This morning we received a good reminder that one evidence of having God's Spirit in us is that we WILL be His witnesses. But it is also good to remember that being His witness is more than evangelism. It certainly IS evangelism but it is also more than evangelism. It includes how we think, talk, and act in our everyday lives. Jesus says to let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify God (Mat 5:16). Jesus also tells us that in the way we love one another will be a witness to Him (Jn 13:35). We are also told that we are to be His witnesses through our suffering and persecution (Mat 24:9, Lk 21:12-17, Rom 8:36).
Perhaps Romans 12:1 says it best. We are to present our very bodies (our whole selves) as a living and holy sacrifice because that is our spiritual act of worship to God. It is by the way we live that we proclaim our worship and display the object of our worship. If we try to evangelize (as a specific activity) without presenting ourselves a living and holy sacrifice to God, the people with whom we are sharing the gospel will see the message as hypocritical. Or at best they will see it as inconsistent and therefore lacking power and validity. So by all means we should and must evangelize, but we must also remember to be His witnesses means so much more. It means we must give ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice and thereby live a lifestyle of worship displaying to the world that which we love most - our object of worship - our great and glorious God!
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