The phrase "they brought to Him" describes others presenting the man to Christ. From this, we can learn several lessons of service. Those who presented the man to Christ were involved in a work everyone should emulate, that is, leading people to Christ as the solution to their needs. This work involves compassion and sacrifice. It is not proselytizing, per se, as it is done most effectively by being a true witness of God's way of life.
We must have compassion for people needing help, as those who brought the deaf-mute man to Christ had, otherwise they would not have gone out of their way to bring him. In addition, bringing others to Christ shows a willingness to pay the cost, as it is a sacrifice of time, effort, and sometimes money—and often brings criticism and ridicule from the world. It may not be an act that brings prestige in the eyes of the world, but it is wonderful in God's sight if His name is promoted and glorified.
The men in this scenario simply took a man to Christ for healing. Our work may be as simple as turning a person's attention to an article or sermon, or in this Internet age, showing him the church's website to make him aware of spiritual solutions to his problems. While these efforts can lead people to Christ, the most effective way is to be a true witness of God's way of life by living righteously (Psalm 37:30; Proverbs 10:20-21, 31-32; Revelation 20:4).
This scene is typical of how most cultures, not only the Hebrews, have understood the idea of witnessing. These ten elders of the city—and, if we read between the lines in verse 11, all the people who were drawn to this event that Boaz set up—observed the negotiations and the transaction of the sandal between Boaz and the unnamed near kinsman. If there were ever a need for proof that Boaz had indeed jumped through all the legal hoops through which he needed to jump to procure the land of Elimelech and the hand of Ruth, he had ten expert, irreproachable witnesses from among the elders of the people. In fact, he had probably dozens more who had seen all this take place because it most likely took place at the gate of the city.
So, many people were able to see what had transpired and could testify that everything had been done above-board. In a way, these people functioned like today's notaries who witness a legal transaction, put their seal on a document, and sign it, verifying that, "Yes, I indeed saw this transaction take place, legally and above-board, etc." This is how witnessing is done, and this is what many, if not most, of the occurrences of the Old Testament Hebrew words for "witness," 'ed and 'ud (the noun and the verb, respectively), connote.
What happened here in Ruth 4 is very interesting in the fact that Boaz is a type of Christ. Boaz here chooses ten elders—Jews—respected men of the town to witness what he did. Remember, since this took place in Bethlehem, these Jews were probably kin of David. In fact, Boaz himself was David's great-grandfather, but these people were all one big extended family, the family of Judah. Boaz took ten of them, ten men whose eyewitness testimony could not be gainsaid in any way, and these men then witnessed his redemption of the land and Ruth.
What is interesting is that Jesus did exactly the same thing, except that He chose twelve men of Judah from Galilee. They would do the same for Him, telling all who would hear that He had indeed redeemed His people. Luke 24:44-49 shows that this is exactly what He did. While the normal, legal idea of witnessing appears in the New Testament, Jesus makes use of it to confirm the facts of His life and death to the whole world through His witnesses, the apostles.
Some witnesses are called to relate what they saw or heard at a certain place or time. Others are asked to give their expert opinions on a matter, maybe forensics or psychology or some other complex matter that maybe only they or a few others have any real or deep knowledge about. Still others are questioned about a person's normal behavior and character because they know them well. They might have known him for a long time. Others appear in court to corroborate or vouch for the testimony of other witness, not just for the person who may be on trial.
Whatever the reason, witnesses provide information, eyewitness knowledge, personal experience, or validation of some fact. They make known something that is generally unknown to others. They might provide proof that a certain thing is true. Without witnesses, a person's case is doomed to fail. He might as well just throw himself on the mercy of the court or judge; because if the other side has witnesses, they will get their way.
Witnesses are just as vital and necessary in true Christianity. In essence, God has called each one of us to be a witness of Him and for Him before the world. Not all of us witness in the same way or to the same degree, but we are nevertheless all witnesses of and for God. It is a principle of Christian living of which we must always be aware so that we can do it properly and consciously and thus glorify God in the process.
Before we go any further into the sermon, I want to say a word or two on the biblical words translated witness or testimony. In the Old Testament, the noun that comes up is 'ed, pronounced "ed" or "aid," and it is used 69 times in the Old Testament. It is primarily a legal or judicial term, which you would expect—in fact, our word witness is similarly a legal or judicial term—and it means "one who sees a matter transacted and can attest to that fact." It means the same thing in English: "one who sees a matter transacted and can attest to that fact."
The verb form is 'ud, used 42 times in the Old Testament. It means, as you would expect, "to bear witness"; but it can also mean "to repeat." As a matter of fact, the root of this word has the connotation of repetition, meaning that you can repeat what you saw—continuously, if need be—to those who need to know, because you were there and saw it happen. Some other meanings (and these will come up as we go through the rest of the sermon) are very interesting, I think, in terms of witnessing; and those are that it can mean "to admonish," "to warn." On the other side, it could mean "to assure" and also "to relieve."
You can see how each one of these came about. If a witness gives something that is considered good testimony, then it will assure and relieve the person that it affects. On the other hand, if the person gives testimony that is more negative, that person receiving it is warned that something bad is coming and he is admonished as to his transgression. You can see how these other definitions that come through extensions of the words have evolved. They are used this way in the Bible on occasion; most often, though, it is used in its legal or judicial sense, meaning "to bear witness" or "to repeat." These definitions of the verb flesh out the meaning of this word considerably and give it a bit more depth.
In the New Testament, the equivalent word from the Greek—and I mean equivalent, which is almost exactly the same—is the various forms of the word martus or martys, the spelling differing according to who transliterates the phonetics from Greek to English. It carries the exact same connotation as 'ed, and even the verb form of martyshas the same connotations as 'ud.
You have probably guessed by the use of the word martys that the English word martyr is derived from this same word. We think of a martyr as someone who gives his life for a cause. They talk a lot about Muslim martyrs these days, because the terrorists think that they are giving themselves up for their cause as they blow themselves up and take many with them. The Greek meaning of martys, however, which is the one that is found in the Bible, is more often "one who gives testimony," "one who provides proof," "one who tells what he knows or has seen."
Therefore, most of the time when we look in the Bible and see the words witness, testimony, testimonies, testify, and all of their forms, it is better for us to take martys in its judicial or legal form first before trying to add other definitions to it. These men who wrote the Bible were using real, common language that they understood from their own life and culture, and they used it in a religious sense. Although sometimes the meaning changed a bit, if we go back to the basic meaning, we get the strong underlying connotation of the word. That is the first thing we should do when we come across these words. They are not necessarily talking about someone who dies for a cause but someone who gives testimony, someone who provides proof, someone who is an eyewitness of something and can tell what it was that happened.
Please go back to the book of Ruth, and we will start here. We are going to read the first several verses of chapter 4. This is the incident where Boaz redeems Ruth and the property of Elimelech, and this theme is typical of the Hebrew concept of witnessing. I could really expand that to say that this scene is typical of the universal concept of witnessing.
Ruth 4:1-4 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, "Come aside, friend, sit down here." So he came aside and sat down. And he [Boaz] took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down. Then he said to the close relative, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. [Actually, he was probably not a brother, but a cousin.] And I thought to inform you, saying, 'Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.'" And he said, "I will redeem it."
The near kinsman here is saying, "OK, sounds like a good deal. I will go ahead and buy the land."
Ruth 4:5 Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance."
He essentially says, "But there is a string attached! The fine print says that if you redeem this land, you must take the woman, and your first child together is going to be the heir of that property."
Ruth 4:6 And the close relative said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it."
Boaz may have been a bit tricky about all this and have gotten the land and Ruth because he backed the guy into a corner.
Ruth 4:7-8 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel. Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." So he took off his sandal.
This seems somewhat strange compared to today. "OK, here is my shoe..."
Ruth 4:9-11 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day." And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses."
As I said, this scene is typical of how, not only the Hebrews, but everyone has used the idea of witnessing. These 10 elders of the city—and, if you read between the lines there in verse 11, all the people who were drawn to this scene that Boaz set up—observed the negotiations and the transaction of the sandal between Boaz and the unnamed near kinsman. If there were ever a need for proof that Boaz had indeed gone through all of this and jumped through all the legal hoops through which he needed to jump to procure the land of Elimelech and the hand of Ruth, he had ten expert, irreproachable witnesses from among the elders of the people.
In fact, we can go on to say that he had probably dozens more who had seen all this take place because it most likely took place at the gate of the city. More people were probably able to see it, and everything was above board. In a way, these were like notaries who witness something and put their seal on it and sign it, which says that, "Yes, I indeed saw this transaction take place, legally and above board, etc." This is how witnessing is done, and this is how many, if not most, of the occurrences of 'ed and 'ud in the Old Testament connote.
