Fear of men and what they would think about you or what they would do to you if they knew you were a follower of Jesus is found throughout John’s gospel. In Proverbs it tells us that fear of man will ensnare us (Prov 29:25). Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. It did just that for many who believed in Jesus (John 12:42) Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;  even the apostles after His death (John 20:19) On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” How do we overcome this fear and boldly proclaim who we know Christ to be? Only through the power of the Holy Spirit. Note the difference in the apostles after they received the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 4:13) When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Though the Spirit gives us the power to live the way we should, we still have to decide to do so. We can still fall. Even Peter did so (Gal 2:12). Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.

Ga 5:16  So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.