Witnessing: What is every believer to know about this?

Witnessing is telling people the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about the one and only Savior. Our Lord Jesus Christ gave the apostles some important instructions about this that all the people of Israel would have benefitted from if they had applied it.

Acts 1:8

⁸ But ye shall receive power [miraculous power], after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. [Emphasis added]

In this case they were commissioned with what is called the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Matthew 24:14

¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. [Emphasis added]

This same gospel is also called the Gospel of The Circumcision in Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

Galatians 2:7

⁷ But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me [Paul], as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; [Emphasis added]

We also have this same gospel that was given to Peter and the eleven set forth in Matthew’s writings.

Mathew 28:19-20

¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. [Emphasis added]

What He had “commanded” with this gospel included obedience to the Mosaic Law.

Matthew 23:1-3

¹ Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,

² Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:

³ All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. [Emphasis added]

Nothing changed about this until some special revelation was later given to the apostle Paul. Until then the Mosaic Law continued as something believers were to obey. But all that changed with the commission given to Paul and now to us.

Romans 6:14-15

¹⁴ For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

¹⁵ What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. [Emphasis added]

The account of the initial giving of the commission given to the twelve apostles is also seen in a more complete form in Mark’s account of it. This miraculous power provided was to be publicly displayed by them to cause people to see that their new message was true and of God.

Mark 16:15-20

¹⁵ And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

¹⁶ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

¹⁷ And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

Please note that He didn’t say they might follow but that they would follow.

¹⁸ They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

¹⁹ So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

²⁰ And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. [Emphasis added]

But is this our commission today? It comes as a surprise to many people, but it is not! It was to The Twelve Apostles and to Israel. How do we know that? Answer: Because it was specifically given to Israel but also no one is doing these things miraculous things today. We have many false claims about such, but the reality is that it doesn’t go on. These things did occur for a time, but because the people of Israel rejected their Messiah, God interrupted the program and introduced through the apostle Paul what we have today—the Dispensation of the Grace of God. One simple way to show this truth is to note what Paul said about water baptism.

I Corinthians 1:16-17

¹⁶ And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.

¹⁷ For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. [Emphasis added]

Although he baptized a few in the early years of his ministry, along with the performance of many miracles, he soon learned that such was no longer going to be a part of his ministry then or ours today. Paul also spoke in tongues [foreign languages in which he had no training] and performed a variety of miracles in healing, even raising the dead [Acts 20:10]. But when he’d been given the full revelation of Scripture, these things ceased for him and with other believers who had been performing them. Paul predicted these things would cease in his writings.

1 Corinthians 13:10

¹⁰ But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. [Emphasis added]

You’ll find articles with more explanations of this on this website. Here are the names of three of them.

Tongues: Do people “speak in “tongues” today?

Spiritual Gifts: Do they exist today?

Acts: What basics do we all need to know about that book?

The first step in effective witnessing is in understanding that as a “witness” you need to be sure that you’re communicating only “the truth and nothing but the truth” about what’s involved in gaining salvation. If you haven’t seen it already, you’ll find that there’s a lot of controversy about that. The “bottom line” to it all is in understanding that salvation is never earned or deserved. It comes strictly by grace through faith in Christ’s work.

Ephesians 2:8-9

⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast. [Emphasis added]

The object of one’s faith must be solely in what Jesus Christ accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

³ For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

⁴ And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: [Emphasis added]

The details of what this work accomplished are given in this next verse we’ll note.

2 Corinthians 5:21

²¹ For he [God the Father] hath made him [Jesus Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. [Emphasis added]

When someone believes this, accepting it as the sole basis for their salvation, they are then said to be justified by faith.

Romans 3:28

²⁸ Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. [Emphasis added]

It is this information that must be communicated if someone is to get saved. So, the first step is to speak up. Correct information must be provided. This is something most people, even frequent churchgoers, refuse to do. They’ll talk about other things, but not the gospel itself. You’d do very well to be an exception to this. The sense of urgency in this comes in realizing that we’re all just one breath away from eternity. When a person dies this whole matter is settled. Either they die saved or unsaved. If they die unsaved, there’s no longer any hope for them. There are no second chances as some have claimed. For information about what’s in store for them, please see my articles about it.

Hell: Are there people there for whom Christ died?

Hell: How can a loving God send people there?

Hell: Will the suffering last forever?

Therefore, in talking about witnessing, we’re talking about an extremely important subject.

