The Witnessing Life

Let’s talk about lostness. Lostness means that people are lost without Jesus. Paul said “There is just one name on heaven and on earth by which we must be saved—Christ Jesus.” Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” If we believe that these verses, then we must also believe there is something wrong with this world. It’s spinning out of control. It’s like a flock without a shepherd, But we don’t see it because in our hearts we just don’t see the world as lost. John Eldridge writes in his book Desire, “Something awful has happened, something terrible. Something worse, even than the fall of Man. For in that greatest of all tragedies, we merely lost Paradise—and with it, everything that made life worth living. What has happened since is unthinkable. We’ve gotten used to it. We’re broken in to the idea that this is just the way things are. The people who walk in great darkness have adjusted their eyes. The only thing worse than the fall of Man is the failure of man to see that he has fallen. We have entered a dangerous realm—the realm of the uncaring, and of despair. When people are in peril, others rise to be heroes. In the recent crash of a jet in the New York harbor, the Staten Island ferries headed for the downed plane. Ordinary passengers hauled up those stranded in the water. They literally took the shirts off their backs to cover the soaked survivors. They understood the lostness of those passengers. Without help, those people would be dead. But every day, we go to the store, sit in theaters next to people who are under the threat of eternal lostness, and we do nothing. True, death is not written on their faces. But underneath their lives are broken, their hopes are broken, and their hearts are broken. We see the evidence of that in divorce rates, in the drug trade and the flesh trade and all that is going on around us. It is in the greed of corporations and the violence of street crime. The world is lost, and we do nothing. Christians have a curious relationship to the world. We know it is temporary. We know that not to concern ourselves with worldly things. Even so we have to live in this world. So we compromise. We give space to our fears of losing prestige. We snuggle up to the world’s temptations losing ourselves along the way. Paul writes in Romans 10:1-4 Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Paul said this not of the Greco-Roman world, but the world of his Jewish heritage. He could have compared his God-fearing relatives to the pagans, and missed their lostness. After all, they were so much better! Just because they didn’t know Jesus didn’t make them bad people. But Paul saw through their religiosity and realized that these people knew nothing. Paul’s Jewish friends were sincere, but that didn’t matter. Sincerity only counts if you are sincerely right. Nowhere but religion would anyone dare to suggest sincerity was enough. If a jury convicts and innocent man, does sincerity count? If a doctor amputates the wrong leg, does sincerity count? So why should sincerity count when it comes to souls? The Jewish misunderstanding of God was hurting people and sending them to hell. Sincerity made no difference. Can we be content to see the world go to hell, and do nothing? Can we take a “live and let live” attitude, and let the rest of the world perish? Magician Penn Jillett --no friend of Christians—had an interesting reaction when a Christian offered him a Bible. He took it. Later he said, “How much do you have to hate somebody not to proselytize? How much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them?” For once, he was right. When we do not tell others, we are not being polite. We do not care whether they go to hell. How much do we have to hate a person to do that? Many wonder how a God of love could ever make such a place as hell. Honestly, I don’t know. It’s not my job to understand God’s mysteries. Our question needs to be how we can claim to love others, and not care if they know Jesus? Leave it to God to determine their ultimate fate--just love them enough to tell them about Jesus. So here’s our challenge for the week--“Make sharing our faith a natural and normal part of our lives.” When we talk about witnessing, most Christians get weak in the knees. It’s frightening to us! But what does Paul say? (vs14) How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Sharing our faith is scary. But whenever we are afraid to do something there is only one cure—do it! If we’re afraid of sharing, then do it daily. Plan it in your schedule. “Pick up groceries. Wash the dog. Spend time with the neighbor.” My challenge to you is to do just that. And I will tell you how. First, pray for our neighbors. Put your neighbors specifically on your prayer list. I believe that God will honor your prayers. Even if you don’t get a chance to share, someone else will, if we pray for them repeatedly. Second, meet our neighbors. Many Christians are allergic to nonbelievers. We’re afraid they embarrass us. Of course they will! But if they were members of our own family, I’m sure we would find a way to overlook their rude behavior, for he sake of love. Sometimes we have to overlook minor faults to achieve major results. Third, reach for our neighbors. Look for ways to show our neighbors that we care. It is important to earn the respect others before we share with them. That is people must first welcome the messenger before we can receive the message. Finally, share with our neighbors. Build a bridge to their souls. Then we can authentically offer what Jesus means to us. Let them know what Jesus can do for them. Bishop Stephen Neill is famous for defining witnessing as “one beggar telling another beggar where to get bread.” If you have eaten the bread of life, then don’t keep it to yourselves. Share it. Ask God for opportunities to share with others. Or not, if you choose. But if you choose the latter--ask yourself Paul’s question “How can they hear without a preacher?”