What does the Bible say about cowardice or being a coward?

We don’t live in such days as those, when Christians were butchered to make a Roman holiday; yet, it is strange how backward people are to confess Christ. There may be a lady here who dares not confess her Saviour because she is afraid of the curl of her husband’s lip, or a man who fears the sneer on his wife’s face, or the jeer of his companion in the office or the workshop. Take care! you may be laughed into hell, but you will never be laughed out. It would be better far to stand up on your two feet, today, and say, “Christ for me,” than go to a coward’s hell. “The fearful (cowardly), and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death.”

We don’t live in such days as those, when Christians were butchered to make a Roman holiday; yet, it is strange how backward people are to confess Christ. There may be a lady here who dares not confess her Saviour because she is afraid of the curl of her husband’s lip, or a man who fears the sneer on his wife’s face, or the jeer of his companion in the office or the workshop. Take care! you may be laughed into hell, but you will never be laughed out. It would be better far to stand up on your two feet, today, and say, “Christ for me,” than go to a coward’s hell. “The fearful (cowardly), and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death.”

But ungodliness betrays itself not only in the insubjection of the heart to believe, but in the cowardliness of the soul to confess the Lord (Rev. 21:8); as we see here that "many from among the chief rulers believed on Him, but on account of the Pharisees did not confess, that they might not be put out of the synagogue." And the motive or moral reason is given: they loved glory from men rather than glory from God. They feared the religious world, being keenly sensible of human glory, but dull to that which is from God.242 But we must not forget that, if "with the heart man believes to righteousness, with the mouth confession is made to salvation." (Rom. 10:10.) God makes much of confession of His Son, nor can we safely own salvation otherwise.

Then you have another terrible warning. "Many believed on him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue." Such would be lost. They were convinced, yet would not own Him. The principle is in Romans 10: "With the mouth confession is made unto salvation." That applies now. I do not believe there are many of whom it is true now or ever - that many are ashamed to confess Christ, and yet are truly saved. I could not say they are saved. God knows what is at the bottom of their hearts. Some are afraid, it may be, of acting in certain ways, and yet they confess Christ in a more open manner than we do. We must leave such to God, like Nicodemus who goes secretly by night for fear of the Jews. And the counsellor Joseph, who had been hidden, comes out when the disciples have all run away. These two confessed at last, when they said as it were, We cannot go on with all this wickedness, this is too much for us.

There is nothing he insists on more, than NOT TO LOSE PERSONAL COURAGE IN A TIME OF RUIN, no matter how great the ruin may be: "For God hath not given us the spirit of cowardice; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." It is always thus. "In nothing terrified by your adversaries." "Be not thou, therefore, ashamed of the testimony of our Lord (i.e., the gospel and the testimony generally), nor of me his prisoner." Satan is to be met with confidence as a beaten enemy. This gives steady firmness to the soul. One has the truth, and knows one has it; and this gives quiet consciousness, and keeps one in the midst of the attacks of the enemy in an evil day. He is to be thoroughly courageous when all the evil was coming in, and was there; to "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus"; to; "endure hardness." It was when the power of evil had come in that he expects courage.

The dreadful contrast to all this is seen in verse 8. Who can estimate the awful horror of the end of those who choose to reject the faithful, gracious Lord of glory? Solemnly, "the cowardly" are mentioned first-those whose fear of human disapproval causes them to refuse the Son of God! "The unbelieving" are those who refuse God's testimony, the only means by which they could be preserved from the company of "the abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars." Every unbeliever chooses such company, and he or she will have part with them in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. This is the second death, not annihilation, but separation (the basic meaning of death)-separation from God in eternal torment. If the symbol of fire is dreadful, what must the reality be?

The dreadful contrast to all this is seen in verse 8. Who can estimate the awful horror of the end of those who choose to reject the faithful, gracious Lord of glory? Solemnly, “the cowardly” are mentioned first — those whose fear of human disapproval causes them to refuse the Son of God! “The unbelieving” are those who refuse God's testimony, the only means by which they could be preserved from the company of “the abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars.” Every unbeliever chooses such company, and he or she will have part with them in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. This is the second death, not annihilation, but separation (the basic meaning of death) — separation from God in eternal torment. If the symbol of fire is dreadful, what must the reality be?

The list of those on whom this doom falls is sadly instructive. It begins with the fearful and unbelieving. Being without faith, they feared man and did not confess Jesus as their Lord. Those who bore the character of the devil, who is a murderer, and were marked by lust and traffic with the powers of darkness, come next. The list finishes with "all liars," for lying is another characteristic of the devil, and deceit takes a variety of subtle forms. The overcomers of verse 7 are sons of God. The damned of verse 8 proclaim themselves as sons of the evil one. They share his doom.

Here we are told the final doom of the dead. They have no life suited to God. "Dead in sins" delineates their time condition. "Eternal life, the gift of God," they cared not then to accept; hence their eternal condition corresponds to their time state. Solemn truth! The actions of life bring forth fruit for eternity. Read what follows: "But the fearful (i.e., cowards, — those who are afraid or ashamed to trust and confess Christ), and unbelieving (those who are avowed infidels and scoffers, though outwardly moral and well-behaved, — and is it not notable that these two classes should head the list?), and the abominable, and murderers, and whore-mongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8). I know men scoff at these solemn words of God. This does not make them less real or terrible, but only manifests the folly of the human heart, which refuses to believe God's testimony as to its present guilt and godless state, and future equally godless condition for eternity, and despises the way of salvation which God in His grace has provided.

(1) The fearful, or cowardly, refers to those who were afraid to confess Christ or identify themselves with the Gospel.