Tag Archive for: fic-series-christian-witnessing

Witnessing: We are light: Empowered by the Holy Spirit: Part 2

When Jesus said, “You are my witnesses,” he also promised to give us the power to be light.

Jonathan R. Hein 

Many pastors wake up in a cold sweat from this bad dream. It is Sunday morning, but they have not prepared a sermon. Being unprepared to preach—that is the stuff of nightmares for a pastor.

It may not have been a dream for you. When your coworkers failed to show up for work, your boss unceremoniously dumped their responsibilities onto your desk. You had never been trained to do their job. You were just tossed into a sink-or-swim situation. If someone asks you to do something that they know you are unprepared to do, at the very least, that demonstrates foolish management. At worst, it is just plain cruel.

Power from on high

Jesus is neither foolish nor cruel. When he asks someone to do something, he always makes sure they are equipped to do what he asks. Jesus empowers us to do what he asks. You see it throughout the gospels.

In Matthew chapter 14, Peter walks on water. How is that possible? Jesus is almighty God. Peter was an ordinary sinful man. So how could he walk on water? Simple. Peter asked Jesus to call him, and Jesus said, “Come” (v. 29). Jesus enabled Peter to do what he commanded: “Come!” If Peter had just jumped out of the boat without Jesus’ command, he would need to start dog-paddling. Same thing if Jesus had asked Peter to come but had not given Peter the power to do so. Splash! Jesus is neither foolish nor cruel, so when he told Peter to come, he also gave Peter the ability to do just that. Peter did not start to sink until he lost faith in Christ’s promise.

In John chapter 11, a noxious corpse reanimated and walked out of the tomb. How does that happen? “Jesus called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’ ” (v. 43). Corpses are decidedly unqualified to walk. But Jesus’ command gave Lazarus the very life he needed to obey.

Those are two examples where Jesus empowered individuals to “come.” On Pentecost, Jesus empowered individuals to “go.”

Not long before he ascended, Jesus told his disciples what their life’s mission now was: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). However, Jesus is neither foolish nor cruel. He knew his disciples were not yet qualified or prepared. Thus, he also told them, “Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). He was going to give them the ability to do what he had asked of them.

What was the “power from on high” the disciples needed? “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (Acts 2:4). They needed the power of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling. The Spirit enabled the disciples to speak in languages they had not studied.

However, the disciples needed more than supernatural linguistic skills. They required more ordinary spiritual gifts too. They needed courage to speak boldly in the very city where their leader had been tortured and killed not even two months prior. They needed confidence that their sins—including abandoning their friend Jesus in his time of need—did not disqualify them from serving in the kingdom. Scripture does not tell us everything the disciples needed to be bold witnesses on that day. It simply tells us that everything they needed, they received. Jesus is neither foolish nor cruel. When he asks someone to do something, he always gives them “power from on high” to do what he asks.

Power to be light

Jesus’ will for believers has not changed: “Go and make disciples.” Take that next-door neighbor who does not know Jesus well. Why do you think God made them your neighbor? So that you might go! Think about that sibling who has drifted away from church. What are you waiting for? If you don’t talk to them, then who will? Go! How about that friend who has toyed with Christianity but never taken it seriously? That is low-hanging fruit, friends. Go!

You might object: “I’m not qualified.” Do you think Jesus is foolish? Do you think Jesus is so incompetent that he would set you up to fail? Nonsense! On that first Pentecost, God let tongues of fire kiss the head of those first disciples. On your personal Pentecost, God kissed your head and heart with water and the Word. The results are the same. You are “filled with the Holy Spirit” and “clothed with power from on high.” When you are presented with an opportunity to witness, Christ promises you, “Do not worry about . . . what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say” (Luke 12:11,12).

You might respond, “But I’m scared.” Do you think Jesus is cruel? He knows full well how the gospel can often be met with resistance. Thus, he promises you that when you witness, you do not do so alone. “Surely, I am with you always,” he guarantees (Matthew 28:20).

