Can I Get a Witness?

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Sharing the gospel. Nothing inspires more of a range of emotions in believers. From grand dreams of leading weeping, repentant sinners to Christ to nightmares of shamefully turning people off to the Gospel forever, we all have some reaction to this phrase.

This past summer I had a conversation with a very mature Christian, whom I admire, who follows God earnestly and faithfully. She confided to me something that I’ve heard and seen from others and have even felt myself. She said, “When I go on a missions trip or overseas, I have no problem sharing the gospel or witnessing. But when I’m here at home, I don’t even know how to talk to my next door neighbor about my faith.”

We all know that Christ instructed us to go and tell, but how exactly do we do that in a way that is effective. First, let’s look at exactly what He’s asked us to do.

“Go and make disciples of all nations…” Some of us are called to other nations. It’s the truth. The Gospel is meant to spread, but it’s meant to spread from where we are to the places far from where we live. It starts at home. We must start in Jerusalem (where we live) and be disciples who make disciples. A disciple is someone who follows in the footsteps, or lives according to the pattern of another. Are we living in such a way that those whose lives we touch will in turn touch others with the life giving message of faith in Jesus Christ?

“And you will be my witnesses…” A witness is a person who testifies (or tells) about what they know, what they have seen or heard.

Not everyone is called to be a preacher or evangelist but we are all called to be witnesses and disciples.

We are disciples of Christ when we live and walk, love and serve as He did.

We are His witnesses when we tell about what we know, what we have seen Him do, what we have heard Him say.

Think of it this way… suppose you invented a medicine that would completely cure cancer. How would you get the word out?

You could say, I have this amazing cancer medication. I spent every last dime I had developing it. I did it because I don’t ever want anyone to die from cancer ever again. Please, take it.

How many takers would you get?

There would be some people who were so desperate, whose felt need was so real that they would jump at it. But I have a feeling that others would ask a few questions.

Does it work? How do you know? What are the side effects?

If you go on to tell about how it cured your cancer and the cancer of others and how it saved your life, I think the number of takers would increase exponentially.

The same is true when it comes to sharing the Gospel. Many people do not have an enormous “felt need.” In other words, they know they have a problem, but they are working on it and it’s okay for now.

In Southeast Asia, they have a method for getting right with the universe, for making up for their sins. Their method of Buddhism has many steps, many things they can do. They are working on it. In fact, if life is going okay, that’s an indication that they don’t need to do anything differently.

They can hear that Jesus loves them, died for them, wants to forgive them, cleanse them of their sin, and offer eternal life and their interest is peaked. But what they really want or even need to hear is “Does it work?” “Does having Christ in your life really make a difference?” “Is it just another religion? Another way to deal with the ‘symptoms’?” “How has it worked for you?” “How has it affected your life?”

Here’s the thing, while salvation is offered as a free gift, it has what looks like a pretty high price tag. You get eternal life, but you surrender your current one. We die to sin, to worldly things, and are raised to new life in Christ. We are changed. We don’t just become better, healthier versions of our former selves, we are changed. In Christ I become a new creation, remade in His image. What I love, what I value, how I spend my time, it all changes as my heart learns to love as He loves. In Southeast Asia, becoming a Christian also means becoming a minority and pulling out of the parts of the every day life and culture that involve Buddhism (and that’s a lot). People need to see from our lives that it’s worth it.

We are called to tell what we know about Jesus, but we are also called to tell what Jesus has done for us. In truth, what we have experienced personally is what we really know. Why do we do tell what we know? So that others will know and believe.

“The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.“ 1 John 1:2-3

When we tell about our changed lives, our answered prayers, our new life and freedom in Christ, and when people see the change in us, they can see that this is legit. That salvation through Christ really works. When they see the peace in our lives, the freedom and joy, they see that it’s totally worth it. But they won’t see it, they won’t hear it, if we don’t live it and tell it on purpose. Unless we agree to testify, they will never know, they will never believe. I can’t stand the thought that someone would die because of me, but if someone dies in their sin because I refused to testify, that’s exactly what happens.

I would never be afraid of offending someone who was hungry by offering them food or by offering a dying person the cure to their disease. So why do I worry about offering freedom and life to those who are in bondage and dying? And just as I don’t have to worry about how or if the medicine will work, I don’t have to worry about the outcome of sharing my faith. Salvation is God’s job. I can’t save anyone or even “convince” them to believe. The Holy Spirit does this work. My responsibility as a disciple is just to share what I have, what I know, what I’ve experienced.

As uncomfortable, and even sometimes as dangerous, as it feels, I’m going to testify whenever I have the chance, and I’m going to live changed, live loved. Every day… on purpose.