PERSONAL WITNESS

BE A WITNESS FOR CHRIST

My friend had grown up in a Christian home, with parents who took him to church every Sunday. He is one of the most generous, caring, humble, genuine people I know. If you ever need help, he will be there for you. He's the kind of friend you don't find very often—and when you do, you treasure him.

He doesn't go to church anymore—hasn't for a long time. Concerned for his eternal life, I asked him why. His normally smiling face turned dead serious, almost angry, and he launched into a litany of dirty laundry of people he knew who went to church—lies, deceit, dishonesty, adultery, immorality, abuse. "Hypocrites," he called these people. They were his reasons for not going to church.

I pointed him to Jesus' cross, to the desperate need for forgiveness that we all have, to the hopelessness of any of us, if we are without Christ. But I'm not sure how much he heard or believed.

YOUR LIFE IS A WITNESS

I left our conversation feeling sad for him and also wondering what kind of witness my life had been to him and to others.

Paul's words to Timothy came to mind: "Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers" (1 Timothy 4:16). I thought of our Savior's words: "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). I also thought of the sayings:

  • "More is caught than taught,"
  • "I would rather see a sermon than hear one," and
  • "You may be the only Bible someone reads."

Clichés, yes, but they are true.

WITNESS THROUGH YOUR WORDS AND ACTIONS

How can my example—my life—be a better witness for Christ? If I look inward, I will only despair, for "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature" (Romans 7:18). I will be led to cry out in hopelessness, "What a wretched man I am!" (Romans 7:24).

But the Holy Spirit will help me. He works in me to will and to act according to God's good purpose (Philippians 2:13). How? Through the message of what Jesus has done for me. Knowing that he has fulfilled every demand of God's law in my place, as my substitute; knowing that he has taken my sins—all of them—into himself on the cross and made full payment for them; knowing that in love he chose me to be his own and sent his Spirit into my heart to make me his child; knowing all of this produces in me the desire to do what is pleasing to him.

I will never be without sin, but maybe it's here that I can let the light of Christ shine. As I confess my sin, my friend sees that I recognize my sinfulness, regret the wrong that I have done, and seek to do the right thing. He sees someone who has found peace in Christ sharing that peace.

How much we owe to the Holy Spirit! First, when I was dead in my trespasses and sins, he brought me to faith. Now, through that message of forgiveness in Christ, he equips me for serving Christ and witnessing to my friend, not only by my words, but also by my actions.

Author: Thomas Westra
Copyrighted WELS Forward in Christ