Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
July 24, 1983
Witnesses for Christ
1 Peter 3:15-16 (NIV)
Have you ever witnessed a crime being committed? Maybe you have seen someone get knocked on the head. Then again, perhaps you were on the receiving end. I would think that anyone who is a witness to a crime must have some conflicting thoughts. On the one hand, it's pretty exciting. Your adrenaline begins to pump and you get goose bumps all over. On the other hand, it must make you feel very queasy. The police will make you testify in court, which will waste lots of your time and maybe cost you some money. Even worse, the criminal may decide to knock you on the head when he gets released.
Many people think there's not much of a difference between being a witness of a crime and being a witness for Christ. In both cases the event itself is very exciting. The queasiness enters in when you have to tell others about it.
Why are Christians so uptight, so timid, in telling others about Jesus? Rebecca Pippert is a leader in Inter-Varsity which is a Christian organization involved in campus evangelism. She says that when she became a Christian in college she wanted all her friends to know about God but every time she got up the courage to tell someone about Jesus, an image leaped into her mind of an aggressive Christian buttonholing an unwilling victim. As a non-believer she had thought Christians were weird, spreading leaflets on street corners and nabbing strangers. She was terrified that if she said anything about Christ her friends would consider her to be just as strange - she even agreed with them.
There was a part of her that secretly felt evangelism was something you shouldn't do to your dog, let alone a friend. When she got up the courage to witness she would blurt out a string of scripture verses and then escape. This is the dilemma of a Christian - we know we should tell others about Jesus but we feel guilty when we do such a lousy job of it. Rebecca Pippert is one of those who has overcome this obstacle. She overcame it when she stopped trying to sound "spiritual" and just shared what Jesus had done for her.
I am often surprised at how interested people are in the issues Christianity deals with - not so much church: but Jesus, the meaning of life, sin and so on. Witnessing is not a club on the head but sharing in a natural way about what God has done for you. When you approach it this way you'll be amazed at how receptive people are. 1 Peter 3:15 is one of the best verses on witnessing and it shows that early Christians made the same mistakes we do. This passage gives four great principles for those who want to be effective witnesses.
The first principle is the God must be supreme in our lives. As Peters says, we must set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts. You have to ask yourself: is Christ really your Lord? On one level, this means you have to be a Christian if you want to lead people to the Savior. On a deeper level: it means putting everything in your life in line with God's law. I shouldn't have to elaborate on Lordship because last week I preached on it for half an hour.
The second principle is that Christians must know what they believe and be prepared to share it. As Peter says, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." If someone should ask you why you're a Christian, would you be able to tell them? Better yet, if they wanted to become a Christian, could you tell them what they need to know? This isn't something you can easily put off to a future appointment, so you can study up on it. You're supposed to be ready now. Are you?
Every week a deacon comes to the front during the invitation. If someone comes forward to accept Christ as their Savior the deacon is supposed to take them to a room in the back and explain the way of salvation. Sometimes while the deacons are waiting you can watch perspiration dripping from their tightly clenched Bible. How well would you do in their shoes?
It can be difficult to persuade a skeptic to become a Christian. But every believer here should be able to explain the way of salvation to someone who wants to experience it. What is the answer you should be able to give such a person? It can be hard to describe what happened to you in trying to give witness to someone. There are many ways to lead someone to salvation. One way is the plan described in the little booklet, "Four Spiritual Laws."
Another easy explanation of the gospel is known as "The Romans Road." Open your Bibles to Romans 3. For someone to accept Christ as their Lord, they first have to see that they absolutely need him. Romans 3:23 shows the condition of all people before God: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Now turn to 6:23. The first part of this verse shows the penalty of our sinful condition - "For the wages of sin is death." Because of our sinew are separated from God and are spiritually dead. It's impossible to have the full life we want.
So far the presentation has been on the negative side. In the second part of 6:23 it becomes positive. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Salvation is a free gift, not a reward for something we do. Only God could do it. If the person you are talking to thinks they have to straighten out their life first, backtrack to Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 3:23 and 6:23 show our condition before God. The end of 6:23 and 5:8 show what God has done about it. The clincher is found in 10:9 - "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
God has provided a solution to our separation from him. He sent his son to die on the cross, which is what we deserve. However, this solution is useless until we accept it for ourselves. This is probably the hardest part for the person who's witnessing. At this point you have to ask them: "Do you want Jesus to be your Savior?" It can be an awkward moment for both of you but it's absolutely crucial for them to see they must make a decision. Notice Romans 10:13: "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
If they want to commit themselves to Christ it is proper to seal it with a prayer. Ask them to pray in their own words for Jesus to come into their life, to wash away their sins and to make them the kind of person God wants them to be. If they feel they can't put it in their own words, pray for them and ask them to repeat each of your phrases, or even just say Amen to the prayer.
Now turn back to 1 Peter 3:15 - the first principle he have was that God should be supreme in our lives. The second is that we should always be ready to explain what we believe to those who ask us. The third principle shows us how we should witness - "with gentleness and respect."
Gentleness shows the attitude we should have toward people. Respect, which could also be translated as "fear" or "reverence," is the attitude we should have toward God as well as people. Whenever we witness to someone we should be as gentle as Jesus was, and God should be able to hear it with joy. Nothing discredits the gospel like a believer who shoves it down people's throats. New converts often get into this trap. Probably they are so excited about their own salvation that they can't see how anyone could reject it.
Celeste's home church had a man like this. He was an atheist who made the mistake of marrying a Christian. He despised Christians and challenged the pastor to prove the Bible was true. Apparently he has been a pretty good pastor because the man was converted. He was so saved he wouldn't leave your home until you prayed to accept Christ. Soon even Christians got tired of him. His problem was he was using the tactics of the world to win people for Christ. We need to put the accent on love because people cannot be forced into the Kingdom.
We must make God supreme in our lives. We should always be prepared to share our beliefs. We must share them with gentleness and respect. And finally, our lives should back up what we preach. Peters says in verse 16 we should have "a clear conscience."
According to William Barclay, the only compelling argument is the argument of the Christian life. We should live in such a way that our consciences are clear. You don't have to be a perfect Christian to witness - the person who witnessed to me wasn't perfect - but the better you are, the more they'll see Christ in your life. It's hard for people to believe in something they don't see in you. I think this is where humility comes in. Since I preach about a God who demands perfection and I'm far from perfect, I need God's help and forgiveness. When you let people know this, it helps them understand what God expects of them, too.
Not all Christians are called to be evangelists or missionaries but all who believe in Jesus are called to be witnesses. Most nonbelievers won't come into a church to hear the gospel. You are the ones who are going to tell them about salvation. That's how I became a Christian. According to James 5:30, "Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins."
Think about one friend or family member you have, who doesn't know the Lord. Now ask God to give you an opportunity to share your faith with them. To keep yourself honest, tell another Christian here who the person is that you are going to witness to. Then go and do it.
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Typed on February 28, 2007, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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