I find what happened here in chapter 4 very interesting as kind of a side note. Actually, it is not a side note; it leads right into my next point, and that is the fact that Boaz is a type of Christ. Boaz here chooses ten elders—Jews—respected men of the town. Remember that since this took place in Bethlehem, these Jews were probably kin of David. In fact, Boaz was David's great-grandfather, but these were all people who were one big extended family, the family of Judah. Boaz took ten of them, ten men whose eyewitness testimony could not be gainsaid in any way, and these men then witnessed his redemption of the land and Ruth.
What is interesting to me is that Jesus did exactly the same thing, except He chose twelve men of Judah, men of Galilee. They would do the same for Him to show that He had indeed redeemed His people. Turn to Luke 24 and see that this is exactly what He did. While the normal legal idea of witnessing appears in the New Testament, Jesus makes use of it to confirm the facts of His life and His death to the whole world, and that is exactly what occurred.
Luke 24:44-49 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."
Now let us go forward to Acts 1, where this is basically continued. Starting in verse 4, He told them to tarry for a while, which simply means to wait—wait in Jerusalem:
Acts 1:4-5 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, "which," He said, "you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
This fits in perfectly with the Feast of Pentecost.
Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
What we see happening here is the commission of the apostles that they had witnessed for three and a half years Christ's pretty much every waking action. They probably watched Him sleep, too. They heard His words; they saw His actions. They saw everything that He did. They saw how He was railroaded at His trial. They saw how He was killed cruelly, and they saw that He was put into the tomb—but they also saw that He rose from the dead, and they saw Him several times between the time that He rose from the dead and the time that He finally ascended to heaven in the cloud, as it talks about in the next several verses.
They had seen for three and a half years, plus a bit more, everything that Jesus did. They had seen everything that He had gone through. They had talked to His mother; they had talked to His brothers. They knew Him. Some of them were His own cousins. Other people in Galilee were aware of Joseph and Mary and Jesus and all His brothers and sisters. They were intimately aware of everything that had happened in Jesus' life.
Once all that was done and completed—the redemption was successful; the Bride was won, in essence (going back to Boaz in my thoughts)—then He sent out His twelve witnesses and said, "You have seen all this. You are irreproachable; your testimony cannot be gainsaid in any way. Go out and tell everybody in Jerusalem; then tell everybody in Judea and Samaria; and then go out and tell the entire world." That is what they did.
We should go on here to Acts 10. I want to pick this up here because this is the where the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles and Cornelius and his family became members of the church.
Acts 10:34-37 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peacethrough Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached. . ."
He shows how indeed what Jesus commanded them to do was indeed being done in the first several years after Jesus' ascension into heaven, and it had been preached throughout all Judea and Galilee.
Acts 10:38 ". . . how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him."
They preached about what Christ did and what Christ said. That was their witness.
Acts 10:39-43 "And we are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins."
We see here that in his first sermon to these Gentiles, Peter basically preached the fact that they were His witnesses, that it was their job to do this, and that this is what they preached. In a way, he gave them an overview of the work of the church—the work of the apostles—which was to go out to Judea, to Samaria, and to all the world, telling these exact same things: what they had seen, what they had heard, what Jesus had gone through all those years, and that He was raised the third day and lives now.
Of course, they can then go on and tell not only those things but also all the things that He had done since then through the Holy Spirit and through them: the healings, the callings, the demons which were cast out, the doors opened, etc. That was all part of the witnessing, because their testimony did not stop with His ascension to heaven. It continues because Jesus continues. He continues to work, and His works are seen among men and, therefore, can be verified and repeated as a witness.
You might say, then, that Jesus chose a jury of twelve men to observe everything that He did, even through His death and afterward; and then they were to proclaim what they had witnessed to the Jews and to the Gentiles—basically the whole world. Of this they did a really whiz-bang job!
You might want to jot down Acts 17:6. There is a man there that "accuses" them of turning the world upside down. This is specifically talking about Paul and whoever was traveling with him at the time, but Paul was one of those witnesses called specifically to witness before Israelites, Gentiles, kings, and whomever else God sent him. He was an apostle born out of due time, but he did the same thing. All of them were just magnificent in the job that they were given to do.
If you want to see exactly how it worked, you have to go to the book of I John, chapter 1, where John tells you exactly what it was that they did. He starts this particular epistle like this so that they could have his credentials right away.
I John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon. . .
Look at that! He is so emphatic! "We heard it," he says. "We saw it with our eyes." Then he says, "We looked upon it." He is a Hebrew, and the Hebrews had a way of saying things more than once for emphasis. He is trying to convey the idea that, yes indeed, they were actually there and saw these things with their own peepers. It is not just something that they just heard about. Yes, they did hear things, but they saw them, and they saw them. He goes on:
I John 1:1 . . . and our hands have handled. . .
This was not a figment or vision. It was something that they could grab onto and did.
I John 1:1-4 . . . concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen [here again!], and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested [a second mention] to us [it was made to appear]—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
Notice how emphatic he was about his job—his duty—to God and Jesus Christ as an eyewitness. He strove very mightily to make sure that we understood that he actually was there. He saw Him; he heard Him; he saw Him; he felt Him; he saw Him; He was manifested to him; etc.
See how many times he makes sure that we understand that this was real. It really happened. This is what made the twelve apostles so special. That is why that there are no apostles like them anymore: They were the only ones who actually saw, heard, and touched. Not only that, several of them saw Jesus Christ in His glorified state—not just the state that He was in after His resurrection, which was wonderful enough—but some of them saw Him transfigured on the Mount, and Paul said that he saw into the third heaven at one time. They were special men. They were His jury, as I called them before—those special witnesses of His who told the whole world what they saw and turned it all upside down in doing so.
Just think about it. The last two millennia have been driven by the testimony of those twelve or thirteen men (counting Paul) because the great powers of the time of those two thousand years have been so-called Christian nations. It is the Western civilization built on Judeo-Christian values that has driven this world. It was not necessarily the true religion found in the Bible, but it was what did start with the true witness of these men. They truly did turn the world upside down.
They devoted their whole lives to this one activity: to testify to anyone who would listen of what Jesus did, what Jesus said, and what it means for us. They were willing to take this to the grave if need be. They all suffered, and most of them died horrible deaths so that they could give their testimony.
It is in the book of Revelation that the idea of a martyr really comes into its fullness. There is a bit of it elsewhere, but it is mostly in Revelation that martyrs, in terms of dying for the faith, really come out.
Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Eventually, most of Christianity began to think of witnessing in this regard: that people would take what they knew of God and say it publicly, and it would get them into trouble with the authorities. The authorities would then persecute them, arrest them, imprison them, and then torture and kill them. This they did, as it says here, "for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God." This is how, as time progressed into the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth centuries, that the idea of martyrdom came into the church. Thus, we have books like Foxe's Book of Martyrs, which tells us of thousands of people who died because of their witness to their faith.
This aspect of witnessing of God has made some saints partake of it, but it is not the whole story. In fact, as I said earlier, you need to think of the word martus—also 'ed and 'ud—in its original sense of "giving proof of something" or "being an eyewitness of something." That is its first meaning. This meaning of a martyr, of one dying for a cause, comes in only by extension. That is the ultimate in witnessing: giving one's life for one's faith. We need to think of it first and foremost as giving eyewitness testimony or giving proof.
Revelation 6:9 When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
Revelation 12:10-11 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."
In Luke 21, He talks about the fifth seal:
Luke 21:12-15 [Jesus says,] "But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist."
Notice here that they are saying something. Usually that is a vital part of any kind of witnessing. It does not have to be but usually it is.
Luke 21:16-19 "You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. [There is witnessing by an action.] And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patiencepossess your souls."
You might say, "you will save your spiritual life through your perseverance."
In these four passages that we have just read—Revelation 20:4; 6:9; 12:10-11; and Luke 21:12-19—I see three common elements: the word, the testimony, and martyrdom. I think that this is easiest to see in verse 9 of Revelation 6:
Revelation 6:9 . . . the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.
We have martyrdom, the Word of God, and the testimony.
I think the element of the Word of God is clear. As a matter of fact, the idea of martyrdom—death for a cause—is clear, too. The Word of God is very clear. It is God's revelation. It is the truth. It is what we have written in the pages of the Book. These people were slain for this reason: that they believed the Word of God.
Unlike many people today—unlike many Christians, even—these martyrs do not take the word of God for granted. They believe that the message is personally vital, current, and authoritative; and they are willing to die rather than compromise with its instruction. They know what the Word of God says; they believe what the Word of God says; and they do what the Word of God says—come hell or high water, as it were. It does not matter what the world is saying; it does not matter what their family is saying. These people take the Word of God at face value and do it. To them, the Word of God is itself a cause, and they value it like gold. It is treasure to them. It is something worth dying for.
