Christ: His Death and Resurrection
How Do I Share My Faith? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power. 25 “For David says of Him, ‘I saw the Lord always in my presence; For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken. 26 ‘Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; Moreover my flesh also will live in hope; 27 Because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. 28 ‘You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.’ 29 “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 “And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. 32 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, 35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’ 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
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We started this short series on how we share our faith with Jesus’ own words to His disciples in chapter 1.
8 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.”
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Naturally we should recognize ourselves in that calling. We the church having been given the Holy Spirit are called to be witnesses of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. For some of us that may be a daunting task. For some of us that may sound a little too much like a solo performance on a stage in front of an audience who may walk out in the middle of the performance. Last week we just reckoned with the reality that people in response to the glory of God displayed are prone to running, many are prone to performance, some even resort to mockery. How many of us would take the opportunity for a solo on stage for one? Maybe a few of us would have that kind of boldness. Take that one step further, how many of us would take a solo performance before an audience that may walk out or just resort to mockery? If that’s the picture we have of bearing witness to Christ, it’s no wonder it feels so hard.
This morning I want us to find some comfort and assurance in Peter’s witness. At first glance it may appear Peter stands for that solo performance before a crowd that’s already mocking, but he’s not actually performing a solo at all. In truth there’s a whole chorus of witnesses surrounding Him. He’s but one voice among the choir proclaiming the resurrection, exaltation, and lordship of Jesus Christ. You’ll notice that His witness never says “I”. I find that striking. His witness points to what God has done. He points to what David has seen and prophesied in the Scriptures. He points to what “we” (the disciples) have seen. He points to the work of the Holy Spirit and what even those mockers have seen and heard.
In the end our witness is a personal calling. Each and every one of us is a witness of Christ, but our message isn’t exclusive to what we’ve experienced, what we’ve said, or the Spirit’s work in us. As we’ll see almost the whole of our message points away from us. Our message points to all the evidences and witnesses that point to our risen Savior who brings life to the dead.
The mission of the church is to bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus with the Scriptures, the saints, and the Spirit that sinners may share in that resurrection life through faith.
The mission of the church is to bear witness to the resurrection of Jesus with the Scriptures, the saints, and the Spirit that sinners may share in that resurrection life through faith.
Christ is risen and won the victory
The witness of the Scriptures
The witness of the saints
The witness of the Holy Spirit
Christ is risen and won the victory
Christ is risen and won the victory
If you were with us last week we really ended on a heavy note. An essential part of sharing our faith is showing people their sinful hearts, their unbelief, and their rejection of the revelation of the glory of God. Apart from the understanding that we deserve the wrath of God people will never understand why Jesus had to die. Apart from them realizing that they’ve rejected God Himself, they will not see the need to be reconciled to Him through Jesus Christ. The thing is when they do see their sin - when they do realize, “I have indeed fallen short of the glory of God, I have rejected Christ in my sin” that’s when the gospel really does become good news in their ears.
Peter doesn’t leave them there in an understanding of their sin. He doesn’t call them to shape up and do better. He points them to the sovereign grace of God which is greater than all our sin.
If I may pick up where we left off in verse 23
23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
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There is no amount of sin, no degree of open rejection that can overcome God’s plan of redemption. The Father knew from the beginning that the Son would be rejected, and it was by the means of His rejection - by the acts of sinful men that sin would be overcome. It was through His dying for us that the curse of death would be overcome! In taking upon Himself the curses of sin and death Jesus satisfied the just demands of the Father. For the wages of sin is death. Jesus took that wage - that debt upon Himself when He died... and yet He did not stay dead. The power of death could not overcome Him! For all who believe in Him... He has put an end to the curse of sin and death.
When we go to our neighbor, our children, or our coworkers who needs Jesus, who’ve realized the depths of their sin and their rebellion against God, we get to bring them this extraordinary news!
“Do you know that God’s grace is greater than your sin?” Romans 5:20
20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
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We can go further in our witness.
Do you know.. that God knew you would sin against Him and He sent His son Jesus to die for you anyway?
Do you know that the death you deserve can be satisfied in Jesus Christ?
Do you know that you can share in the victory which Christ has won if you repent and believe in Him?
No longer will sin have a hold on you.
No longer will the penalty of death hang over your head.
Jesus has won! Christ has risen! Death is defeated!
Everything hinges on that simple yet magnificent truth. The whole of the following 11 verses is attesting to this gospel: Jesus Christ has died for sinners that justice would be satisfied and risen from the dead to grant victory over death to all who believe - it is the only way to be saved.
