stand, Men of the West!”