Question: What’s in it for you to faithfully present this information to people? Answer: Plenty! The day will come when we’ll all stand before Jesus Christ to be judged. This won’t be to determine if you were saved, but what reward is due for your faithfulness to be of service to our Lord. Here, too, I have articles about this.

Rewards: For what will God wish to reward you in eternity?

So, you need to look for and even work to create opportunities to present the gospel message. And never think of this as imposing because it is never an imposition on people to give them good news. And that’s exactly what our gospel message is—good news. In fact, it is the best news anyone will ever hear.

In the thirty-two years that my wife and I worked with a direct sales company I was always looking for and trying to create opportunities to present this glorious message. So, I know this can be done even in the midst of working a fulltime business successfully.

The Bible tells us that as believers we are all His ambassadors. In this case it means we’re all personal representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ. As with political ambassadors, we represent Christ in a foreign land. That land for us in this is planet Earth. Our eternal home is not here, but in Heaven.

2 Corinthians 5:19-20

¹⁹ To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

²⁰ Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. [Emphasis added]

This means among other things that we’re all in full-time Christian service. We really don’t need any more part-time Christians. We need them all fully engaged in this work. As in the world’s ambassador system, we must remain on duty until the Lord calls us to our home in Heaven.

Philippians 3:20

²⁰ For our conversation [POLITEUO = citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: [Emphasis added]

Back in my college days I got a bird’s eye view of what then went on in evangelism. In my senior year I preached twenty-five church “revivals.” They were all from three to eight days in duration. Church members would invite people to come to hear me speak. Yes, people got saved! But I know now it was not the best way to do things. There’s no substitute for personal one-on-one evangelism. Every believer needs to be involved in this. Just ask yourself, when was the last time you presented the gospel to someone? Most churchgoers don’t do that and it’s not a great majority to be a part of. We should all be glad to work at personally sharing this wonderful message of the gospel. It is this that we call “witnessing,” that is, telling people the truth about exactly what they need to know and believe for their salvation. If this is something you’ve not been involved in doing, why not begin now?

There is nothing you’ll ever do with your time that is more important than “witnessing” to people. Time is a valuable commodity. Use it well! But you’ll find that most Christians are totally distracted by other things. They’ll spend money and use their time being involved in a host of other things but not this. Please be an exception to that!

Conclusion—

Here’s a summary of the things to remember about effective witnessing.

1. We should be eager to share the good news about what Jesus Christ has done to provide a way for everyone to gain eternal life and a home in Heaven. [2 Corinthians 5:18-21]
2. We need to tell people that Jesus Christ paid the full penalty due for our sins and for the sins of the entire world. [2 Corinthians 5:14-15]
3. We need to realize that salvation is a gift, not a reward for works of righteousness we have done. [Ephesians 2:8-9]
4. We need to tell people that God will credit them once and for all with all the righteousness they will ever need for entrance into Heaven when they accept by faith what Christ did for them through His death, burial, and resurrection. [Romans 3:22]
5. We need to assure them that the salvation they gain is permanently sealed and because, just as they didn’t DO anything meritorious to gain it, they can’t DO anything to lose it. [Ephesians 4:30]
6. Because we’ve now received of God the best thing we’ll ever have, we need to learn from the Bible how we can best live for Him as an expression of our thanks. [Romans 12:1-2]
7. We need to live each day with an understanding that our faithfulness to Him will be rewarded with everlasting blessings greater than anything we could ever imagine. [2 Corinthians 5:10]
8. We need to faithfully share the gospel message with others so they, too, can gain all these blessings of God through their own salvation. [Romans 1:15-16]
9. We need to study the Bible every day, allowing God to speak to us through it, realizing that it will provide us with the spiritual nourishment we must have for a healthy spiritual life. [2 Timothy 2:15]
10. We need to speak to God in prayer giving thanks, offering praise, and seeking His guidance in all that we say and do. [Romans 1:9]

Always bear in mind that the objective in witnessing is to lead people to accept Jesus Christ as their savior. The objective is not to get people to stop sinning. That is an impossible task for anyone. Instead, it is to lead people to understand and accept what Christ has done about their sin problem. By accepting what He’s done for them, they’ll gain salvation and their irrevocable “ticket” into Heaven. That will be their possession forever. So, do someone a big favor by letting them know about all this. Many will reject it, but some will gladly receive it. Your mission is to find those people. I hope you’ll begin working on this now.