He is the only one who can overcome sin and death for apart from Him we can do nothing. Alone we are powerless before the curse of sin and death. Left to our own devices death does indeed exercise it’s power over us. Apart from that perfect substitute in Jesus’ death paying for sin - apart from that glorious victory in His resurrection overcoming death, we are hopeless! It’s Christ alone who has overcome the power of sin and death.
17 ... if Christ has not been raised, your (Our) faith is worthless; you (We) are still in your sins.
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I want to park here for a moment because this is where the conversation can veer off in a couple different directions as we’re witnessing to people. Sometimes there can be a temptation to go beyond “Christ alone has overcome sin and death”. When Peter says the agony of death has been ended, he means ended! Over. Done. Victory is won. There is no addition necessary? We are not looking for anything else regarding our deliverance from sin and death. It’s only a matter of time until the victory is made absolute. If we’re not careful very quickly we can undermine our gospel witness by moving from the proclamation of Christ alone to what I might call “Christ-plus”.
I had to buy a new phone recently because my old phone had been dropped a few too many times. It had a good run, but then I had a choice to make. I was looking at 1 phone in particular and I realized that I could buy the base model or I could buy the plus model. Who doesn’t like the idea of the plus model? It’s bigger and better right? Unfortunately, there are those who think there’s something lacking in the gospel of Jesus Christ and so they attempt to create their own version and try to make it bigger and better.
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Let’s be clear, Christ alone is not settling for less. There is nothing lacking in the person and work of Jesus Christ. There is no bigger and better. There simply is no Christ-plus. Christ is sufficient!
As we’re entering this part of the conversation there are a couple different versions of Christ-plus for us to be aware of.
(1) Christ plus our stewardship puts an end to sin and death. Jesus does not give us the potential to be freed from the curse of sin and death as if we’re granted a power we must steward in order to be saved. It’s a kind of sword in the stone sort of gospel that grants us this unique gift that will deliver us if we put it to good use. In the past I’ve heard people respond to a gospel presentation with something like, “You know I’m really doing my best.” In response we need to push back a bit. It’s not about doing our best to overcome sin and death. It’s faith in the fact that sin and death have been overcome in Jesus Christ. Do you believe that?
(2) Christ plus our death pays for our sin. Sometimes people can respond with an appeal to one way or another in which they feel they’ve paid for their sins. We need to gently eliminate the addition there. Was the price Jesus paid not enough? Do you feel you can add to the payment Christ has paid for you? Scripture says that death found it’s end in the resurrection. There’s no further price to be paid.
(3) Christ plus our righteous works. It’s so easy for people to hear of the sufficiency of Christ and then in a moments notice appeal to some work which they’ve done that made them a Christian or overcame their sin. Again we need to gently eliminate the addition. Baptism doesn’t deliver us from death. Being a church member doesn’t free us from sin. Growing up in church doesn’t grant us the victory. God’s acceptance of us is found entirely in what Christ has accomplished. He lived the perfect life we could not live; Paid the price could not pay; and overcame the grave which we could not overcome.
In our witness as the church we preach Christ alone for it is He who has won the victory and He alone who can save.
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As Peter continues you can see there is no “plus”. The point has been made. Jesus rose from the dead and thereby the power of death has been overcome. From here to the end of His sermon he provides witness after witness that this event - this resurrection - has indeed happened. Again, it’s this event upon which the whole of Christendom sets their faith.
If Christ is not risen then we are most to be pitied.
Before a Jewish audience it’s only fitting that Peter would appeal to David first. Let’s look at David’s testimony.
The witness of the Scriptures
The witness of the Scriptures
25 “For David says of Him, ‘I saw the Lord always in my presence; For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken. 26 ‘Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted; Moreover my flesh also will live in hope; 27 Because You will not abandon my soul to Hades, Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. 28 ‘You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.’
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Peter goes all the way back to Psalm 16 and points to God’s preservation of David as a type and a shadow of a much greater preservation to come. David did indeed come to see and experience the faithfulness of God to Him. Time and again he was spared from death because of God’s presence with Him. Time and again he would set His faith in the faithfulness of God to preserve Him from His enemies. So much so that he found reason to rejoice and be glad in the midst of it all. He was certain that the Lord would preserve Him and rightfully so.
The clear connection here of course is verse 27.
We catch a glimpse of Jesus’ death and resurrection from even Psalm 16. Though Christ bore the sins of all His saints and endured the wrath that was rightly due them, He would not be abandoned in death. Though he died and was placed in the tomb he would not rot there, he would not decay. He would be raised to life and seated in the presence of His Father, just as David says there in verse 28. The ways of life made known and the gladness of God’s presence.
