Have you ever seen someone panic or attempt to run simply because a police siren sounded in the distance? No one is chasing them. No one is calling their name. Yet their knees weaken at the sight of any law enforcement officer, and they begin to imagine the worst. That is what a guilty conscience does. It places a person in constant fear, even without any real or apparent threat. A guilty conscience forces timidity, even when a person wants to appear confident. It keeps reminding them of their faults, flaws, and hidden compromises until they shrink back into themselves. The scripture says,

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

Today, we are exploring the boldness that comes from righteousness. There is a kind of blessed audacity every believer is meant to walk in—not necessarily because they develop a change in personality or nature, but simply because we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21).

Before we go further, we must define our terms. Righteousness, as the Scripture makes us understand, is not merely having a good or clean conscience. It is more than being morally upright. Righteousness is the state of being in right standing with God. It is the quality of being made right with God. Only God can declare a person righteous, and through Christ He did exactly that. One of the purposes of Jesus’ death and resurrection was to make us righteous through grace, by our faith in Him (Rom. 3:21–24). If righteousness is God declaring us acceptable before Him, then imagine the confidence that should follow being approved by the highest Judge of all.

Of course, righteousness includes moral uprightness in daily life. This explains an uncomfortable truth: one reason many people witness injustice but turn away is because their conscience will not allow them to speak (Pro. 10:9). When a person has participated in wrongdoing—or benefitted from it—they lose the moral strength to condemn it. Their voices become weak,and hesitant. But a person with a clear conscience before God and man fears nothing. Like Psalm 112:7–8 describes, “His heart is steadfast; he will not be afraid.” Such a person can condemn wrongdoing and praise righteousness without shame or hesitation. 

This boldness is the inheritance of every believer. But like every spiritual treasure, you must stir it up and preserve it. For example, before the crucifixion, Peter was fearful. He was so fearful that he denied Jesus to someone who didn’t even have power to harm him. But after the resurrection and the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, we see a completely different man. He became so evidently bold (Ac. 4:13). Righteousness, now fully understood and stirred up, produced immense courage.

This pattern continues throughout Scripture. The early believers were exceedingly courageous. They faced lions, were indifferent toward persecution, and strongly averted to wrongdoing. This boldness did not come from their natural strength. It came from righteousness and a God-approved conscience.  

And we—believers of today—must not forget this. The Gospel will not advance through believers who hide because the Great Commission requires courage. We must remind ourselves that we are backed by God Himself, and with such a backing, how can we shrink back in fear? Romans 8:31 NIV declares, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” The One who lives in us is far greater than the one in the world (1 Jhn. 4:4).

Therefore, whatever God has called us to do, whatever we must confront, defend, preach, build, or correct, let us do it with the boldness that belongs to those who have been made righteous. Our confidence is not in ourselves, but in the God who has made us right with Him. A clear conscience produces a confident voice, and righteousness produces the courage of a lion.