Witness Protection
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.’”
Jesus, recorded in, Acts 1:8 esvbible.org
Witness protection.
The followers of Jesus are in witness protection.
Right out in the open.
And some don’t even know it.
Not many things strike as much fear in the hearts of Christians as when someone tells us that we have to personally “witness for Jesus”, that we’re to be ready at any moment to “share our testimony”, or “tell others the good news”, or, “to spread the gospel”.
Wait a minute. At our church don’t we pay people to do that?
Well, in every church, what we’re really to be paying people to do is to teach us, encourage us, and pray for us to do that.
Being a witness for the gospel of Jesus Christ is the privilege and honor and undertaking for every Christian.
Never mind that the Greek word, in the Bible, translated as “witness”, is also the Greek word from which we get our word, “martyr”. Oh.
There are numerous programs offered to train people to do personal evangelism. Some not bad, and others not so good.
But the best training is to just do what Jesus calls us to do.
For example, when we witness, say, an accident, and either the police or one of the people in the accident asks us to be a witness, all we’re expected to do is tell or write exactly what we saw or heard. No more. No less.
When we become a Christian, when we confess our sin, and repent of our sin, and by grace alone, through faith alone, receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, we have the gospel.
And that’s what we’re called and commissioned to do, to tell others the same truth that we have discovered in the Bible.
And, by the promise of Jesus, we don’t do any witnessing on our own. We do it all in the presence, power, preparedness, plan and protection of the Holy Spirit.
In our text Jesus informs His followers that they will only be able to witness effectively after they have received the Holy Spirit. This is the same Holy Spirit we receive at the very moment we become a Christian, a follower of Jesus.
“In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”
(Ephesians 1:13–14)
“And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” (2 Corinthians 1:21–22)
Any attempt we make to witness on our own will just end up relying on some kind of method or manipulation
1. Authentic witnessing is done with the presence of the Spirit.
He indwells not only us, as the witnesses, but He is also the One who as work in the minds and hearts of those to whom we witness, just as He was with us before we became Christians.
Jesus told the disciples that this is part of the work of the Spirit, as Jesus calls Him here, the Helper:
“‘Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.’” (John 16:7–11)
2. Authentic witnessing is done by the power of the Spirit.
This is the very foundation of our text. We have no effectual power in our words (and yes, witnessing has to include words), apart from the Holy Spirit.
Paul told the Christians in Corinth that this was how he was able to witness anywhere he was sent.
“And my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.”
(1 Corinthians 2:4)
When we witness for the gospel we are never alone.
3. Authentic witnessing is done under the protection of the Spirit.
Jesus told the disciples that some of their opportunities to witness will come under hostile conditions, but not to worry.
“‘And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.’” (Mark 13:11)
Jesus was never intimidated when He was speaking to the leaders of Israel, and He was not intimidated when He was speaking to Pilate.
The apostles were not intimidated when they were told to stop witnessing.
“So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.’” (Acts 4:18–20)
There’s the best answer when someone asks us why we speak of the gospel, and why we share our testimony.
“I just can’t help it!”
Do not fear. As witnesses for Jesus we are always in the presence of the Spirit, in the power of the Spirit and under the protection of the Spirit.
Go ahead!
Speak it!
Use your words!
Fear not!
Soli Deo gloria!

