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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Our testimony...

"But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in the synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles." -- Matthew 10:17-18.  Here Jesus describes the fact that as a result of preaching Him and His word will bring persecution even when we are "shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves" as described in Matthew 10:16.  However, Jesus closes this particular statement off by saying this persecution will serve as a testimony to those men.

Our testimony.  Typically when we think of a person's testimony we are inclined to think of the story of a person's circumstances that brought them to Christ.  However, here we see that there is more to a testimony of a person's faith than just how they came to obey the gospel.  Here we see that the persecution a person endures as a result of that faith is also a part of their testimony.

Our testimony.  The word for testimony that is used here in the original Greek has to do with something which serves as a proof of something (BDAG 619).  So this of course begs the question, how can persecution be a testimony or proof of our faith?

Our testimony.  Of course here in the United States we as Christians do not have to fear the persecution that the early church did.  However, we still need to ask ourselves how much are we willing to stand up for Christ and what He says in His Word, the Bible?

Our testimony.  To illustrate the point I am trying to make a little bit, consider this.  The majority of America admires our men and women in the armed services but why?  We admire them because they are willing to put their lives on the line out on the front lines which no one will argue is a tremendous act of courage and commitment and not to mention sacrifice that not many people are willing to do.  This serves as a testimony to their character and to the kind of people that they are.

Our testimony.  So what about us as Christians?  What kind of sacrifices are we willing to make for the cause of Christ?  Allow me to remind us all that one of the main reasons we can point to that Christ was and is the Son of God is because He went to the cross not wavering from what the Lord called Him to do all so that you and I might have a chance at eternal life.  Author C.S. Lewis said it well of Jesus in his book Mere Christianity: "A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." (40-41).  This among so many other evidences was proof or testimony that Christ is and was truly the only Son of God.  As a result this makes Christianity just as real.  


Our testimony.  So what do I mean?  Fact is when we know something is a cold hard fact, we do all we can to defend it even if it is at a price.  So again I ask if we truly believe what we claim to believe, are we willing to stand up for that belief at any and all costs as a testimony to the world of that faith?  


Our testimony.  So what is keeping us, myself included, from preaching the way Christ and the early apostles preached?  We have everything we need simply with His inspired written word at our disposal so what is stopping us from standing up for Christ the way we should?  Is it pride? Is it fear?  Is it doubt? Is it time or the lack thereof?  Whatever the case, we must overcome our pride but first humbling ourselves before God and being of the mindset "Not my will but Your will be done."  We must face our fears by simply taking that first step of faith and deciding to talk to that person we know is lost.  If we have doubts we must take steps to investigate and ask questions in order to overcome that doubt.  If we are sincerely looking for answers to our questions, God will not disappoint in providing us with answers.  If it is time that you don't have, excuse my bluntness but MAKE TIME! Again, are we willing to stand up for our faith and for what God's word says at any and all costs even if it might mean losing our very job?  This is the kind of commitment Christ calls us to but if we truly claim to love Christ, any loss we might suffer here on earth is nothing compared to the reward we will receive in heaven.  Whatever is stopping you from being the Christian you know you need to be, take steps to overcome that and this will ultimately serve as a testimony to the world and even to your fellow Christians around you but ultimately all glory be to God because it is Him and Him alone that we serve.  


In closing, I leave you with a familiar statement from the Scriptures, "What does it a profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul?"  May we all consider our testimony...


DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! 


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