The other element, the testimony that they held, refers to the witness that they made: what they testified of, you might say; what they witnessed of. As I mentioned before, most of the time it is transmitted through speech. Preachers preach. People talk, and that is the testimony that they give. They either preach it as one of God's ministers, or they tell others about their experiences with God.
We are well known for doing this. Usually when we meet somebody for the first time at the Feast or Sabbathservices, it is not long before we are witnessing to him—even though he is in the church of God! Do you know how we do that? One of the first questions usually is, "How did you come into the church?" What we are telling each other is, "This is how God jolted me out of my stupidity," or "This is how He introduced me to the truth," or "This is how He cleaned me up," or "This is how and where and when He put me into the thick of things in the church of God, and such and such has happened to me over these last several years." It is all attributed to what God has done. We witness to each other a lot.
We do not do this often to the people of the world because they just are not interested. They do not care how we got involved in this way of life. Usually if they do, it turns into a "circus side-show" to them, purely for entertainment. At other times, there are ways that we can witness to the world through speech, just as to lay members, by simply telling of things that have happened in our lives; and we can attribute them to God, which is right and good because He was certainly the One behind the events. Whether it falls on deaf ears or not is no matter. You have testified. You have given your testimony of the things that God has done with and for and to you. What God does with it is up to Him. You have given your testimony.
Notice that I have not said anything about somebody pointing a gun at you or holding a knife to your throat or showing you the nice pile of wood with a stake in the middle or putting you on a rack or anything else like that. This is the normal everyday type of witnessing that the Bible may not directly talk about, but which it implies frequently.
Usually, however, our witnessing is done non-verbally. This may be the most effective of all. Francis of Assisi once said, "Preach the Gospel at all times; and if necessary, use words." You have also heard people say, "I would rather see a sermon than hear one anytime," because usually somebody's actions are much easier to understand than speech. They hit us harder when you see somebody doing right.
Just think of it. Think of what Jesus did when He was talking to His disciples and they watched the widow put her two mites in. They did also see the other people putting in their loads of treasure, by comparison. What she did spoke volumes. She could have said to them, "Oh! I can only give two mites," but that would not have done anything to them. However, when they saw her do it, and they saw her poverty and the comparison between what she did and what the others did, it preached a sermon like no other. Do you see what I am getting at? Our best witnessing is often done through our behavior.
For instance, perhaps our most universal, non-verbal witness among true Christians is keeping the Sabbath. It is the sign that sets us apart from everyone else. All you have to do is get into your "Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes" on Saturday, and you tell everybody that you are different. In addition, you point them to the One who says in Exodus 20, "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," the same One who made the worlds.
We all do this. You may not have known that you were witnessing. Most of the time we do not realize it. That is good, because if we are going about living our life in a way that is right and good, it does not matter whether we are aware of it or not; it is going to make an impression on those who see you. If you give somebody help, such as walking an old lady across the street, she is going to think either that you are really a Christian or that you have been through the Boy Scouts. Let God work with it as He will.
Do you see what I mean? It is in just our normal everyday activity that we make a witness for God. One need not tell an observer of you a word. Our actions on the Sabbath day—and, one would hope, every day of the week—are a megaphone to the world that we are indeed different, that God has chosen us out of this world and made us to be His children. It has made us everything that we are, and thus we reflect Him.
We can make a witness in our families, too, even though they may already be in the church of God. Because we are not all running at the same pace, something that we do may witness to somebody else in the church that there is a better way of doing something. Then he will say, "Oh! So that's how it's done!" Therefore, he is made a better Christian by it.
We can do it in our adherence to law in our public activities, such as how we drive our cars or whether we pay our taxes and how we go about doing that. Maybe our diligence and thoroughness on our job testify of our godly character—or maybe a lack thereof. Everything we say and everything that we do, anything that any other person sees us doing or saying shouts out our testimony.
The final phrase back there in Revelation 6:9 said, ". . . which they held. . ." It was not just the testimony that they gave; it is the testimony that they held. It gives you the idea that they were holding on as strongly as they could, grasping this testimony with all their strength. This phrase adds definition and emphasis to their testimony, meaning that the testimony that these witnesses gave meant something to them. They valued it. It was not simply testifying about some mundane matter like the details of a purse snatching that you many have seen at the mall or a fender-bender that you happened to witness.
Their testimony is so precious that they hold it fast. They bear it. They maintain it. They keep it in trust. They believe it. The adhere to it with all their worth. As I have mentioned before, it is something that they consciously undertake. You might call it a divine duty, a solemn charge by God to apprise the world of this way of life. However, they are not out there blaring it. They are living it. Sometimes they do have to say something, but most of the time they live the sermon instead of preaching it.
I do not know if you have ever looked at witnessing this way, but if you would, please go back to Exodus 20. There are actually two commandments that touch on our witness. There are more, obviously, in that they really all do, but it is direct in verses 7 and 16, the third and ninth commandments. If you really understand what the third commandment actually tells us to do, then you can understand how it fits into witnessing.
Exodus 20:7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
Meaning, we are to bear God's name and all that it represents in a worthy manner. If we fail to do that, God holds it against us.
Here it is in the Decalogue, the Big Ten. God gives us a charge to bear His name before the world in a way that is worthy. Do not be futile, you might say, in how you carry His name. Remember, we have been baptized into that name: It is now our name. When we think of God's names—and He has many of them—they all describe Him in one way or another: His character, His eternity, His faithfulness, and on they go. All of these things have an impact upon us, and how we act, then, reflects on that name.
Exodus 20:16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
This brings it down more into the human plane, but the same thing in principle applies. We are not to lie about anything to our neighbor, another human being; and we certainly should not be lying about the nature of God, or the promises of God, or anything of God that He has given to us to witness or testify to everyone who sees us. Thus, we see here that two commandments impact upon our witness: God says not to take His name in vain, and He says to never bear false witness.
Paul warns against this in Romans. He is speaking directly to the Jews, but he is writing to the church of God. Just understand it that way; he means us.
Romans 2:17-24 Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, "Do not commit adultery," do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? For "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you," as it is written.
Obviously, he is talking to Jews who had come from Judaism and who did indeed boast in the law; but this applies to us just as well, because we believe in the law, too. We do not believe in it in the same way that the Jews did, but we believe that the law is our guide to life. If you say, "Do not steal," do you steal?
What he does not mention here? "You who say, 'Do not bear false witness,'" do you bear false witness? I am not just talking about lying. I am talking about the subject of this sermon.
Let us go back, while we are on this idea of the Israelites and the law, to Isaiah 43. This chapter also needs a bit of explanation. What God has done here through this poetry of Isaiah 43 is draw the whole world into a mammoth court case—and God is on trial.
Isaiah 43:8 Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears.
These are the people in the world.
Isaiah 43:9 Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear and say, "It is truth."
God is saying, "Bring in the whole world. Let them bring their witnesses so that they can testify about their gods and their way of life." We will see at the end of this what they finally decide.
Isaiah 43:10-13 "You [Israel] are My witnesses," says the LORD, "and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior. I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, and there was no foreign god among you; therefore you are My witnesses," says the LORD, "that I am God. Indeed before the day was, I am He; and there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?"
God calls Israel as His witnesses. He had chosen them specifically out of the world, had given them His law, and had allowed them to know Him: "You [Israel] are My witnesses," says the Lord, "and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me."
Look at all that He did. He gave them the law. Through so many miracles—the ten plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, water in the desert, manna six days a week, leading them across the desert by the pillar of cloud and fire—time and time again, He showed them who He was, how He worked, and what He expected of them. They got to know Him and should have believed Him. That was ultimately what He was shooting for. However, we know from Hebrews 3 and 4 that they never did actually have any faith. They did not believe Him, and they did not obey.
They were to be His witnesses before the world, letting the whole world know that He was very God. He was the only God. He was the only Lord. He was the only Savior. He was the only One who could say something and make it come to pass just as He said it would. If He, as He says here, snatched someone up, there was no one who could deliver that person out of His hand. That is in verse 13. He says, "If I have something that I want to do, no one is going to reverse it."
This is what Israel's duty was. As mentioned before, it was their divine responsibility, being called in this manner, to do this before the world for God. They were to testify through their speech and behavior and in no way misrepresent the truth about God. That is what they were told to do, but they did not. They bound themselves to it, and that is why God had every right to do what He did to Israel.
We could go back to Exodus 19 and show the response where they agreed and then Exodus 24, where they agreed again, but let us go to Joshua 24. This is at the end of Joshua's life. He had just given them a long speech about what he had done and how he had been faithful and that he and his family will continue to serve the Lord.
Joshua 24:19 But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the LORD. . .