In truth it’s not just a glimpse. Peter says this text is openly prophetic in nature. David was anticipating a greater Holy One, a greater king who would never - for all eternity - never be overcome by death. After all David died.
29 “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 “And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay.
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You see the language of a witness there? David saw something greater than his own deliverance from death. He looked ahead and saw a future king who God would preserve in a way that he never was. He spoke of the resurrection! Some 1000 years before Jesus went to the cross David saw it from afar.
I want to step back for a moment and help us see where Peter decided to start his argumentation for the truth of the resurrection. If I were Peter I’d be tempted to state the obvious. “I saw Him with my own eyes!” He could have called up any of the disciples or any of the other witnesses gathered there with them, but his first appeal is to the timeless testimony of Scripture. He appeals to the promises of God given to men thousands of years before.
I don’t know that we naturally think of that category in our witness, but the testimony of Scriptural prophecy isn’t something we should so quickly overlook in our testimony.
This isn’t the only passage that points to the importance of the prophets in our testimony. Jesus Himself on the road to Emmaus makes the very same point.
The disciples are confused and sad after the tomb has been found empty. There’s still unbelief in their heart. They have yet to see the truth in full, and see what Jesus says.
25 And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?”
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You’ve had a witness of these events this whole time! And he takes the time to explain it to them.
27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.
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Peter and Jesus both point the unbelieving - those who’ve rejected the truth or those who just have yet to sit in full - they point them to the testimony of the Scriptures. David makes it explicit, but he too is just another voice in the choir. Jesus shows His disciples how the whole of the law and the prophets point to Himself. The text says “all the prophets”. That’s a big choir!
For us in our witness let’s not forget the great cloud of witnesses that Hebrews speaks of. Let’s find encouragement in the fact that God has prepared for our own faith but also for the unbelieving a great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us. We have the whole of the law and the prophets with which to point to the death and resurrection of Christ. Jesus did it, and we should too!
This great chorus of witnesses is reason for our encouragement, but it’s also a practical strategy.
One simple scenario in which this strategy might be appropriate.
There’s an argument circulating out there that the early church fabricated the resurrection in order to make Jesus’ ministry more than it actually was. You might point to this very text in response. Luke’s own testimony in Luke 24 and in Acts describe Peter and the resurrected Christ Himself pointing to the Old Testament as proof. It wasn’t something made up, it was a promise the people of God were waiting for for thousands of years. And when that promise is fulfilled the people at the scene didn’t appeal to their own testimony they pointed back to the promises that were made. Scripture simply doesn’t make sense without the resurrection. It’s not an isolated story in the whole of Scriptures testimony it is THE story of Scripture’s testimony. It was anticipated from the very first pages of Scripture.
From the very moment sin entered the world God promised a victory! The head of the serpent would be crushed.
Abraham was promised a seed that would bless the nations.
David was promised a King to sit on the throne forever.
Isaiah was promised the Prince of Peace whose reign would know no end.
These aren’t just fun facts for us, these are witnesses to a dark a world if we would give them opportunity to speak through us.
Let’s not hesitate to use promise and prophecy to point the unbelieving to Christ.
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Peter does get to the witness of the disciples. It’s a simple verse, but it’s part of this choir of witnesses.
The witness of the saints
The witness of the saints
32 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.
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Legends by their nature grow into grand stories because they can’t be corroborated.
You know how the big fish story goes. The guys get home from their fishing trip and dad tells everyone about the big fish he caught. The rest of the guys are in the room so there’s not a whole lot of exaggerating going on. The ladies in the room look around a little bit to hold him honest. “Was it really that big?” And all the guys are there to corroborate the story. Now you give it five years and dad’s telling that story at work all by himself. That fish might get a little bigger all of a sudden.
The accusation of legend regarding the resurrection of Christ ignores the fact that as this story is spreading there are hundreds of people who can corroborate the story. Again, Peter doesn’t appeal to his own witness here. He appeals to the testimony of the saints.
By contrast notice how many other religions are reliant upon the witness of a single individual.
Muhammed saw...
Joseph Smith saw...
The Buddha saw...
Peter’s witness is not “I saw”. It’s “We saw”. It’s joined by other witnesses who are there in the room. They’re not conveniently in some far off place. Any of the men or women there listening could have asked, “Is he telling the truth?”
The testimony of the resurrection is not appearing years after the fact when most of the witnesses are conveniently dead. It’s appearing some 50 days after the events with a very present crowd of witnesses.