Jesus is neither foolish nor cruel. He asks us to be zealous in our daily evangelism efforts. He also gives us the ability to do that which he has asked. Therefore, when our evangelism efforts bear fruit, Christ gets all the glory. When Peter walked on water, the disciples were astounded at Jesus’ power, not Peter’s. When Lazarus rose, people praised Jesus, not Lazarus. Likewise, when believers proclaim the gospel and that witness raises the spiritually dead to faith-life, Jesus gets all the credit. He empowered us to do exactly what he asked.

Jesus would not ask you to do something for which you were unqualified. The proof? He did not ask you to try and win your salvation by obeying the law. He knew that would be impossible for you. Instead, he placed himself under the law and kept it all for you. Nor did Jesus ask you to pay for your sins. Jesus knew that if he did, there would be no end to your payment. So, Jesus did that for you too. Because it was Christ’s holy, precious, divine blood that was shed, it did not take forever to pay for sins. Jesus could say, “It is finished.” Jesus did not and would not ask you to do something for which you were unqualified. Jesus is neither foolish nor cruel.

Thus, when Jesus does ask you to do something—to go and make disciples—you can be completely confident that he will give you absolutely everything you need to do just that: the opportunity to witness, the courage, and the powerful words of the gospel. And as you share the gospel with others, you can be confident that Christ will give them the ability to believe.

Jesus will get all the glory, but you will rejoice that the risen and ascended Lord let you play a part in his saving work.


Jonathan Hein, director of WELS Congregational Counseling, is a member at Trinity, Waukesha, Wisconsin. 


This is the final article of a two-part series on the necessity of Christian witnessing. 


 

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Author: Jonathan R. Hein
Volume 105, Number 6
Issue: June 2018

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us

 

Witnessing: Our reason for being: Part 1

Jesus told his disciples, “You will be my witnesses,” and then ascended into heaven. They had a reason for being, as do all disciples of Jesus. 

Jonathan R. Hein 

In philosophy it is called one’s raison d’être, literally “reason for being.” It is the activity that justifies a thing’s existence. To put it another way, if something is not fulfilling its raison d’êtreit may as well not exist.  

Consider the piano sitting in the corner of a living room. You must have some justification for it being there. Maybe someone is taking lessons. Perhaps, at Christmas, your family gathers around it to sing favorite hymns. Maybe no one in your home plays piano. You keep it around simply because it reminds you of your grandparents, to whom it used to belong. In that case, the piano’s raison d’être is to serve as a memento. The point is, something justifies allowing that piano to take up space. If not, you would have gotten rid of it.  

Our reason for being 

So, what is the raison d’être of your congregation? What is the “reason for being” of our synod? What is the activity that justifies our existence?  

Now make it personal. What do you see as your individual purpose for existence? What is the thing that if you aren’t doing it you might as well not be alive?  

The answer to those questions is connected to one of the great celebrations of the church—the Festival of the Ascension. When Jesus’ ascended and sat down on the throne of heaven, it was not like me plopping into my recliner after a long day. Jesus did not ascend to relax. He ascended as he took up the full use of his divine power. Now he directs all things for the good of the church as it carries out its mission.  

And what is that exactly? Shortly before Jesus ascended, he told his disciples, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). That was their “reason to be.” If they were not going to be witnesses, there was no reason for them to be alive anymore.  

Two millennia later, the believer’s raison d’être has not changed. It is the most universal of Christian callings. Not every Christian will be called by God to be a spouse or a parent. Not every Christian will be called to serve publicly as a pastor, teacher, staff minister, or missionary. Not every Christian will serve as a Sunday school teacher or on the church council. But all of us are called to be witnesses as opportunities present themselves. We know those opportunities will present themselves, for Jesus does not lie. “You will be my witnesses.”  

