Sermon Tone Analysis

Are we witnesses today?

Act1:8 is a key verse in the book of Acts; It is a lynch pin from the ministry of Christ to the ministry of the apostles and our ministry work today.

The power to go on.

Jesus just before the ascension promised them power, they were going to need it to be able to carry on His work.

Jesus gave them a promise and a charge,

The promise (power)

The charge (be My Witness)

The place (Jerusalem . . . )

The view of many when it comes to “be My witness” is that we are to be witnessing to people in an effort to win the lost.

It is a church word for evangelism.

But is that a true statement?

Is this what our evangelist efforts are?

Can we today, 2000 years later, witness like the apostles did in carrying out their charge after the promise?

Definition of witness:

Witness (n) 1. a person who sees an event . . . 2. evidence; proof (Merriam - Webster)

Our word martyr comes from the Greek word for witness , and we know many people have been witness by laying down their lives for Christ (Stephen a great example)

So as we look at this verse and the context let’s see if we can answer the question

“Can we be witnesses today like the Apostles?”

I. Witnessing for Christ today

Common Practice

Sharing your conversion experience with others in hope to win them to Christ, you know be a soul winner

Used to provide convincing evidence of a changed life as evidenced by your witness, your changed life

Encouraging others to share their testimony, and witness of how they were before Christ, what brought them to Christ, the changes that took place after receiving Christ

The common thread in this common practice is you, it is not Jesus, it is your story, your thoughts of the changes in you, not Jesus and what the scripture says.

So this kind of witness is not a true witness is it?

Justification for this kind of witnessing

Of course we have our passage today

so that is plural “witnesses” so easy to make that jump.

- many take this to mean all Christian’s are to be witnesses.

This really should raise some questions,

Does this mean all Christians or a few?

Bear witness of what?

Own conversion or something else?

II.

Witnessing in the New Testament

Who were the witnesses “for” Christ? - let’s look at the context and pay attention to the pronouns and it will help.

(You need to go in and bold the pronouns through out the passage)

ACt1:30

ACt1:4

Act1:

Act1:9

ACt1:10

I think you can see from the context who the witnesses are, if in doubt it tells us

Remember that the apostles were from Galilee - other disciples were from many other regions (many named (Act2:9-11)

To be an Apostle there were qualifications that are named

One who had been with the apostles from beginning starting at the baptism of Jesus and present until the ascension; they were to become witness.

What were they to become witness of?

- Witness of His resurrection!

As just mentioned they were witness of something specific and this is noted in other places too

They bore witness of His resurrection and also ofhis life

Remember the promise and the charge?

- here under the power of the Spirit they were fulfilling the charge!

Now you may say “Paul did not qualify then” well he was a special witness

Act26

As I mentioned before the word martyr comes from the Greek word martus, designated for those who have suffered death in consequences of confessing Christ - Complete Word Study Dictionary of N.T (Stephen, Antipas and others are examples)

Have you noticed that the word witness has not been used to just tell about Christ, and their own experience but witness of the resurrection of Christ.

There really is a difference there is a distinction between the witness then and the witness today.

III.

The distinction of witness

The distinction between content of witnesses

Modern day witness provides testimony of own conversion

This is personal and cannot be substantiated with facts

Conversion stories can be used as a selling tool, to sell people on Christ or your belief in Christ

nversion stories can be used as a selling tool, to sell people on Christ or your belief in Christ

These testimonies, including even my own could be exaggerated or even fabricated.

Apostolic Witness: We have already been told it is witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ .

This witness is of facts and evidence

The evidence could easily be refuted if it were not true.

1Cor15:

If it were not true wouldn’t there be some recorded proof and the 500 people thought of as crazy and all of it disproven?

The witness is proven by the evidence of the people (number of people) and the credibility of their witness (suffering for the cause; would they endure and suffer if it were not true?)

The former, the witness today is subjective and the latter provides objective biblical proof

The Distinction between the purpose of the witness

The modern witness - things can change, what about if they fall from grace and go back into the world and deny Christ, their witness chances does it, the conversion is either weakened or was not real in the first place.

- this is scary and can shake your own faith.

The Apostolic witness - Is recorded and kept, if it were not true it would have been objected to and it would have been the former vs. the witness of the resurrection as laid out in the scripture.

The Apostolic witness is backed by their lifestyle in Christ and for Christ and was sealed by their own blood and is unchangeable since they are all dead.

The former is again subjective and can lead to disappointment, don’t we all know people who once walked with Christ who are no longer doing that?

The later provides verifiable facts, historical facts that help us build a foundation built on faith and the historical evidence.

Jesus knew, Jesus prayed for “them” that people would believe because of “their words”

So the power to carry on, to carry out His charge is about to happen.

The indwelling had already happen and the empowering of the Spirit was about to happen.

See no one comes to the Father except through the Son - no one comes to the Son unless drawn by the Spirit.

The spirit comes on you to draw you

The spirit comes in you when you are baptized

The spirit comes upon you to empower you to do the works that He has called you to do.

We may not have the same empowering, but we have the inspired word to help us to lead people to Christ- to be soul winners, not subjectively but objectively through the historic evidence coupled with faith that leads to grace, mercy and the forgiveness of sins.

Conclusion: We started tonight with can we be witnesses for Christ like the charge of the apostles today?

- I hope the evidence has proven itself out.

What you have is the power of God in the Word of God to transform the people of God so that the world may know you are His and He is yours and you can share your hope that is in you that can lead others to obey the evidenced proof.

Bible is the Word of God

Jesus is the Son of God

Belief in Him, obedient faith can give you forgiveness of sins

And to the believer, a life, life full, or complete in Him and for Him