For us as we go out as witnesses, let’s remember that at no point was the witness of the saints reliant upon the testimony of one person.
In our day and age there’s a number of prominent public speakers going around with extraordinary testimonies, and that’s not a criticism. They’re faithful men who’ve experienced God’s grace in extraordinary ways. From the outside it appears that they have a testimony that we don’t. We might be tempted to think that the testimony of that one person over there is better than the testimony of everyone else in the room. They’ve seen and experienced different things than I have. You see the contrast there to this scene at Peter’s sermon. Peter’s testimony is no different than everyone else’s in the room.
When we hear prominent testimonies of faithful and godly people, we can fall into thinking that our testimony needs to be more than it is. We start looking for a Christ plus testimony that includes some extraordinary conversion, some miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, some drastic behavioral change.
Plainly speaking we don’t need to feel the pressure to tell about our extraordinary conversion. Maybe your conversion was very plain and ordinary. By God’s grace the gospel was central to your faith from a young age. Perfect! The testimony of your experience may be much more ordinary than those prominent Christian speakers, but the substance of your testimony is no different than Peter’s. That’s the important part. We bear witness to Christ first and foremost. Jesus called his disciples with the words, “You will by my witnesses.” It’s the good news of Jesus Christ that raises people from death to life.
Think about it for a minute. If I were one of those unnamed disciples in that gathering and I saw Peter step up there, I might be expecting a truly extraordinary testimony. This is Peter! He’s been walking with Jesus for years. Surely he’s got some one of a kind experiences and stories to tell, but he doesn’t point to a single unique experience of his own. He points to Scripture, and He points to the testimony shared by every single disciple gathered there that day. In a very real sense, any one of those disciples could have stood up there and said these very words.
32 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.
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I want to go one step further with this common and universal testimony of the saints. When we proclaim Christ crucified and risen from the dead, we bear witness to an objective historical event that simply did or did not happen. This fish isn’t going to get any bigger as time goes on. There’s no legendary status this is going to achieve over time. Right from the beginning is the blatant and obvious no less than miraculous truth. Jesus was dead, and then He wasn’t. “This Jesus God raised up again. The resurrection is the very reason the Christian faith exists, and for that reason we can have an extraordinary boldness in our witness.
To accusations of legend, we can boldly say. Yes, this is a truly legendary story, but it didn’t become legendary like every other legend. It was legendary from the beginning - from day one - because it was true. Jesus rose from the dead or he didn’t. The evidence was so prevalent men were preaching about it 50 days after the events occured with over 100 witnesses to corroborate his story. There was no argument of degrees to be had like every other legend has.
This man won this great victory with only 100 men at his side. Then all the historians weigh in and it turns out it was likely a lot more than 100 men.
I caught this fish and it was this big! When everyone else weighs in there’s some argument as to how big it really was.
The number of times generals edit the numbers after a victory is pretty striking. We only lost 1000 men. Good for the newspapers back home right? But the truth is actually quite different.
There’s no ordinary argument of legend like this around the resurrection narrative.
It’s not as if Jesus could be any less resurrected than he was. We kind of saw him alive...
There’s no category for it. The claim is simple at the end of the day. It’s miraculous but it’s simple. Let’s keep it simple.
Let’s stand on that simple yet miraculous truth that the saints have been proclaiming for all of time. Let’s stand by the legendary reality that Jesus Christ has overcome the grave and risen from the dead for the salvation of sinners.
Maybe you wish your testimony was a little more legendary. The good news is it doesn’t need to be. We don’t bear the burden of telling an extraordinary story of our own experience in order to validate what Christ has done. The rest of the world needs to puff up the stories of their heroes so the rest of the world will listen. We don’t need to. We just need to give them the truth - the irrefutable, miraculous and simple truth. The call Christ has given us is to proclaim Him - bear witness to Him - just like all the saints have done since that day at Pentecost.
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Peter has one more witness to bring to the stand before this watching crowd.
The witness of the Holy Spirit
The witness of the Holy Spirit
33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, 35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’ 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
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Peter continues to appeal to the promise given to David. In accordance with the covenant God gave to David, He looked ahead to a promised king who would come from His line. A King who would sit on an eternal throne. David died. That’s been made apparent. His grave is still with them. By extension David didn’t ascend to sit at the right hand of God. Jesus did! Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus is the promised king, the prince of peace and Lord of Lords, it was Jesus who ascended to be seated at the right hand of the Father.
To any Jew hearing the declaration of a new and risen king one might naturally ask the question, “So where is His kingdom?” “Where is His dominion?” They know the promise. They know their Bibles.
