Witnesses for Christ

“…ye shall be witnesses unto me…” Acts 1:8

The Lord required workers then, and He still requires workers now. The sad truth is: many people still do not know the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord says that we are to be witnesses unto Him. We are to be His witness – the ones that will bear the Light of the Gospel for Him that others may know. The coming of the Holy Spirit upon the believers would mean that they were to be Christian witnesses for Christ.

What would identify the marks of a Christian witness who tried to win souls for Christ?

Firstly, we are witnesses for Christ by the purity of our doctrine:
When we represent Christ, it is important that our doctrines come only from Him and from the words of his lips. It must therefore come from the Bible. To be a witness for Christ, we need to know the Word so that when we preach or share the Word, it is the purest doctrine for souls tainted with the sins of this world.

Secondly, we are witnesses for Christ by the piety of our lives:
“Be ye holy, as I am holy” is GOD’s injunction to the believer. No one can be a good witness without holy lives. If they think they can, they are but fooling themselves, stumbling others, and hindering the work of God. Spiritual commitment and devotion to Christ is essential for our witness; holiness of life is essential for our power as we strive to win.

Thirdly, we are to be witnesses for Christ by our patience under suffering.
In the service of winning others to Christ, there is the joy of a soul won to Christ but there is also the agony and anguish of rejection alongside pain of persecution. This is most evident with our brethren in countries of this world where the gospel is explicitly forbidden. Many despair for their lives as they seek to put God first. When we are opposed because of the Gospel, what is our response? We need to learn to rejoice and be thankful that we are counted worthy to suffer for the name of the Lord Jesus, for the very word “witnesses” means to be a martyr – someone who is ready to die for the cause of Christ. We will undergo the suffering for our witness for the Saviour, but we are to be patient under suffering.

Are we witnesses for Christ? We need to be for the Saviour and lost souls!

Evangelist – Pastor Johnny Tan
Ambassador Baptist Church