What was that he said? "You cannot serve the Lord!" He knew something that they did not. Why?
Joshua 24:19 . . . for He is a holy God [and you Israelites are a bunch of miserable sinners!]. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins."
He was speaking the truth.
Joshua 24:20-25 "If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after He has done you good [which is exactly what happened.] And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the LORD! So Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him." And they said, "We are witnesses!" Now therefore," he said, "put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel." And the people said to Joshua, "The LORD our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!" So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
Three times Israel said, "We will do this." They bound themselves. Guess what happens next. The book of Judges. It is the bloodiest book in the Bible. It is the one full of Israel's rebellions up to the time of Samuel. They could not do it. They could not be the witnesses that God wanted them to be and knew that they would not be, but it is what they were supposed to do.
However, there were a few that did it right. There were a few that God chose for certain jobs throughout this time; they did witness for God; and their deeds are recorded in the Bible. There is a succinct list of these in Hebrews 11, which we call the Faith Chapter. It gives multiple examples of the heroes of faith making a witness for the true God and His way.
We will just go through some: Abel bore witness by making an acceptable sacrifice. Enoch's translation was witness that he pleased God. Noah's obedience in constructing the ark bore witness to his faith. Abraham testified of his allegiance in many ways: He left Ur of the Chaldees; he dwelt in tents in Canaan; he sacrificed Isaac on the altar. These are all ways in which he witnessed of God.
Sarah testified by conceiving and bearing the promised son. The patriarchs Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph all witnessed for God in the work that He gave them to do. Moses showed his faith by refusing royal rank; he forsook Egypt; and he kept the Passover; and many other things. As a nation, as the author says in verse 30, they bore witness by marching around Jericho. Even Rehab the harlot left a testimony of God by helping the Israelite spies at Jericho.
Paul goes on to say toward the end of this passage, specifically verse 39, that all the heroes of faith obtained good testimony through their works. They all left an example to us of how we can witness, and they are called, then, in chapter 12:1, "a great cloud of witnesses." They are the ones who have left their testimony for our admonition—for our following in their footsteps.
This burden, as Paul implies in Romans 9 through 11, as well as in calling the church of God "the Israel of God" in Galatians 6:16, has been lifted off Israel in a major way and given to the church of God. We can take what is said there in Isaiah 43 as being instruction for us: "You are My witnesses," says the Lord.
Acts 1:8 (read up above), "you shall be witnesses of Me," makes this binding upon the apostles—and what is binding on the apostles has thus been transferred to the church of God to do. You will see in Matthew 24 that this continues all the way up to the end. This is one of those verses that Mr. Armstrong read literally thousands of times. We should know this one by heart:
Matthew 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."
It is unfortunate that so many people have narrowed the preaching of the Gospel down to having a television or radio program. You can preach the Gospel by being a true Christian. It is all part and parcel of preaching the Gospel. When you speak and when you behave, you are in a small way preaching the Gospel, whether you knew it or not, because someone is observing you. Whether they see a true Christian or whether they see something that "causes the 'Gentiles' to blaspheme" is up to you. It is preaching the Gospel, because through His servants God gives a witness to the world of the way that life should be lived.
I want to go to two commands. The first one is in I Peter 2. I want to take a command from Peter and then one from Paul. These are only two among scores concerning our ability now that we have been called and are empowered by God's Holy Spirit to make an impression on the world by our conduct or behavior. Peter writes:
I Peter 2:11-12 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Peter commands, first of all, to eliminate any kind of carnality. Then he says to display honorable conduct, and he later goes on to call that good works. It sounds like my sermons two and three in this series, which I gave during the Days of Unleavened Bread: "Conquering Sin," and "Growing in Righteousness."
Paul writes:
Philippians 2:12-16 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.
Paul calls the same activity that Peter talked about "working out your own salvation." He quickly says that God assists us in this. What we do, then, is God's good pleasure or, we might say, what pleases Him. That is making a witness. If we do what God wants—what pleases God with the aid that He gives us through His Spirit—we are witnessing. That is what it is.
As Paul hints by the words that he uses here, he says that it boils down to submission to God, obedience, and doing His work. That is what our witness entails. While we do these things without complaint or argument, it works for our good. We become blameless. We become harmless or innocent—morally pure.
See? It not only does something for those who see, but it also does something for us. While we are doing our good works, while we are doing those things that please God, while we are witnessing, we are growing in character and being sanctified. Thus, in the day of Christ, everything is going to be okay. That will please Paul, too, for all the work that he did to get them to this point. See how it all works together?
Let us close, then, in Matthew 5, and get this directly from our Savior's mouth. He does not use the word, but what He says is exactly what I have been talking about throughout this whole sermon. He says right at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:13-16 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. [Here is the command:] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
Without using the word directly, our Savior commands us to be witnesses of Him and His way of life, like bright lights gleaming from a hilltop on a dark night. That sort of thing cannot be hidden. It is going to be seen. If the right people see it—if God moves them to see it—it will lead them to that City on the Hill, and they then can become bright lights as well.
In the every day course of life that we do this, we should shine brightly through good works and godly behavior, bringing glory to God and the Father. Is it not interesting and very significant that the very next thing that Jesus does is to give a long discourse on God's law? He magnifies it and shows the spirit of the law. It is as though He is saying, "Let your light so shine before men, and this is how it is done."
Now, to the Christian living principles of imitating Christ, conquering sin, growing in righteousness, and being living sacrifices, we have added witnessing of God.
If you are a Christian, you are called to spread the Gospel and to be a witness for Jesus. Our world is full of people who do not know Jesus as their Savior. Scripture calls each of us to do our part to reach the lost. Matthew 5:16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Dr. Samuel Namaan, Moody Bible Institute Professor of Intercultural Studies, said being a witness for Jesus is important because “Jesus is the only way. Without Him, we are lost!” We know it is urgent that all come to know God, but many of us find the thought of witnessing intimidating. “It’s not that everyone is called to preach from the pulpit or stand on the corner and speak, Namaan says. “Some are called to go, some are called to stay, and some, like me, are called to equip. But whatever our calling, we all are called to share Christ,” says Naaman.
How can you be a witness for Jesus? Here are some practical ways you can show others the love of Christ today:
1. Invite a friend to attend or watch church with you.
Ask someone to come with you to church or now is a perfect opportunity to invite them to watch the online service with you. Afterward, ask them their thoughts about the experience. Have a conversation about the message and be ready to answer any questions they may have about your faith in Jesus.
2. Send a note of biblical encouragement.
Words of encouragement are important, especially during this difficult year. If there’s someone you know who is struggling, going through a rough time, or just needs some love: take the time to send them a written note. Really take the time to make your note hopeful and personal. Let them know you’re praying for them and that you are always there if they need you. Pick out an encouraging passage from the Bible to share with them. In this simple way, you will be a witness for Jesus.
3. Share Today in the Word with a friend.
When you read your daily Bible study, does someone come to your mind? Maybe the day’s reading relates to something they are experiencing? You can text someone the link to the website, share the devotional on social media, give them a physical copy of our studies, or connect them to our app. Invite them to read with you every day, and be ready to discuss the devotional, even if it’s through a brief text chat. Ask them what they thought, how they connected, or what they learned.
4. Ask someone how you can pray for them.
Have you noticed a friend who is looking or acting a little down? Prayer is a simple but important way you can be a witness for Jesus. Consider simply going over to them and asking them how you can pray for them. Truly listen to their needs. And, if you feel the time is right, ask if you can pray with them at that moment. Don’t pry for more information about their situation just let them know that you are there and that they are loved. Show them that God is there and that He loves them.
5. Bless someone with a thoughtful gift.
Find someone you know that is in need of something. Maybe someone you know lost a job and could use a round of groceries, or a mom just had her baby and could enjoy some nice items to pamper herself. Maybe you have an acquaintance with health issues and you can give a small token to make them smile. Spend time and effort thinking of what to give and who to give too. Think of something of quality that would actually bless the individual. Tell them that you wanted to bless them out of the love of Jesus.
All of these are simple ways that you can be a witness for Jesus. Whatever you do, spend time in prayer over it. Ask God to work in divine ways and trust Him in the result. Focus on loving the person well, listen to them, and care for them.
1. Encounter the Mercy and Love of God
Witnessing to Christ means that you have a relationship with Him and want to invite others to encounter His love and mercy for themselves. You cannot give others what you do not possess. If you want others to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8), then you need to “taste and see” for yourself first! Develop your relationship with God through the sacraments, prayer, scripture reading, and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Take time each day to be with God and allow Him to be with you.
