Act Twenty Two

Paul a Witness (v.15)

A witness can give testimony in a court of law. A witness can give credible evidence to aid the defense or prosecution of a case. An expert witness is not as good as an eye witness. We do not have to be “experts.” A court of law or a Gospel testimony is no place for “here say.” A believer must be believable. Paul had a dramatic story to tell. Not every believer shares the excitement of a Damascus Road experience, but every believer must be able to tell about the time and place they personally saw “the light” (v.6) saw that they were sinners and Jesus Christ as the only Savior of sinners. Jesus is called the “Just One.” There is just one Just One. As Paul would later write, “The Just died for the unjust, just once.”

People are not saved in groups (v.9). People come to faith, one by one. And everyone who has a personal faith experience is a witness. “Thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.”

There are times when testifying for Christ amounts to testifying against ourselves, It amounts to a "confession." Hopefully, we will convict ourselves of being a Christian. Today unfortunately, for many, there is precious little evidence or proof to convince a jury that we are actually followers of Jesus Christ. Our life should give clear evidence that we hate the sin that Christ had to die for, and love Him as Savior and Lord. Every testimony should include three parts. 1) What we were before we were a believer. 2) How we came to see that Christ was the only Savior. 3) Lastly what we are now because of Christ came into our life. Paul confessed to being a man who “persecuted” the believers to his shame, and in so doing was actually attacking Christ Himself.

Likewise, when people visit our assembly it should be absolutely clear that we believe in the necessity of the new birth and a life that is consistent with being born from above.