Always a Witness
So that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.
Philippians 1:13
Being a witness for God originated in the Old Testament, not the New. Three times (Isaiah 43:10, 12; 44:8) God told the Jews that they were to be “My witnesses” among the nations. Witnesses to what? To the fact that their God was the only true God among the impotent idols worshiped by others. Wherever they went—especially in captivity in Babylon—they were to be witnesses for God.
Jesus gave the same responsibility to the Spirit-empowered Church: “You shall be witnesses to Me...to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Like the captive Jews in Babylon, the apostle Paul found himself in captivity more than once. But even in his difficulties, he never failed to be a witness for Christ. In his first Roman imprisonment, it became known to everyone that he was an ambassador in chains (Acts 28:30-31). The responsibility to witness for Christ is not only for when it is convenient but also for wherever God leads us. Think afresh today about your life as a witness for Christ; ask God to make you mindful of opportunities to speak for Him. Every believer is a witness whether he wants to be or not. Donald Grey Barnhouse
Turning Point Ministries
So that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ.
Philippians 1:13
Being a witness for God originated in the Old Testament, not the New. Three times (Isaiah 43:10, 12; 44:8) God told the Jews that they were to be “My witnesses” among the nations. Witnesses to what? To the fact that their God was the only true God among the impotent idols worshiped by others. Wherever they went—especially in captivity in Babylon—they were to be witnesses for God.
Jesus gave the same responsibility to the Spirit-empowered Church: “You shall be witnesses to Me...to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Like the captive Jews in Babylon, the apostle Paul found himself in captivity more than once. But even in his difficulties, he never failed to be a witness for Christ. In his first Roman imprisonment, it became known to everyone that he was an ambassador in chains (Acts 28:30-31). The responsibility to witness for Christ is not only for when it is convenient but also for wherever God leads us. Think afresh today about your life as a witness for Christ; ask God to make you mindful of opportunities to speak for Him. Every believer is a witness whether he wants to be or not. Donald Grey Barnhouse
Turning Point Ministries
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