When the apostles saw the Resurrected Lord in the upper room, He invited them to encounter Him by going beyond seeing Him with their own eyes and truly touch His wounded side. He even ate in front of them (cf. Luke 24:36-33). He wanted them to see and touch and believe this truth: Jesus is REAL. We encounter a real person in Christ. Not an idea, a theory, a concept. A person. And not just any person, but the Son of the living God.
When you encounter the person of Jesus Christ and experience His love, mercy, and goodness in a personal way, not sharing His goodness with others is practically impossible! Even under threat of arrest and punishment, the apostles could not stop proclaiming Christ: “As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).
As a personal example, I have encountered Christ in simple, small ways and in amazing ways. I’ve encountered His mercy and love in the sacraments, in prayer, and frequently in other people. I’ve experienced powerful healing from my own wounds in my past. I have even seen and heard my guardian angel! (No kidding, really!) This makes me so grateful and joyful that like the apostles I cannot help but tell people about it—of course when the timing is right!
2. Be Ready to Witness
Talking about your faith can feel awkward when you begin to share it with others in a way you haven’t before. A great way to feel more confident is to follow St. Peter’s advice: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). Ask yourself and prayerfully discern what your own cause for hope is.
Something fun could be to write your own “elevator speech”—basically a 20-30 second version of the reason for your hope. How has Christ worked in your life in the past? How is He working in your life today? How has Christ touched my heart? How have I grown in love for Him and other people because I seek to follow Him? How is my life different because I choose to be His disciple? What words of your heart come up that you would like to share with others about your experiences with Christ? Have you experienced joy, sorrow, desire, aversion, love, hate, anger, hope, or despair in your walk with God?
This “reason for hope” shouldn’t be a script you follow when speaking to others, but rather a touchstone for yourself. When you know the reason for your hope in Christ, it becomes easier to share this hope with others.
For me personally, I have several experiences that I call on frequently that I like to share with others, depending on the situation. I have shared my conversion story as a lost teenager, when I first encountered Christ, which sometimes sounds like a “how we met” love story. I share about the joys and sufferings of married and parenting life with friends who are down in the trenches with me and how Christ nourishes and strengthens me in these times. I share about encounters with Christ where He has healed me from wounds of my past, of being a survivor of child abuse and neglect. I talk about how Christ my Good Shepherd saved me and carried me past that. These are all reasons for my hope. With one person I may share my experience of God speaking to me about a problem I had or a sin I was trying to overcome. With another I may share my healing journey in a way that speaks to them. It all depends on where the Holy Spirit leads our conversation. Speaking of that…
3. Be Open to the Holy Spirit
Once you know your “reasons for hope,” be open to sharing your personal experiences, how you see God working in your life, and the emotions you’ve felt along the way. Pray to the Holy Spirit to guide you to recognize the times when He is moving you to speak to someone about your reasons for hope. When you pay attention to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, you will become aware of when to speak and when to be silent and listen. Remember that you never truly witness to Christ by yourself; the Holy Spirit will be with you.
My personal experience with this is finding time to be silent in order to be able to hear the Holy Spirit speaking to me. I also do A LOT of listening to others before sharing my reasons for hope. When I share, it is not about putting the focus on me and my stories and how great I am, but how God worked in my life and how that might be applicable to the person who I am listening to.
For more about being silent and listening for the promptings of the Holy Spirit, here is a blog you might enjoy: The Gentle Fluttering of the Holy Spirit.
4. Don’t Be Afraid; Just Believe
Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid; just believe” (Mark 5:36). It can be a little scary to open up to another person about your deepest beliefs. This requires some vulnerability, and vulnerability is courageous. Trust in Jesus to guide you in your interactions with others. Remember that your goal is not to force people into loving and knowing God. Only God can move hearts! Your goal is to invite them to encounter Christ. When you send an invitation to something wonderful, you don’t demand that people attend. You invite them to come. That’s the point: invite others to “taste and see” God’s goodness.
For me personally, shame and regret about my past was something that I had to overcome in order to be open up to others about my faith journey. I have some pretty scary stuff in my past, like many of us do. We all have hurts, failures, and regrets. Once I accepted these things about myself and allowed God to continually heal me from these, sharing them became easier. I also learned that it is these moments where God was working most powerfully in my life. Find those powerful moments and be vulnerable about them. Also, bonus! Sharing your real-life experiences of sorrow and fear and how God walked with you or delivered you from them is good for your soul, too.
5. You Don’t Have to Have All the Answers
Thank goodness for this tip! Our faith is so rich and deep that we couldn’t possibly know the answer to every question that a friend or relative asks us. Of course, we should have a basic knowledge of our faith and what we believe – that’s in the Nicene Creed. But you don’t have to have a degree in theology to witness to Christ. Your personal witness is just a seed to plant in the heart of a friend. You cannot win over people with facts anyway. You don’t have to know all the answers, but you can always find the answer for someone who is asking. That’s also a great way to have additional conversations about Christ. It might sound something like, “I’m not sure of the answer to that, and I want to learn, too. Let me find out and get back To you.”
6. Be Authentic, Confident, and Pure of Heart
Be sincere in what you share with others. Being authentic is key. Share your genuine experiences, your setbacks, your griefs, and your joys in Christ. People respond to authenticity and pull away from what they see as “fake” or inauthentic. Just be yourself! Another aspect of authenticity is sharing specific personal experiences. Only you can tell your story. When you share concrete experiences, they motivate others by enabling them to imagine what it is like to experience Christ. It makes them want to “taste and see” His goodness. These authentic personal stories can prompt one to take an action in his or her own life, to take a step closer to God.
Be confident that your efforts to witness to Christ are not in vain. Scripture tells us that “the victory that conquers the world is our faith” (1 John 5:4). You may not see the fruits of your conversations and witness to others. In fact, you probably won’t see it immediately, if ever. But that doesn’t mean that you haven’t been an effective witness. Think again of the tiny seed you plant, almost invisible, but still there growing.
Be pure of heart by not wanting to convert souls or win people to Christ for your own glory. All our efforts to witness to Christ should be motivated toward glorifying God and in His name: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). Remember that He does the converting, after all. We are simply ambassadors in His name: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Most of all, be motivated by love for the person you are speaking with and for God.
Sometimes we are called to witness TO others; sometimes we must witness AGAINST them. This calls for discernment through the Holy Spirit pray for wisdom and help for Jeuss to guide you
An effective witness for Christ could be defined as a person whose life bears fruit for the gospel. Ultimately, when a person is saved, it is by God's power (1 Peter 1:3-5), not ours, and as we speak the truth to unbelievers, it is important to remember that their salvation does not hinge on our speaking abilities or the strength of our faith, or how well we know how to explain things. Even in cases where we speak the truth very clearly and with conviction, it may not result in the salvation of the hearer. In the end, each person bears the responsibility for his own choices (Galatians 6:4-5). This should not be a deterrent, however. We are called to do everything in our power to witness to the lost, and to aim for effectiveness. Here are a few basic guidelines to being an effective witness for Christ.
An effective witness is humble. We cannot judge who will or will not accept the message of the cross, so we should be impartial and unprejudiced about whom we approach with the good news, remembering that our own need for salvation is just as great as the need of every person yet to be saved (Romans 3:19-20). An effective witness will approach unbelievers with kindness and patience, rather than an arrogant, quarrelsome attitude (2 Timothy 2:23-26).
An effective witness represents the Scripture. God has chosen to reveal Himself to the world in part through a book, the Bible. Regardless of whether this makes perfect sense to us, it is the way He chose to do things. We are called to be ambassadors of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20). An ambassador for a nation speaks only what he hears his king or President speak—no more, no less. When we invent new gospels, or bend the truth in an effort to make God's message more palatable or easier to accept, we are being unfaithful, and if people are converted, they are converting to a false gospel. The truth will always be fragrant to the one who desires salvation, and powerful to effect that salvation (2 Corinthians 2:14-17). We should not be ashamed of it (Romans 1:16).
An effective witness represents the Savior. Just as we are faithful to accurately speak His Word, we should be faithful to accurately portray His character. The world has an image of Jesus that is often incorrect, and we should strive to make His true nature known to them. Jesus Christ was not always nice. He rejected the hypocritical religious leaders of His day, pronouncing woes on them (Matthew 23:1-36). He spoke the truth with conviction (John 3:1-15). He confirmed the existence of eternal separation from God (Matthew 7:21-23). At the same time, He accepted the outcasts of society and forgave them freely (Luke 19:1-10). Nobody who wanted to be with Him was rejected. His focus was to save them, rather than to judge their sin (John 3:16-18). An effective witness for Christ will be intimately acquainted with Christ's character and attempt to emulate Him.
An effective witness is honest. Not every mystery in the Bible can be explained or understood, even by the wisest theologian or the most studied scholar. If an unbeliever asks a question we cannot answer, we should not be afraid to say "I don't know." Honesty, and acceptance of our inability to fathom God, is not a sign of weakness, but rather a trust in God that is unfathomable (Hebrews 11:1-3). How can we hope to fully understand a God whose mind is so far above ours? But we are not called to fully understand, but simply to trust (Proverbs 3:5-6).
As believers in Christ, we are all called to witness and share about God’s greatness to those around us. But what does it mean to be a witness for Christ, why is it important, and how do we go about witnessing to others about this good news?
Can you think of the first time you heard the gospel? Who told you? How did they tell you? Did they first share Christ with you through their words or did you first notice Christ working in them through their actions? Just think, if that person never stood before you as a witness for Christ, you may not have ever heard of this wonderful news of the gospel and been brought into a relationship with God! So, we can see how important this calling is to all who are disciples of Christ!
Note: If you aren’t already a follower of Jesus, first head over to read these couple of posts to hear more of what the gospel is and what it means to be a disciple of Jesus:
What is the Gospel?
What is a Disciple?
What is a Witness?
What do you think of when you hear the word “witness?” Most people probably think of someone in a courtroom. The witness is someone that has seen something take place and is there to tell of all that they saw, heard, and experienced. Likewise, as Christians, we are called to be witnesses for Christ who present a testimony about the truth that we have experienced and heard.
The Role of a Witness All Throughout Scripture
In Acts 1:8, Jesus calls his disciples witnesses and calls them to go to the ends of the earth with this good news by the power of the Spirit:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
But this isn’t just a New Testament thing that started with Christ sending out his disciples, it is something that we can see throughout the entire lens of scripture! From the beginning, we can see God’s plan to use His people to be His witnesses to the other nations around them. He calls a people to Himself to know Him, to be set apart, and to tell of what they’ve experienced to all the nations around them. They were to be His representatives to the world!
We can see this early on with Abraham when God promises to make him a great nation that will be a blessing to all the nations (Genesis 12). We see it all throughout the story of the Old Testament. And I love how we begin to see this take place in the book of Exodus. God has just rescued the Israelites from slavery and is calling them out as His people to worship Him and to proclaim all that they have experienced. Let’s look at this passage:
“The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” Exodus 19:3b-6
They are to reflect on all God has done for them, cling closely to Him by obeying His Word, and to be His treasured possession. This isn’t just for their own sake, but to be a Kingdom of Priests with the role of being set apart for Him in order to declare His praises to a lost world. And this theme continues all throughout the Old Testament with priests, prophets, judges, etc doing just that. We get a clear picture of this again in Isaiah 43:10-12:
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God.”
Throughout all of scripture we can see God’s people called to be witnesses in order to declare this true and faithful God that we know and have experienced. This declaring is not only in word but in deed. Our lives should testify to the story we are a part of as God’s children: we are set apart, redeemed, sanctified, and live in light of this because of WHOSE we are. 1 Peter 2:9-10 brings this calling from all scripture together so beautifully:
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10
You can see here that it is God who does the calling and drawing His people near and then they are to go and declare this great God they have come to know and trust. So, it is God who causes those who are told the good news to believe, not the person who is the witness. The role of the witness is simply to share all that they have seen, heard, and experienced. God does the changing of hearts. It is also worth noting that ALL who know Him are to proclaim Him, not just a certain, talented or chosen few.
For more details on what it means to be a witness for Christ throughout all of scripture, check out this helpful resource from The Bible Project.
Why Do We Witness for Christ?
Well, if the above section didn’t convince you, let’s have a look at some other passages to help us understand and back up why we are called to be witnesses and the importance of witnessing for every believer.
Jesus’ Example:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19
Jesus’ Command:
“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
Called to Be Ambassadors for Christ Who Proclaim His Greatness:
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-20
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10
Participating With God in Proclaiming the Good News:
“For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:13-15
Witnessing is Part of Being a Disciple of Jesus:
“And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
Witnessing as a Response to What Christ Has Done For You:
“for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20
Witnessing Because We Love and Care For Others:
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.” 1 John 1:1-4
“Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8
What Do We Proclaim As Witnesses of Christ?
It’s not enough to just understand that we are to proclaim Christ as His witnesses to the ends of the earth, but we must know the story we are a part of in order to proclaim it rightly and truthfully.
We must proclaim God’s Word.
We don’t just share our own thoughts and opinions, but everything we share must be rooted in the Word of God. It is through hearing the Word of God that people are saved!
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:10-11
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17
We Proclaim the Good News of the Gospel.
I love how Paul explains the entirety of the gospel in so many parts of scripture. These can be great places to look and examine what to share.
“Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,” 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:1-10
There are so many great verses to share in this section, but for the sake of space, here are a few others that are helpful to look up: Romans 3:21-26, Romans 5:1-11, Romans 6:20-23, Galatians 1-2, Ephesians 1:3-14.
Ultimately, we share the good news of the gospel that we see in God’s Word. We share that God is God and there is no other, we share the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness and into His wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9). This is indeed the best news, so why wouldn’t we want to declare it to all the earth?!
How To Be a Witness For Christ
Our role as a witness is to both tell of the good news with our words, but to also share through our actions. Witnessing is an all of life kind of thing because following Christ encompasses all of life! We are called to follow Him (Matthew 4:19), walk in a manner worthy of the calling He has given us (Colossians 1:10), be representatives of God in His mercy, grace, and forgiveness (1 Peter 2:9-10), and be prepared to tell of the hope we have in Him (1 Peter 3:15-16).
Being a Witness Involves Both Word and Deed
To continue on with our 1 Peter 2 passage, let’s look a little further into the passage and the book of 1 Peter to see how he connects both telling of the good news with words and deeds.
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 1 Peter 2:9-12
“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” 1 Peter 3:15
There’s a distinction in all of these passages. We share both in word and deed in response to all that God has done for us. It is out of who we are in Christ and whose we are as children of God that we go on to share and act in a way that is pleasing to God. Our good deeds don’t save us, but are our proper response to the saving grace given to us. Then in turn, people see our good deeds and are drawn to this glorious God that we serve!
You Must Draw Near to God For Yourself!
As you seek to share all that you have seen and heard, YOU must first be drawing near to God for yourself. Spend time with God in His Word, in prayer, in fellowship with others, and grow in your relationship with Him. As you do so, you will have first hand experience to witness about your own relationship with God to others! Look at the example of the disciples in this. They spent time with Jesus, learned from Him, and then couldn’t help but share all that they had seen and heard (Acts 4:20).
Being a Witness Involves Prayer and Dependence on the Spirit.
Remember, as a witness it isn’t your job to save people (that’s God’s job!), but to share all that you have experienced. So as you seek to share, do so with a heart of prayer for those you are sharing with and for your words to be guided by the Holy Spirit. Ask God to work through you both in word and deed, and do His work in the hearts of those around you. Pray diligently and depend fully on the work of the Spirit as you faithfully share.
“So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”
1 Corinthians 3:7
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
Tools to Help You Share With Others:
While witnessing is definitely an all of life thing as we live our lives with God, there are some wonderful tools to help us to be ready to tell of the hope we have in Christ when times arise. Here are some great resources that I like to use in sharing my faith with others.
- Your personal testimony. Your story is an incredible way to share the hope you have in Christ. It is your first hand story of all that God has done in your life. This can be one of the most powerful tools of sharing Christ with those around you. If shared well in a way that points others to Christ and not to you, it can bring the power of the gospel to light for those who don’t yet know Him. My biggest encouragement for doing this is to include the gospel message clearly (not just your own story) and include a gospel verse. Click here to get a great resource for thinking through how to share your own testimony.
- The Bridge Illustration. This is a great tool for sharing the gospel in visual form. There are many ways to use this, but I like the one-verse bridge illustration because it is simpler than having to remember a ton of different verses to share and is also simpler for those you are sharing with. Now, it takes some adapting to get the whole big picture story of scripture and the gospel in there, but that’s the fun of adapting it in your own words! Click here to get more information about sharing in this way.
- Share as you go. Much of witnessing about Christ comes during day to day conversations and lifestyles. Pray for opportunities to share about Christ both in word and deed and look for opportunities that come up to share about the hope you have in Christ. This may come up in a conversation with a friend about why you live the way you do or may look like standing up for the oppressed when no one else is willing to. It may be boldly sharing the gospel with a friend or taking every opportunity to show His sacrificial love with those around you. Both word and deed are essential as we live as God’s children in the midst of the world around us, declaring His greatness to those who have yet to hear this wonderful news.
- Read the Bible with a friend.Have a friend interested in learning more about Jesus? Why not ask them if they want to read the Bible with you so that they can see for themselves what it has to say and decide what they think about it all? My favorite place to start is by reading the book of John with someone and looking specifically at two questions: Who is Jesus? And what does He want from us?
- Share Christ in community.Welcome your non-believing friends into your lives and community. Overlap your community with your believing friends and non-believing friends and let them see what it looks like to live as a community of disciples transformed by Jesus. If we are truly living as God calls us to in community with one another as believers, our lives should look different and attract others to not only this type of community but to Christ Himself!
I pray that as we seek to live lives that are transformed by the gospel, our natural response would be to share about all that we have seen and heard. We have been saved, redeemed, restored, and made children of God, so let’s go out and declare His greatness to the world around us. May we live in such a way that shows our only hope is Christ and that gives us opportunities to share this great hope we have in Him! And let’s do this with prayer and dependence on God to do the work in the lives of those we love so dearly.
*This resource is meant to be shared! If you found it helpful, please share it with family and friends, use it as you disciple your children or others in your life that you are discipling, and continue passing on a love for being a witness for Christ!*
The Bible repeatedly emphasizes our duty to witness to others about the salvation which is ours in Christ Jesus. The heart of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20 is “Go and teach.” The command in Acts 1:8 is, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me.” One of the great duties and privileges we have in the Christian life is to share our faith with others. We want to look at a few factors related to the duty of witnessing for Christ.
1. The Inadequacy of Instant Evangelism
There are right kinds of witnessing, and there are wrong kinds of witnessing. One wrong approach to soul-winning is to think of it as a door-to-door salesmanship in which people are introduced to a cheap kind of Christianity—and are told that if they believe in Jesus Christ, and if they offer a brief prayer of contrition—they are saved. The soul-winner follows an easy little formula that can lead people to think that they are Christians without following the hard road of discipleship and obedience.
Instead of using a streamlined, instant kind of evangelism as a shortcut approach to get people saved, we must remember the Bible’s emphasis on repentance (Acts 17:30-31), restitution (Luke 19:8), and the terms of discipleship. We must not pressure people into making a quick profession of faith in Christ without helping them to “count the cost” (Luke 14:25-30).
The Bible speaks about sowing and then watering that seed—and then sometime later reaping the harvest. The Apostle Paul says, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6). There is a need for laying a solid foundation upon which the decision for Christ can be made.
There is of course a tremendous need for trying to get other people to taste and see that the Lord is good. And one right approach to witnessing is simply to do the normal things in a Christlike way. When others about you are nervous and anxious and excited—and seem to have many worries—you can live without anxiety right in the middle of life’s duties and frustrations. And people are going to take notice. They will say, “I wonder how he can be so calm in the midst of such trying circumstances?” Your attitudes—the way you conduct yourself in general—this in itself is a witness to the world.
But evangelism (witnessing) is not merely the testimony of a good, consistent life. Being friendly, helpful, and neighborly is a good preparation for evangelism, but it is not the sum total of evangelism. Being neighborly is not a substitute for evangelism. The Gospel must be expressed in words! People need to be told that all have sinned before God; that no human being can save himself; that Jesus Christ died on the Cross to put away sin; that we must receive Him through faith in order to have eternal life; and that the Lord expects a life of obedience and discipleship. Somebody has to tell that story!
Good living does not actually convey the content of the Gospel, and therefore soul-winning involves more than living a good life. It involves proclaiming a message—telling it with the lips.
On the other hand, soul-winning (telling the story in words) is often a talent, and not everybody has it. I know some sincere Christian people who, try as they may, nearly always say the wrong thing when they try and witness with words. Every Christian can live for Christ, but not all can effectively speak for Him.
David Livingstone was a talented man. He was a noted missionary to a number of tribes in the heart of Africa. There were a number of converts as a result of his ministry. When David Livingstone died, the big African native that dragged his body out of the jungle was only a step removed from being a savage. He did not have many talents; he could not read or write; he could hardly tell others the story of salvation. But his life had been changed by the power of Jesus Christ—and he had a big strong body which he used for the glory of God. He carried the dead body of David Livingstone for miles out of the jungle, so that Livingstone could be buried back in his home country of England. The African native gave every indication of being saved, but he likely never won another soul to Christ.
But in spite of the foregoing illustration, most of us can witness for Christ with words. We are not as primitive as the man in the example just given. The trouble with many of us is that we are too busy, too self-centered, or too cowardly. Most of us are like a noted writer who has traveled to many countries and written several books. He says, “I’m not afraid of thunder and lightning, but when it comes to talking to someone about his need for personal salvation, a broad yellow streak runs all the way from the nape of my neck to the base of my spine.”
We listen to preachers; we attend church services; we serve on committees—but when it comes to communicating the essence of our faith, we tend to be cowards. I sometimes struggle with the same feeling. Some people are born salesmen; they stand out in a crowd; they have a knack for starting a conversation—but it is not so for me. I have an inborn reluctance; I don’t care to transgress on the privacy of other people. I doubt if I could ever be a hermit, but I much prefer being alone than being with crowds of people. And so personal witnessing isn’t really easy for me. I am sure some readers feel the same way—clumsy and awkward when you try to witness to others. The purpose of this article in Bible Helps is to give a few ideas about how to witness more effectively for Christ, even though we may tend to be cowardly.
2. Requirements For an Effective Witness
There are some necessary conditions for making an effective witness for Christ.
a) The need for separation from the world.
Those who would witness for Christ must not be conformed to the spirit of the age. The soul-winner must live a separated and a consecrated life. If we want to lift another to a higher plane, we must ourselves be on that higher plane. Our constant prayer should be, “Lord, show me how to be a better person today than I was yesterday.” God will not carry the pure water of life to a needy people in dirty vessels.
If you go to the same places of amusement that the world does, and dress in the same shameful way that the world does, and use almost the same kind of language that unsaved people use—you are not going to make much of an impression on the person who doesn’t know Christ. One who leads a clean, happy life will be noticed by others. Your associates will say, “How come I never hear you swear?” Or, “How is it that you seem so happy most of the time?” These are golden opportunities to proclaim to others your faith in Jesus Christ.
b) The need for prayer and guidance.
I have never seen any visions, and I have not heard voices from outer space—but I do believe in divine guidance. Philip was guided by an angel and strengthened by the Holy Spirit when he witnessed to the Ethiopian eunuch, and just so, our testimony should be bathed in prayer, seeking for the Lord’s guidance.
When we awaken in the morning, we should ask God to send across our path those whom we can help, and those who can help us. We can say, “Lord, you know how weak and timid I am; You know how easy it is for me to keep quiet, but if you will open the door, I’m going to try and witness for my Savior today.” And then ask God for the ability to say the right words in the right way at the right time.
c) The need for a sense of compassion.
Every true worker for Christ must have a real tenderness for the lost. It is easy to sing “Rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave”—while at the same time our attitudes are like a flashing neon sign which says, “I couldn’t care less.”
The Apostle Paul had such a great passion for the spiritual welfare of people that he said, “I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart; for I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh” (Romans 9:2-3). The Psalmist says, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:6).
d) The need for a knowledge of the Word of God.
To be successful in influencing men and women for Christ, one must have a working knowledge of the Bible. The Bible is “the sword of the Spirit”; it is the instrument which God uses to convict of sin and to reveal Christ to the unsaved.
Philip the evangelist knew his Bible. He was perfectly at home in the book of Isaiah when he found the eunuch reading from Isaiah 53. The account is recorded in Acts 8. Philip would have lost a tremendous opportunity for witnessing to the Ethiopian man if he had not been able to find the place in the Scriptures where the eunuch was reading. To be an expert in the Word of God inspires confidence in the person with whom we are dealing. We will get farther with the unsaved if they sense that we know the Bible.
e) The need for tactfulness.
Tactfulness is another requirement for effective witnessing. “Tact” is the ability to say the right thing at the right time, so as not to unjustly offend.
We must always be courteous and thoughtful, and sensitive to people’s feelings. If we rush into an unsaved person’s presence and say, “Friend, if you don’t believe in Christ and turn from you sins, you are going to go to Hell”—and then quote a chapter and verse from the Bible—we will likely drive that person farther from faith in Christ rather than closer to Him. I’ve seen Christians carrying a Bible the size of an old Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog, and plunk it down in front of a prospect and start off on him. One man says, “When you witness to a sinner, put the Bible on him, and watch him cringe.” We must never approach people as one who is trying to conquer them, but as fellow-travelers along life’s pathway.
One preacher tells of a barber who was enthusiastic about witnessing for Christ. He had lots of zeal, but he wasn’t always very tactful. One time the barber had a customer in the chair, and he was strapping his razor (sharpening the razor on a kind of leather belt), getting ready to shave the man—when all of a sudden he blurted out in all sincerity, “Say, fellow, are you ready to die?” The customer was so startled at the remark that he bolted out of his chair, ran out of the barber shop, and never did come back!
