Our Witness

1 John 5:10 “He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son.”

Any man or woman of God who is worth their salt in Gods Kingdom becomes a testimony of the Son who has redeemed them. It’s cheap flattery to proclaim oneself to being a Christian, it’s quite another to live it out.

It’s time for the real people of God to step up and proclaim their allegiances boldly before the world. If your testimony is true, the world will hate you, this hatred should be an expectation.

In nearly every other part of the world, to be a born again Christian is to carry an expectation of trouble. In a many westernized regions of the world the standard of righteousness been one that’s been diffused into a myriad of other belief systems and relegated as outlandish anti-science extremism.

There is a strong anti-Christian tide that is swelling in places like Great Britain, Canada, and now in post-Christian America, but the tide has been withheld by the remnant church which still stands for Holiness. There are factions of the church that have crumbled into the ideologies of worldly propaganda, incorporating the love of money, power, and greed, and this is just the beginning. Now, many denominations have allowed the proliferation of sexual promiscuity and redefining marriage to enter their halls and render their testimony as worthless.

Why is a correct understanding of true biblical faith so important and why is it necessary if we want to reach the lost?

1 John 5:11-12 “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

If we want to know the true expression of what faith looks like, we can look at the life of Jesus to find out. He not only taught the words of life, He lived them out. The way Jesus interacted with people gives us a clue as to how we should respond in like fashion and this example is ever more imperative for us today.

• How we should respond to the lost.
• How to follow the leading of the Spirit.
• How we should respond to the enemy.
• How to practice righteousness.
• How we should respond to bad leadership.
• How we should love one another.
• How we should remember Jesus’ life.

Each thought carries with it an expectation of how to live for Christ, how to walk obediently and faithfully.

There are so many poor examples of what living for Christ looks like, let’s get back to the source of our faith and learn once again to live for Him.

Living Faithfully

1 John 5:18 “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.”

For a person to be “born of God”, they must first submit to God’s authority. Submitting can be difficult since its in our nature to want to be in control, but for Christ to be Lord over our lives we have to let Him lead and direct us. As that commitment takes form, the Spirit of God takes over and leads, and as He leads He directs us away from sin, not toward it.

When we witness people who claim to be christians breaking God’s laws, they sin against God, not with Him. You can be certain they are not following Christ, they are following their own selfish desires and seek only to please themselves. If the Lord is in control then a faithful believer may stumble, but the Lord patiently waits for them on His path of life, helping them up along the way, ever ready to forgive when they repent of their failings. For those who practice sin or make it habitual, they live in a constant state of denial, denying God’s sovereign justice, denying God’s standard of Holiness, and denying His expectation of perfection.

You may ask….”How can anyone be perfect?”

Perfection doesn’t come by way of striving to be the best christian, it comes by way of humbly allowing Christ to live in and through you, leading you as you go. It is Christ’s perfection that leads His people toward a standard only He can supply.

Living by the World

1 John 5:19 “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”

If our lives look anything like the world, we are placing ourselves in a precarious position of allowing Satan to lead.

The world is under Satan’s influence, they may think they are the captain of their own ship but they have been cunningly deceived. The influence of demonic doctrine permeates world philosophy and this dark control becomes the means to lead them to Hell.

Why would God’s people, who have found true life, ever subject themselves under this yolk of slavery once again?

Romans 8:15 “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

There are many people who like the idea of being a christian, they also don’t want to go to Hell so it’s more convenient to call themselves a christian, toss a few christian meme’s onto facebook and then continue to live as an enemy of God.

God is not fooled.

Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”

If our witness isn’t true, then we are only deceiving ourselves. The path of righteousness is very narrow, there is no room to redefine what it looks like to follow Christ, and Jesus made it very clear how narrow the road is to eternal life.

1 John 5:20 “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”

Walking in understanding is walk according to the Spirit. The testimony of God’s people must be done in sincerity of faith, a faith that is grounded in the Word of God.

A faithful witness who lives like Christ, lives by the power of God and the attributes of God’s presence emanate through their life.

How did Jesus respond?

• To the lost He beckons them to come. Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
• As Jesus walked in oneness with the Father, we must walk in oneness with the Son. John 10:28-30 “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
• We must remember that when we live by God’s authority, the enemy must give way. James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
• Walking in Christ is to be obedient to Christ’s commands, true love looks like righteousness in action. John 14:15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
• Living under bad government carries with it the ultimate responsibility of living for God first. The greater authority always trumps the lesser. Luke 20:25 “He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
• In like manner how Jesus showed love to us, we must love one another. This love fulfills the law and commandments. John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
• Jesus’ death and resurrection must always be on the forefront of every believers mind. Practicing communion is a solemn reminder of why we have been set free. 1 Corinthians 11:25 “In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

When we follow Jesus’ example for living a godly life, we follow the pattern of freedom in Christ. The power of God is made evident in the life of those who understand what it means to be found faithful.

When others see your faithfulness, it is Christ in you that draws them and the opportunity for sharing the gospel becomes a part of your life each day.

If you want to honor Christ….live like Him.