Does anyone recall the statement "IF a tree were to fall in the forest and no one was there to hear it would it make any noise?" I ask this if a blogger post and only one person responds is there anyone one else reading it?
Oh well, here I go anyway....
Our most recent sermon deals with Witnessing for Ordinary People. Witnessing in a worldly sense means testifying to what one believes is true, sharing one's own experience, verifying the facts in a legal sense, and even giving ones personal views. In the religious world it is focused on bringing other people into one's system of beliefs. In the Bible it is sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, his life, death and resurrection. Sharing the opportunity for eternity in heaven not by works but by Grace.
The motivation for most other religions to witness is to gain entrance into favor with God, or to somehow earn one's way into a better destiny. To me this works the same as the advertisement that has the witness of a millionaire who made her money sitting at home! You too can make your money sitting at home. You mail in the slip sign up and then soon realize despite your best efforts you will never make a million dollars unless you convince others that they too can make a million dollars. It is a never ending circle in which no one really ever gets to that ultimate destination. It is a futile chasing after the wind.
The motivation for the follower of Jesus Christ if taken from the teaching of the Bible should be one of selfless love. No believer should be motivated by numbers because our salvation does not rest on how many people we convince or sign up. The question thus becomes why aren't more believers sharing their beliefs with other lost people?
If Jesus Christ controls the results then we are guaranteed positive responses; therefore we should gladly participate in this joyous activity--yet many dread it!
Where do you stand on witnessing?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment