Stewardship of Witness

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 3

Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

Have you ever paid attention to the vows that you take—and I mean more than just agreeing to them. Oftentimes, when we sit and evaluate the vows that we take and say in the context of Christianity we find that instead of front-loading them, the vows get progressively more binding and demanding on us as we go along.

Let’s look at two separate examples for a second…first, the Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord

Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit

Born of the virgin Mary

Suffered under Pontius Pilate

Was crucified, died, and was buried;

He descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

He ascended into heaven,

is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic church

the communion of saints

the forgiveness of sins

the resurrection of the body

and the life everlasting. Amen.

Do you notice how the vows seem to get harder and harder--not just to understand but to commit to?

Second, let’s look at our common marriage vows

I, take you, to be my wedded wife (husband),

to have and to hold, from this day forward

for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer

in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish,

till death do us part,

according to God's holy ordinance I hear pledge my faith to you.

Do you notice how the vows seem to get harder and harder--not just to understand but to commit to?

I remember distinctly going to a wedding one time where right around the vow "for richer or poorer" the groom interrupted the pastor and said, "wait...what?" Admittedly this wasn't because he wasn't willing to commit to it, he honestly didn't hear the pastor--or he was trying to be funny. Either way, as the vows continue, it's almost like the commitments that bind us get a little tighter...and then a little tighter....and then a little tighter.

I don't think anyone is trying to be intentionally deceiving, but as in all things that are worthwhile--it doesn't always get easier the longer you work at it.

To go from an unbeliever to a nominal Christian does not demand much of us. But to go from nominal Christian to a true disciple of Jesus Christ demands SO much!

This is the story that we've been talking about for the past 4 weeks. If you haven't been able to join us, we've been going through our membership vows and looking at them through the eyes of Stewardship. But more than that, we've been looking at them all through the eyes of discipleship--you see, early on we discussed the reality that our membership means very little in terms of our eternal salvation, but that a major significant part of it is the form and pattern that it sets out for us to be on this journey of true discipleship.

So, we started looking at our prayers, then our presence, then our gifts, then our service, and this week we explore our witness.

Just like the Apostle's Creed or our wedding vows, our vows to join a specific group of people in membership and discipleship get a little harder with each new commitment.

Prayer? Sure--I can pray anywhere. After all, there's no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole. I'll pray when things get really hard.

Presence? I guess I can give up my Sunday brunch once in a while and show up to church.

Gifts? Wait...God wants me to trust him with MY money? I'm just supposed to GIVE my hard earned money back to God!? Well, that's a little bit more demanding on me, but I have extra so I guess it's not that big of a deal.

Service? Ok, hold on a cotton picking second! I can make more money, but I can't make more time!!! You're honestly telling me that I'm supposed to show up and volunteer my efforts? Can't I just give more money? Well--ok...but I'm doing this under protest.

And now...witness. I vow to uphold this body of Christ by my WITNESS.

You heard it right...part of being a disciple of Jesus is sharing your faith. As Peter puts it, giving an account for the hope that is within you. But...why? Why would we need to be ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us? Primarily because we should be living a different life than the world around us. And that should start conversations.

Francis Assissi is attributed to the quote "preach the gospel always, use words when necessary."

While this is amazing encouragement and instruction, the harsh reality is that if we never used our words, the many of our lives wouldn't tell the Gospel of Jesus Christ. EVEN IF you lived the holiest life possible, in todays world of moral relativism and the attitude of "I'm a good person" it is unlikely that your life, without words, would speak the Gospel of Jesus to anyone. It's much more likely that your good life would be attributed to your caring spirit, heart for humanity, or perhaps something more derogatory from someone on the assumed opposite political spectrum from you.

The reality is, that in 2020--with the world getting "nicer" but not "holier" we need to use our words. And it's more than just an ecclesial imperative, it is an assumed command from Jesus himself.

Jesus and the disciples were out walking one day, and Jesus stopped them to ask who people said the Son of Man was. They reported that some said John the Baptist was the Son of Man. Some said that Elijah or one of the prophets was the Son of Man. Then Jesus makes a marked shift...he asks them who they, the disciples, say that Jesus is...who am I? Peter responds that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus then responds in the affirmative that Peter has received this wisdom from God himself and that Jesus will build his church upon it.

When Jesus proclaimed that Peter’s confession of Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the Living God” that would be the rock upon which Jesus built the church—he finished by saying that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. This is not a rock that is planted—this is a rock on the move. Gates are stationary, meant to guard and keep things out. Rocks, on the other hand, move all the time--it takes the right situation and the right force, but rocks on the move are some of the most earth changing and earth shaping forces the world has ever seen!

So how does this rock move--through our testimony! The rock wasn't Peter--though it has been interpreted often and in certain circles this way--the rock was the testimony of Peter. "Who do you SAY that I am?"

Y'all, this moment, this commitment to supporting the church through our witness is possible the most demanding thing asked of us. To share your faith. Yet, as the most challenging, it is also the one that will finish the task at hand.

What we're talking about here, to. use some scientific language, is a change of state. Let's get nerdy for a second and talk about boiling water. To get your water, in liquid form, from 20º to 212º of liquid, takes 80 calories per gram of water. Calorie being the standard unit of energy...but to take it from 212º of liquid water to a vapor takes just a "bit" more. To make the change of state takes 540 calories per gram of water. That means that it would take 6.75 times the energy to make the change of state than simply upping the temperature.

Potentially, what that means for us is that to make that last step in our journey of discipleship will take more energy than we've already put in, in its entirety. It means doing that harder thing. It means committing to being ready to give an account for the hope that is within you.

And friends, if you don't think that in the next few months we will need to show the world that there is a hope outside of political forces that we hold on to dearly, and then should be ready to proclaim that hope--buckle up. The gates of hell are all around us--but by the hope proclaimed, by the verbal witness that we have within us--those gates will not prevail.

Will you pray with me?