16 “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”
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It’s pretty simple, the promised king is going to have a kingdom, a house, a throne. I believe Peter addresses all three. He shows this crowd what they’ve already seen and heard. He shows them evidence of Christ’s kingly dominion. He was seated on His heavenly throne - a throne that cannot fade away established forever at the Father’s right hand and from their he establishes His house - his dwelling place. Peter shows them the presence of the Spirit with this humble gathering of disciples. “He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.” When God establishes His dominion somewhere His very presence is established there.
For over a thousand years the kingdom of God was defined by the presence of the glory of God in His temple, and now God establishes His kingdom by sending the Spirit to dwell in a new temple. The church is the house of God. These saints are the kingdom of God. The throne of Christ has been established.
As Paul says to the church at Corinth.
16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
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I hope we don’t miss this. Peter is appealing to the most ordinary and plain group of Galileans. They’ve already been mentioned by the crowd in less than honorable terms. “Aren’t these all… Galileans?” But it’s not anything in them is it? Again, it’s the contrast that makes the point. It’s the Spirit in these humble saints. The Spirit of God in this people of faith that Peter points to.
Again, Peter’s not pointing to Himself. Look at me and all I’ve done. He doesn’t even point to the Spirit’s work in Himself. He points to the church. Look where Jesus has established his kingdom. Look where the Spirit of God has made His dwelling. Look at the evidence of Christ having taken His throne and the hope of His ultimate victory.
Christ has been seated on the throne and His kingdom will go forth! The victory which Christ won in His resurrection will be made absolute one day, yet what is the evidence that Peter points to. You might say, what are the first fruits of this great harvest that is to come? He points to the church.
I hope that we would share this same confidence that Peter does.
When we go to share our faith do we boast in the work of God in His church? Should the world demand proof. Let’s point to Scripture, let’s point to the testimony of his saints from the very beginning, but we have proof right before our eyes. Let’s point them to glory of His dominion.
Come see where God has made His dwelling!
Come see the testimony of the Holy Spirit in these humble saints who’ve come to Christ with their sin and found forgiveness.
Come see the fruit of a harvest you simply will not find anywhere else.
Come see a contentment and joy the world will never know.
Come see the kingdom of God that will endure and see the final and ultimate victory of their King.
34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, 35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’
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The throne of Christ is eternal as David was promised. In the end every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, and until that time the work of the Spirit in us, his church bear witness to that reality. His kingdom is here, and His kingdom is coming.
In the end, I believe it’s quite simple. If you get the opportunity invite that friend, coworker, or neighbor to church some day. Let them see for themselves - as Peter says - the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection and enthronement. Let them see for themselves the kingdom of God before their eyes. Let them see us - together. We have a hope that the world will never know, the hope that the curse of sin and death are overcome and in the end death itself will be abolished when we are raised with Him. When we invite unbelievers into this gathering they get to hear us sing together of that hope. They get to see a common faith which we confess together. Introduce them to your brothers and sisters here. “Can I introduce you to my friend Jeremy?” By God’s grace they’ll see the work of the Spirit in all of us and be all that more convinced that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just a story, it’s the victory through which a king establishes a kingdom. The kingdom they see before their eyes in us.
This goes for our children as well! If I may speak personally, thank you to those who’ve invested in my kids. The relationships you’ve built with them is such an encouragement to me, because I know they’ll see the faith their mom and dad has in you. I want my boys to see that the resurrected Christ and the hope we have in Him is not just what mom and dad believe. It’s what the whole church believes. There’s something powerful about hearing the same Bible stories we read every night from all of you. There’s something powerful in kids seeing us sing together of our resurrected Savior. Thank you to all of you who invest in the children of this church!
In the end, It’s on this three-fold witness that Peter says this crowd can have certainty of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
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The prophecy and promise of Scripture.
The witness of the saints from the days of Pentecost.
The work of the Spirit in His church.
It’s the kind of witness anyone can attain to. There’s nothing really extraordinary about it except that the Spirit of God is in it.
You don’t need to be an apologist to offer people certainty. You don’t need to have mastered every argument.
Begin with Scripture. Look for Jesus in your devotional reading. Let’s equip ourselves with the promises and prophecies and give them an opportunity to bear witness when we speak with the unbeliever.
Appeal to the simple truth. The resurrection of Christ is legendary, but it’s not a legend. It was true and witnessed by many.
Show them the church. Introduce them to brothers and sisters who share your faith that they might see the extraordinary work of the Spirit in us, and by God’s grace our witness will be used for the salvation of souls.
Let’s Pray.
One Family Church
