Confidence

The words “confident” and “confidence” occur frequently in the New Testament. These terms point to an attitude of openness that comes from a feeling of freedom and a lack of fear. This free way of facing the world is, in general, based on a strong trust in God.

Various Meanings

“Confidence” is the common translation of the Greek word parresia. Other words that express the meaning of the Greek word are “openness”, “freedom” and “self-confidence”.
The Good News Translation translates this word in various ways. Besides the translation “bold” (see Acts 4:13), the word is also rendered as “in public” (John 7:26), “plain” (John 10:24), “openly” (John 7:13; John 11:54), “with all confidence” (Ephesians 3:12) and “courage” (Hebrews 10:35).

Various Situations

The term “confidence” (parresia) can relate to various situations. In the New Testament there are four sorts of situations in which the term is used:

daring to say something plainly (see John 10:24);
appearing in public (see John 18:20);
having courage and self-confidence in the presence of important people (see Acts 4:13);
having an attitude of freedom and trust towards God (see Hebrews 10:35).