This is topic Way to go Peter in forum The One Year Bible at Christian Message Boards.


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Posted by phillip tidwell (Member # 6966) on :
 
Acts 4:12: “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
John 14:6: Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”

I can’t help but compare Peter’s boldness in testifying that Jesus is the one and only way to salvation to the timid testimony of many self-proclaiming Christians today. It may be acceptable to mention God in group conversation, but say the name of Jesus and you’re treated like a skunk at the garden party.

Why is that so? In his recent publication “Not A Reasonable Facsimile”, Vic Young cites the distressing statistic documented by George Barna that 53% of evangelical Christians believe there are no absolutes. How can such a contradiction be?

Peter’s audience included Ca’iaphas, who was one of the most instrumental in securing Jesus’ crucifixion. Peter’s life was on the line and by contrast, many Christians today are afraid of being labeled intolerant. Maybe we’ve brought some of this on ourselves. So much of the media portrayal of Christians centers on those who focus condemnation of others in a self-righteous manner. We have to be bold, but have no right to self-righteousness. Sadly, I've been guilty in both timidity and self-righteousness. Part of growing I suppose.

Ephesians 4:15: Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.
 
Posted by Carol Swenson (Member # 6929) on :
 
Hi phillip,

I really like what you wrote here.

The LAB commentary says:

As you read through the book of Acts, you discover that the apostles spoke about Christ at every opportunity. It was as natural for them to talk about Jesus as it is for us to talk about a day at work or a vacation at the shore. Why? Because they had personal experience with him. That’s the most fundamental truth about witnesses—they communicate what they have seen and heard. If Christ is real to us, if he’s important to us, if he’s first in our hearts and minds, we will be like those first-century believers. We won’t be able to keep from talking about him. Does your conversation ever feature matter-of-fact references to what God means to you or what he is doing in your life? Jesus said it best: “Whatever is in your heart determines what you say” (Luke 6:45 NLT).


But that glassy-eyed freeze I get from some people takes a lot of time and patience to warm up...and sometimes just when things are starting to go well, that guy with the horns and pointy tail (just kidding!) intrudes and makes a mess of it.
 
Posted by phillip tidwell (Member # 6966) on :
 
Thanks so much for your response Carol. There are a couple of lines with the same theme in your post that really captured my attention and convicted me.

If Christ is real to us, if he’s important to us, if he’s first in our hearts and minds
“Whatever is in your heart determines what you say” (Luke 6:45 NLT).

Lately, I’ve been trying to better understand and articulate what it means to “witness”. It’s one of those words we hear and use in the Christian community almost as habit without necessarily considering the gravity of its meaning. It can be irresponsible to throw out terms too casually. If we agree witnessing is one of our main directives, we’re obligated to respect what it means. The commentary you shared really helps nail it down.

The absolute prerequisite to witnessing is having something which we have experienced. We can’t be a true witness to something we don’t know. Moreover, we should not, as it would be false witness / false testimony. If Jesus is real to us, He has to be first in our hearts. Otherwise, how can there be a true experience leading to a true witness?

Could it be this is a root cause to the problem of lacking a “bold” witness? How could a witness be credible if they’re “pretty sure” Jesus is THE way? How could a bold witness say they found salvation through Christianity, but other people may find it in Buddhism, or Islam, or Shintoism? Such “witness” ultimately denies the purpose of the crucifixion and the resurrection. Is it too harsh to say people who don’t have the experience should not witness?

1 John 1:6 “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth; but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”

John is very careful to establish credentials of his witness in this first chapter as having seen and touched and heard.
 
Posted by Daddy Raptor (Member # 6975) on :
 
Phillip,
In answer to the question, "How can such a contradiction be?" The cold, hard fact is that probably a large percentage of professing Christians do not actually pocess Christ, Matt. 7:13,14,22,23.
Furthermore, our whole culture has been throughly indoctrinated into humanistic philosophy and thought by means of the public school system, as well as, higher education.
I like what the college student asked his professor who stated, "Anyone who makes an absolute statement is an ignoramus!" The student then asked, "Professor, how do you classify the statement you just made?!"
 
Posted by phillip tidwell (Member # 6966) on :
 
Love your sense of humor.

Wonder how many of those students simply accepted the “professor’s” statement as fact without any application of common sense. One of my favorite pieces of ammunition in witnessing to a non-believer (they’re always so much easier) is Romans 1:20.

“Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

Common sense isn’t common.
 




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