Being A Witness For Jesus Christ

When we who are believers in Christ talk about being a witness to people we often times think about telling other people about Jesus and leading them to faith in Him.  That is part of being a follower of Christ.  We should be telling others about Jesus and their need for Him.  When we truly want to be a witness for Christ we need to consider how we are living.  We are saved by faith in the grace of Jesus Christ.  When we trust in Jesus sacrifice on the Cross we are indeed saved because of what He did for us. 

When we become believers in Christ people start watching your every step.  I am not saying that to make you nervous or anything like that, but it is true.  Your neighbors know that you go to Church every Sunday morning.  Even when you think no one is looking they are.  We know God is watching too.

We aren't perfect of course.  Only God is good and He is good all the time.  So, how then ought we live?  We believers should live lives that are devoted to the One whom we serve.  We ought to be living for Jesus and draw ever nearer to Him.  We can do this by reading the Bible and studying it as well.  The Bible is the only book on the planet that is divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit.  The Bible tells us who God is and who we are in relation to God and how we can be reconciled back to the Father through Jesus Christ, the Son.  There seems to be a crisis lurking within the Church and that is people are becoming less familiar with reading the Bible and knowing what God's Word says.  That can be a very dangerous and slippery slope.  If we fail to read God's Word and know what it means we are in danger of being led into error and away from the truth of who God is.  God's Word is inerrant and infallible.  The Word is with out error in its original context and God's Word is always right and it never changes just as God doesn't change His principles.

If we are going to be witnesses for the Lord to other we need to know what He says in His Word.  Our witness for Christ is very important and it is actually more about the Lord than it is about us.  It is not really about how we act as much as it is what we believe because what we truly believe will actually determine how we will act.  What we believe really does matter.  Sometimes it seems like people nowadays just don't seem to know what they believe and why they believe it.  Some answers we get these days are, "Well the Pastor said so."  The Pastor may say something and it may indeed be good and true, but what we should ask ourselves it is, "What does God's Word (the Bible) say about it?"

The Lord wants to use us who are believers in Jesus Christ to be witnesses for Him in this dark and dying world in which we live in.  We may not think we are good witnesses,  but God can still use us even if we aren't perfect because none of us are.  God can use the most unlikely people to be His witness.  The Lord is willing to use anyone no matter what.   All He asks of us is for us to be obedient to Him and His call on our lives.  We can trust Him for He is faithful and true.  He just wants us to allow Him to work through and in our lives.  When we allow Him into our lives He will use us to draw people to Him for His Glory, Honor, and Praise.  We don't get any credit, but we who are followers of Christ really don't mind that at all because we want to give the Glory to the Lord. 

I was reading the Bible today and I noticed something that struck me.  Have you ever read something for years then the Holy Spirit cause something to jump out at you that you just never really paid attention to before?  Well I was reading Acts 21 and 22 and that's when it happened.  Paul was arrested and there was a crowd outside where Paul was being held.  Paul was allowed to speak to the crowd and he told them how he came to know the Lord Jesus.  He told how He was blinded by a bright light on the road to Damascus and Jesus spoke to Him.  Then a little while later a man named Ananias came to see him and in the course of a few moments Paul's sight was restored.  Paul was blind, but now he could see both physically and also Spiritually speaking. 

The thing that struck me is found in Acts 22:14-15 which says,

"Then he (Ananias) said, "The God of our fathers has chosen you to know His will and the see the Righteous One and to hear the words from His mouth.  You will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard."

We can know God's will of course by reading His Word and asking Him in prayer to lead us according to His will.  We can hear from Him by reading His Word as well.

What struck me was verse 15 when Ananias said to Paul the he will be a witness to all men of he had seen and heard.  Have you ever considered what a amazing impact Paul's witness has had on the entire world?  Let's think about this for a moment.  Paul took to Gospel message throughout the known world throughout the Roman Empire.  Paul who was inspired by the Holy Spirit penned most of the New Testament that we have in our Bibles.  For over 2000 years Paul's witness has been going strong because everyone that has read the New Testament writings of Paul have been witnessed too by Paul.

What a witness Paul has had and he is still having just because he answered God's call and he was obedient to the Lord.  Should we not do the same and be obedient to the Lord's call on our lives?  When we do answer the call who knows what kind of impact our witness will have for the Lord.

Let's be a witness for Jesus and trust in Him and the Word.

Lord,
We thank You for Your love and Amazing Grace.
Witness through us for Your Glory O Lord.
Lead us and guide us by Your Spirit.
In Jesus name,
Amen.