Monday, July 14, 2008

Acts 1:7-8

He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." NASU

While in this passage Jesus gives the eleven apostles a special promise and commission, it is clear from the writings of the apostles that all Christians are called to be witnesses to the work of Jesus in their lives. As I contemplate my role as a witness for Jesus, providing testimony of his amazing teachings and works, I can’t help but reflect on my credibility as a witness.

In a trial, attorneys will call expert witnesses to the stand and have them testify to facts that are germane to their case. In doing so, they hope to impress upon a jury that the testimony given is trustworthy because of the credibility of the person providing the testimony. Opposing counsel is then given the burden of disproving the testimony or, if that is not easily done, undermining the credibility of the witness.

One of the most dramatic illustrations that I have seen dates back several years to when O. J. Simpson was on trail for murder. Whether you believe Mr. Simpson to be guilty or innocent, everyone would agree that the prosecution’s case against him began to crumble in the eyes of the jury when one particular witness was called. Mark Furman was a Los Angeles police officer that had collected evidence for the case against Mr. Simpson. After the prosecutors had asked Mr. Furman to testify about the evidence he had collected, the defense attorneys began to undermine his credibility. He was portrayed by the defense as racist, rogue cop who was out to frame Mr. Simpson for murder. In undermining Mark Furman’s credibility, the defense was able to have jury dismiss much of the testimony he gave as insignificant.

The same thing happens to Christians who aren’t credible witnesses for Jesus. If I don’t live like I truly believe what Jesus taught, then how can I expect the people I tell about Jesus to put their faith in him. If I try to convince someone that the fruits of the spirit would be a blessing in their lives, they need to be able to see evidence of those blessings in my life. If I tell others that salvation comes from complete surrender to Jesus as Lord of my life, I need to make sure that am I not holding back anything from God.

In short, if I don’t practice what I preach, I don’t make a very credible witness. It would truly be a shame to find out that my lack of credibility caused someone to dismiss testimony about Jesus as irrelevant.
If I may paraphrase 2 Corinthians 7:1, since we have been called as witnesses let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. In doing so we bring credibility to the testimony we share.

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