By way of contrast, I once read about a preacher who was a very tactful man. The preacher was riding a train, and a drunken man got on the train—and chose a seat right alongside the preacher. The drunken man was spewing out profanity and filth, and then he offered the preacher a swallow from his liquor bottle. The preacher could have blasted the man for his sins, and his filthy condition—but instead, he politely declined the drink, and said to the drunken man, “No thanks, I don’t care for any—but, you know, I can see that you are a very generous person.” The man’s eyes lit up with surprise (despite his drunken stupor), and it was that remark which began a conversation that eventually brought the man to the Savior.
3. Some Tools For Good Personal Work
In order to influence men and women for Christ, we must first of all establish a point of contact.
Sometimes just being a friend is the point of contact. Just listening to another person’s troubles strikes up a friendship. Sometimes when meeting a stranger, we can just smile. Many times that is as far as the contact goes. But on occasion that smile does lead to a conversation, and usually the conversation begins on some general topic—perhaps a current issue. When Jesus asked the woman at the well for a drink (recorded in John 4), the door was open for further conversation.
Sometimes the title of a book you may be reading will become the springboard for a conversation. One time on an airplane, while reading a book entitled World Aflame—I was questioned by the man sitting next to me. About the same time, the pilot announced that we were approaching a series of storms, and that we were to fasten our seat belts. The plane rocked and shook, and the inquiring man sat and listened like a small child in Sunday School, as I explained God’s plan of salvation.
Sometimes a wisely chosen tract can be used as a useful point of contact. Hand the tract to a person about whom you have a concern, and say, “Here is something that helped me; I’m sure it will help you; I hope you will read it sometime.” (I don’t believe there is much value in shoving a tract into the hands of every person who just passes by, or slipping them under the windshield wipers of automobiles on parking lots. And it is illegal to sneak unsolicited tracts into mailboxes.)
The most effective witness that any of us can make will be made to those whom we contact day after day in our homes or at our places of work. This is why each of us should be an evangelist, and we should not merely depend upon a pastor or minister to do the witnessing. Most of us come into contact with scores of people every week (people we live with and work with)—who scarcely know the preacher, but who do know you. We work at the same place of employment, under the same boss, and with the same pressures day after day. There is not another person in all the world who is better equipped than we are, to say, “Christ is my Savior; He died for my sins; He gives me a motive for living; He gives me hope for the future.” If we are too timid to say it in words, hand the person a carefully chosen tract, and very tactfully say, “Here is something that helped me; I hope you will read it sometime.”
Sometimes an ordinary conversation gives good opportunities for witness. Folks often talk about how quickly time flies. That is a good time to remind them that this life is a preparation place for the life to come. When people discuss world conditions, we can say, “What do you think is wrong with the world anyway?” Then, after listening to a number of suggestions, quote Mark 7:21-23, which says, “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” We can explain that all human beings have a deceitful heart and that Jesus Christ came to give us deliverance from the guilt and the power of sin.
If ordinary conversation does not lead to an opportunity for witness, we can make an opportunity. We can ask several questions. For example, “By the way, do you have any interest at all in spiritual things?” (Regardless of what response is given, go on with another question.) “Have you ever thought of becoming a Christian?” (If the person is a genuine Christian he will tell you real quickly.) You can ask further, “Suppose someone were to ask you, ‘What is a Christian?’ What would you say?” These are the kinds of questions that we can ask in order to get a conversation started about spiritual things, and about faith in Jesus Christ.
Witnessing is something we learn by doing. Each time we talk about the Christian life, we become a little more at ease. We learn by experience. We profit from past mistakes. We build upon strong points discovered in previous attempts.
Are you timid? Do you fluster easily? Are you afraid you won’t always know what to say? That’s how it is with me. Yet God has chosen to use ordinary people like you and me to share with others the message of eternal life.
Sophie, the scrub woman, used to say that she was called to do two things—to scrub floors, and to tell the message of salvation. And wherever she went, she tried to tell others about the Savior. Someone made fun of her one day; she was so zealous; they said that they saw her even talking about Christ to a wooden Indian down town, standing in front of the cigar store. When she heard the report, she said, “Maybe I did; my eyesight is not too good; but talking about Christ to a wooden Indian isn’t nearly as bad as being a wooden Christian who never talks to anybody about Him!”
Winning people to faith in Christ is one of the great duties assigned to God’s people. We need to show a clear concern for members of our family, for persons in our community, and for those with whom we work. The command in Acts 1:8 is, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me.” We are to be witnesses, not lawyers. A “lawyer” argues by debate and reasoning. A “witness” is one who tells what he has seen or knows by experience. We are simply to tell what God through Jesus Christ has done for us.
We are to tell the message of salvation—not necessarily because we want to, or because we choose to, or because we like to—but because we are told to tell the message to others—even to the whole world. May God help us to openly declare our faith in Jesus Christ.
When it comes to sharing our faith as Christians, many of us are unsure of how to witness to others.
The Church is the Bride of Christ. We, as the bride, have been left here to prepare for the wedding. Jesus related the Kingdom of Heaven to a wedding feast in Matthew 22. He tells us in verses 8 & 9 what the king says: "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.'"
We must be about the business God has placed before us - to invite others to the Wedding...to introduce others to the love of Christ. Therefore, we must learn effective ways of how to witness.
Evangelism, sharing our faith, is an essential part of Bible study.
As believers in Christ, we are all familiar with the "Great Commission" given by Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20:
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Yet, how many of us live this out in our everday lives?
Whether we call it witnessing, sharing our testimoney or evangelism, to many of us it brings fear and nervousness to our heart. It seems to be an overwhelming task which we don't feel equipped to tackle.
In reality this isn't the case though. Jesus has given us a simple command: to share Him with others. Let's learn how to witness!
If your neighbor's house was on fire and he was in danger, wouldn't you tell him? That's just the case here spiritually. Many of our family members, our neighbors, people we meet every day are living a life that will end in destruction unless someone shares the hope of Christ with them.
1 Peter 3:15 tells us: "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,"
Following are tools and Scriptures to help equip us to share Christ with others. Remember though - God has uniquely created you with your own personality, temperament, background, and testimony to share Him with others in a unique and creative way. Of course the most important thing is that you have experienced knowing Christ for yourself. We can't share something we don't have.
Witnessing Illustrations
The Bridge Illustration
One Verse Evangelism
THE Cause Circle
*This a great resource for youth, as well as others, to learn how to witness!
Balloon Sculpture Gospel Message
Great way to share the Gospel message with children!
Lessons on How to Witness
Christian Witnessing Tools offers free downloadable training handbooks for both adults and children based on the Scripture of John 3:16. They also have a printable witnessing guide that will fit inside your Bible as well as other great tools to help you share your faith!
witnessing tools
Your Story
One of your greatest tools is to use your story, how God has moved & worked in your life, to share His story!
Sharing your personal story of how you came to know Jesus Christ as your own personal savior is one of the most effective evangelism techniques. Take time to write your own faith story. Just like Paul, you may adapt it according to who your audience is, but taking the time to think through what Jesus has done in your own life will not only bless you, but also those with whom you share it.
Take a look at these testimonies of others if you need some examples to get you started.
Witness Tracts
Christian witnessing tracts are great tools to use when sharing Christ with others. If you're unsure of how to witness, these can equip you to share in an easy manner. Leave them in public waiting areas, give them to others so they may read the Gospel for themselves, leave them with your tip for your waiter or waitress, or now you can even email a Christian tract!
Free witness tract based on John 3:16.
Don't neglect building relationships with others first. They will be much more accepting and willing to listen when we take the time to get to know them.
Download and print free Christian Tracts!
Share through email! Email - free Christian e-card witnessing tracts!
Witnessing Bracelets
Witness bracelets are easy to make to be given away while also sharing the plan of salvation using the colors of the beads. This is a great witnessing tool to teach children, teens or adults to use! I have and use my two bracelets - one is WWJD and red for the blood of Jesus over me daily; the other is Luke 16:13 ONE MASTER, and my Hebrew necklace I wear is another jewelry tool I use to witness! My rings also, one cross, one with YWHW in paleo Hebrew, then my Jewish Wedding ring on my right forefinger (like ancient Jewish wedding customs) and it says A’ni l’dodi which is song is Solomon- I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine! Love it! People usually comment and it is a great ice breaker to start talking about Jesus!
We are here to plant seeds and pray without ceasing! I pray for people as I work also and pray over their bread! I used to do it over wine also when I poured. Jesus said we would do greater miracles than He! We must walk in our kingdom mindset, authority, and fellowship every day! People will notice something is different and we are to let our light shine before others so they glorify God on our behalf that’s what I always tell people too!
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment