5 Thoughts on Being a Witness for Christ

In my teenage years, a person I met for the first time shared the message of God’s salvation with me and gifted me a copy of the New Testament. That conversation and the subsequent reading of God’s Word started the process that would eventually lead me to accept Christ as my Savior. 

In the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19, Jesus highlighted the need for every Christian to be a witness, sharing the Gospel. He said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations.” Jesus’ disciples took His command very seriously and ensured that the message of Christ would be taken wherever they traveled. 

It is believed that among the disciples, the Apostle Thomas brought the message of God's salvation plan as far as the nation of India - that's a long way from Jerusalem! This has great significance for me personally since I live in Sri Lanka, India’s closest neighboring country.

The Longman Dictionary describes a witness as follows - ‘Someone who is present when something happens; who tells in a court of law what they saw happen or what they know’ - ‘to see or notice something by being present when it happens.’

To the Apostles, sharing what they had experienced and seen in their journey with Jesus became a vital part of their lives. In Acts 5:32, they proclaimed, “We are witnesses of these things….’. Through this article, I would like to draw reference to the Book of Acts to share five thoughts on witnessing and the challenges we may face. 

1. Witnessing Starts in Jerusalem – Our Immediate Environment

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere - in Jerusalem….” (Acts 1:8)

Jesus commanded His believers to be witnesses, starting in Jerusalem. Witnessing, therefore, involves telling people about Jesus and faithfully sharing the message of the Gospel, together with our personal testimony. We cannot delegate this task to anyone else. Wherever God has placed us becomes our Jerusalem. 

The ministry of the disciples in Jerusalem is shown in Acts 1:1 – Acts 8:3. A powerful result of how well they did this can be found in Acts 5:28, where they are confronted with hostility by the religious leaders and the High Priest who said, “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name…Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching…”. What a powerful testimony! The response of the disciples to the threats was, “We must obey God rather than men!” (Acts 5:29). That’s exactly what they did in Jerusalem.

Illustration:

Kathy Troccoli has been a successful Christian singer, songwriter, author, and speaker for over three decades. She also found success in secular music through hits on the Billboard charts and a collaboration with the legendary group, 'The Beach Boys.' 

Kathy initially grew up in a family that wasn't too religious and once said, "The Bible in my family was a book on the end table that was never touched." However, in 1978, while handling a day job during the summer at a local pool, Kathy's spirituality was challenged when she noticed a co-worker faithfully reading her Bible during her lunch breaks.

As Kathy began to talk to her colleague about her love for the Bible, the friend began to answer her questions in a way she had never heard before. Said Kathy, "I never heard about Jesus in the way she described Him to me." The co-worker subsequently gave Kathy a copy of the New Testament to read, and thereafter invited her to church, where she committed her life to Christ. Kathy’s journey in the Christian faith began because a co-worker served faithfully as a witness for Jesus. 

Like Kathy's co-worker, let's be a faithful witnesses for the Lord, wherever he may place us, in our Jerusalem. Who knows what an impact our life may have?

2. Witnessing Is a Two-Fold Process

The first part of this process comes through our example - by allowing the love and grace of God to flow through us to those we interact with. Our lifestyle testimony has great potential to draw people to what Christ has done within us.

As we look at the church in Acts, we see that they exhibited the love of Christ in an unheard-of and remarkable manner. Acts 4:32 says, "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had."

The second part of the process is through the words we speak as we share the Gospel. Acts 2:14 says that Peter “raised his voice and addressed the crowd” on the Day of Pentecost. He boldly preached a powerful sermon. Acts 4:1-2 further says that on another occasion, the religious leaders, greatly disturbed, “came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to and teaching the people.” The disciples used every opportunity to share the message of Christ.

Someone said, “Let your life speak for Christ, but let not your lips be silent.”

We are also reminded that when faced with a threatening and murderous crowd, Stephen preached an amazing sermon (Acts chapter 7) that many believe could have been the catalyst for conviction to take root in Saul’s (The Apostle Paul's) heart!

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/doidam10 

3. Witnessing Carries a Cost

Through the centuries, God's servants have faced relentless persecution for their faith. Such persecution can come against us through family members, friends, colleagues, peers, and authorities. In some instances, the persecution could even bring physical harm or be life-threatening.

The persecution the Apostles faced followed a clear pattern in Acts :

• First, they were seized and jailed (Acts 4:3)
• They were then ordered to stop preaching about Jesus (Acts 4:18)
• This was followed by threats (Acts 4:21)
• The next step was further imprisonment (Acts 5:18), followed by flogging (Acts 5:40)
• The final step was death (martyrdom) as in the case of Stephen (Acts 7:57-60)

Like the Apostles, let us not shrink back in the face of persecution. There will often be a cost to pay when we serve Jesus.

4. Our Witnessing Is Empowered By the Spirit

In Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses…” We are therefore assured that the power of the Holy Spirit will be seen through all we attempt for Christ as His witnesses, similar to what we see throughout The Book of Acts.

The manifestation of the Spirit’s power is highlighted in Acts 4:33, which says, "With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all." Acts 5:12 further tells us that "The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people." 

The power of the Holy Spirit operating through the disciples also highlighted two more characteristics. They were:

1. Boldness – Acts 4:31 - "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly."

2. Wisdom – Acts 6:10 - "But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him (Stephen) as he spoke."

Let us then go out in the power of God’s Spirit and experience His mighty anointing working in us through signs and wonders.

5. Witnessing Enhances Church Growth

In Acts 2:41, we see the staggering growth that took place when Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost. The verse says, "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." 

Later, many more were saved, as recorded in Acts 4:4 - "But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.” Acts 5:14 further adds, " Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number."

Illustration:

The People's Church in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where I serve as a Pastor, began with a small group of people. Over the years, one of the slogans constantly endorsed by our Senior Pastor was, "Each one, reach one, each day." As the people faithfully responded to that call, the church began to grow beyond what we could have ever imagined.

Yes, unprecedented growth happens in the church when God's people make witnessing a lifestyle!

Today, let’s prayerfully ask the Lord to give us the strength we need to be dynamic witnesses for Him. In our churches, too, may we encourage every believer to share the Gospel at every given opportunity, following the example of the 1st-century church. 

Acts 5:42 says, "Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah." 

What a legacy to follow!

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn 

Palitha Jayasooriya is an Executive/Preaching Pastor at the People’s Church in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He  is also an experienced Radio Broadcaster, having served for over 20 years at The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. He is happily married to Regina and blessed with two sons, Sheriah and Sheramiah.

Palitha’s articles have been published on Preaching Today, Our Daily Bread, You Version, and Thoughts About God. He also hosts the 3-minute Strength From God’s Word podcast on YouTube. His inspirational sermons can be downloaded here - Popular Sermons by Palitha Jayasooriya - SermonSearch.com  

Palitha’s favorite hobbies are spending time with his family and listening to music. He can be contacted on palitha.j@peopleschurch.lk