Our unique qualifications 

“But I’m not qualified,” some will object. Nonsense! Jesus did not say, “You will be my theologians.” Witnesses! Jesus is not asking us to do something complicated. You do not need a Masters of Divinity degree to witness. A witness simply shares what he has seen and heard. A witness shares experiential information.  

For example, I understand that the wings of an airplane create lift, but I do not have a good grasp on exactly how that works. However, I have observed planes flying. I have experienced it, as I have flown plenty of times myself. So, while I am not qualified to give a lecture on aeronautics, I am plenty qualified to say, “If you need to travel a long way, flying is the way to go!” It’s experiential information.  

So maybe you cannot recite all the books of the Bible. Perhaps you can’t explain the meaning of every one of Jesus’ parables. That does not disqualify you from witnessing. You know Jesus died for your sins. You know that he rose again. Since you know those things, you have experienced peace, certain that hell is not in your future and that the gate to Paradise stands wide open. Witness about that.  

You might not be able to give the catechism explanation of what it means to pray “in Jesus’ name.” But you know you can pray. Moreover, you have experienced the comfort of being able to carry your problems to Christ through prayer. Witness to that. 

Do you remember what it was like when your child was baptized? You observed God claim that child as his own through water and the Word. You did not understand the nature of faith that the Spirit created in your child. Even one who has his master’s of divinity doesn’t understand that! But you experienced the joy of knowing your child was now wrapped in spiritual armor, perfectly safe for all eternity. Tell others about that joy!  

The world needs our witness 

“You will be my witnesses.” Why has Jesus made this every believer’s “reason for being”? Because witnessing is what the world needs most. The world we live in is dark. It needs believers to be light. The world is rotting. It needs believers to be salt. This world is nothing but death. It needs believers to share the One who is life.  

The world desperately needs witnesses of the power of the gospel. If you are not witnessing—to your children, your friends, your neighbors—then, frankly, why are you breathing? If your congregation is not witnessing—to the faithful and the straying and the lost in your community—then why does it even exist? 

Martin Luther said it well: 

We live on earth only so that we should be a help to other people. Otherwise, it would be best if God would strangle us and let us die as soon as we were baptized and had begun to believe. For this reason, however, he lets us live that we may bring other people also to faith as he had done for us. Luther’s Works Vol. 30, p. 11. 

Luther well knew that Christians can glorify Christ in many ways across multiple vocations. But it would be a gross perversion of the doctrine of the vocation to say, “Because I serve God as a faithful teacher, farmer, or physician, I don’t need to be a witness to my next-door neighbor.” That’s using our vocation to justify refusing to share our faith. 

Chances are that at times—maybe oftentimes—we have lived as though our “reason for being” has been something other than witnessing. Ascension helps there too. Do you think Jesus would have ascended if your salvation were incomplete? Unthinkable! Jesus ascended only because he knew he had made atonement for every last sin, including the sin of failing to witness—of denying our “reason for being.” When the Father looks at you, he sees people who have bold in proclaiming his truth.  

The faith that embraces Christ’s promise of forgiveness then also embraces Christ’s promise of function. “You will be my witnesses.” He ascended and sat down on the throne of God to make it so! He orchestrates our lives so that we might have the privilege of witnessing . . . the joy of playing a role in his saving work. Moreover, he gives us the power to do what he has asked. More on that next month.  


Jonathan Hein, director of WELS Congregational Counseling, is a member at Trinity, Waukesha, Wisconsin. 


This is the first of a two-part series on the necessity of Christian witnessing. 


 

SUBMIT YOUR STORY

Do you have a manuscript, idea, or story from your own life you’d like to share for use in Forward in Christ or on wels.net? Use our online form to share it to our editorial office for consideration.

SUBSCRIBE TO FORWARD IN CHRIST

Get inspirational stories, spiritual help, and synod news from  Forward in Christ every month. Print and digital subscriptions are available from Northwestern Publishing House.

 

Author: Jonathan R. Hein
Volume 105, Number 5
Issue: May 2018

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us