The Witness

4/2/2024

Contrast:

[Acts 22:20 NASB95] ‘And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.’

[Acts 22:20 NKJV] ‘And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’

            Never before in the relatively brief history of the United States of America have we needed witnesses to the credibility of the lordship of Jesus Christ more than we do right now.  This, I believe, is uncontestable.  Throughout all of human history, and in every generation, God has always appointed witnesses to Himself; He will never be without a witness.  While it is possible to show our witness for Christ through holy conduct and imparted righteousness, I am writing about those who proclaim the Lordship of God the Father and Jesus Christ, through their words, for it is by proclamation that our witness is cast.  It is, in effect, our vote with regard to eternity.

            In the Bible book of Acts, the Greek word for ‘witness’ and ‘martyr’ is the same (Strong’s G-3144).  In America, we are now in a time when to be a witness to the Lordship of Christ may bring about persecution, and in fact, the more effective our witness, the more likely that outcome.  Are we able and willing to wear that mantle?  Are we willing to lose friends, family, and perhaps jobs and income, as we faithfully testify to the Lordship of Christ?  Do we dare tell God in prayer that we are willing to be witnesses for Him in this godless generation, while still ignorant of the actual costs we may have to pay? 

            As long as we can read or hear stories about other heroes of the Faith, for instance the ones in Hebrews, chapter 11, we can still honor their memory while standing at a safe distance from their earthly rewards, but I’ve always caught my breath at the guy who was sawn in half for his testimony.  I’m not sure I’m up for that in my life, but I’m almost getting to the point where I want to be as committed as he was, no matter the cost.  And I’m old enough now to see the end of my life more clearly than the beginning, and any day now, eternity can easily be my next stop on this journey…and yours too, if you’re honest with yourself. 

            One of the enigmatic things about our earthly lives is how diligently we worry and work to prepare for our earthly futures, while being almost blasé about eternity.  We have no idea whether we will have serious health issues or costly accidents in our individual lives, but we all keep the insurance industry well-oiled.  While we might be able to afford a degree of “contractual” safety involving things that haven’t yet happened, or may never happen, we tend to put off or ignore preparing for what certainly will happen. 

Given enough time, we all die, and the eternity we failed to prepare for will yawn open before us.  All our earthly concerns and earthly preparations will not matter at all.  In a movie I recently watched, a Christian woman who had been unsuccessfully witnessing to her friend about her need for Jesus, went into her friend’s room and found her dead.  As she looked down upon her body, she said, “I bet you believe in God now!” 

            As witnesses, we are responsible for one thing and one thing only: that we faithfully witness.  We cannot bear the burden of others as they reject our witness, nor can we worry about achieving “success”; we are only responsible to be faithful to God, for everyone needs to be afforded the chance to receive or reject the Lord.  I do not agree with beating someone over the head with our Bibles, but it is our duty to be witnesses with faithful endurance; it is their decision to accept the witness or reject it. 

            Like the woman’s dead friend, we will all eventually believe in God.

John