Post by Les Brewer on Nov 19, 2020 17:58:09 GMT
Why Witness?
Spiritual life involves being a witness of what Christ has done in our lives. He saved us from our sins to walk in his righteousness. We are living in dark times when even those whom claim to be spiritual are just as worldly as the world. They love the things of men rather than the things of God and it is seen by their actions which do not line up with the word of God. The hearts of mankind are hardened to hearing the truth of God’s wonderful redemption and many will not receive sound doctrine because of it.
(20) But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
(21) Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
(22) And of some have compassion, making a difference:
(23) And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Jude 1:20-23 KJV
Compassion that makes a difference is seeing sinners who need Christ and to witness the love of God through preaching Christ in hopes that their eyes will be opened to the truth. When we get saved we develop a healthy hatred for sin and its devastating effects; hence an eternity in hell. We want to pull people out of the fire before it’s too late! Yet:
When a person is in the prison of their own preconceptions those preconceived ideas have a tendency to harden their hearts against the truth of the gospel. A heart that is hardened usually has to be abruptly and rudely woken to the truth. Usually this takes a tragedy or travesty of some kind to breakdown that hard wall they’ve built to stop truth from coming in.
I don’t have to be woke to be aware of the debauchery that’s invasive and intrusive in our society. The immorally that is rampant but acceptable by the masses hardens hearts to the truth of sin’s consequences. When preachers dilute the truth and compromise their preaching for sake of popularity that enhances the problem by not calling out sin. The forerunner to Jesus was John the Baptist who preached against sin and hypocrisy; then we find that when Jesus was baptized and tried of the devil in the wilderness for 40 days he came out and his message was to repent of sin and receive the good news (gospel).
Today that message is needed to win souls; but it should be preempted by prayer for the hardness of hearts to be soften no matter what it takes to humble them to the point of receiving the gospel. I understand that what wins one to Christ may push another one away! He that wins souls is wise if he is led by the Holy Spirit in preaching the gospel. The greasy grace messages today massage sin and produce half-hearted Christians who can’t stand up under the scrutiny of the devil and messages which preach about the holiness of God.
You can’t tell me that God is alright with what he is against. He sent his only begotten son; born of a virgin; that lived a sinless life; who was brutally beaten and crucified because we were born in sin to save us from sin. King David acknowledged this sin nature in Psalms 51.
(5) Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
(6) Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
(7) Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalms 51:5-7 KJV
The bible teaches us that without the shedding of blood there is no redemption for sin; Jesus shed his blood so that we could be free from sin; not to continue to walk in sin. Brethren; if we are in compliance with the mandate of the word of God; or the Great Commission we will be concerned about the destiny of even the most ardent sinner.
(8) For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
(9) (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
(10) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
(11) And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Ephesians 5:8-11 KJV
We have no fellowship with the darkness of this world; we do not partake in those works as children of the Most High God. Our walk is supposed to prove we are in intimate fellowship with God walking in the light of the word of God. Our responsibility is to reprove the unfruitful works of darkness.
I remember when I was told to get a real job because I was pastoring and evangelizing the gospel. Anyone who has pastored or evangelized in a full time capacity knows how much work they do! Some people go to college to get a job; pastors study for their whole lives to win people to Jesus so they’ll go to heaven for eternity. What’s more important? Is it the temporary or the eternal? I have stood for hours preaching and then praying for hundreds of people at a time. I remember losing friends and family because I chose to obey the call of God instead of the call of sin. You see; I had seen the light. My life was in total darkness and debauchery and then one day after years of denial I received a witness of the gospel. I was at wit’s end and desperate to have something to live for; I had lived my life in sin and riotous living. Yet this time when I heard the gospel it was music to my ears. I started going to church and on my seventh attendance I gave my heart to Jesus!
As long as a person is a sinner it doesn’t matter how many good works they do! Many in the world think that if they can do good deeds and are generous over the holidays that God will smile on them and they will make it past the pearly gates upon their death.
(8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
(9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.
(10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 KJV
It’s time to wake up unto the righteousness of Christ and to do the will of God and be a light to those around us. God is calling us all to witness the gospel and to have compassion on others by caring enough to tell them the truth concerning sin’s consequences. Selah
Bishop D. Ray Ritchie
Spiritual life involves being a witness of what Christ has done in our lives. He saved us from our sins to walk in his righteousness. We are living in dark times when even those whom claim to be spiritual are just as worldly as the world. They love the things of men rather than the things of God and it is seen by their actions which do not line up with the word of God. The hearts of mankind are hardened to hearing the truth of God’s wonderful redemption and many will not receive sound doctrine because of it.
(20) But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
(21) Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
(22) And of some have compassion, making a difference:
(23) And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
Jude 1:20-23 KJV
Compassion that makes a difference is seeing sinners who need Christ and to witness the love of God through preaching Christ in hopes that their eyes will be opened to the truth. When we get saved we develop a healthy hatred for sin and its devastating effects; hence an eternity in hell. We want to pull people out of the fire before it’s too late! Yet:
When a person is in the prison of their own preconceptions those preconceived ideas have a tendency to harden their hearts against the truth of the gospel. A heart that is hardened usually has to be abruptly and rudely woken to the truth. Usually this takes a tragedy or travesty of some kind to breakdown that hard wall they’ve built to stop truth from coming in.
I don’t have to be woke to be aware of the debauchery that’s invasive and intrusive in our society. The immorally that is rampant but acceptable by the masses hardens hearts to the truth of sin’s consequences. When preachers dilute the truth and compromise their preaching for sake of popularity that enhances the problem by not calling out sin. The forerunner to Jesus was John the Baptist who preached against sin and hypocrisy; then we find that when Jesus was baptized and tried of the devil in the wilderness for 40 days he came out and his message was to repent of sin and receive the good news (gospel).
Today that message is needed to win souls; but it should be preempted by prayer for the hardness of hearts to be soften no matter what it takes to humble them to the point of receiving the gospel. I understand that what wins one to Christ may push another one away! He that wins souls is wise if he is led by the Holy Spirit in preaching the gospel. The greasy grace messages today massage sin and produce half-hearted Christians who can’t stand up under the scrutiny of the devil and messages which preach about the holiness of God.
You can’t tell me that God is alright with what he is against. He sent his only begotten son; born of a virgin; that lived a sinless life; who was brutally beaten and crucified because we were born in sin to save us from sin. King David acknowledged this sin nature in Psalms 51.
(5) Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
(6) Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
(7) Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalms 51:5-7 KJV
The bible teaches us that without the shedding of blood there is no redemption for sin; Jesus shed his blood so that we could be free from sin; not to continue to walk in sin. Brethren; if we are in compliance with the mandate of the word of God; or the Great Commission we will be concerned about the destiny of even the most ardent sinner.
(8) For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
(9) (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
(10) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
(11) And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Ephesians 5:8-11 KJV
We have no fellowship with the darkness of this world; we do not partake in those works as children of the Most High God. Our walk is supposed to prove we are in intimate fellowship with God walking in the light of the word of God. Our responsibility is to reprove the unfruitful works of darkness.
I remember when I was told to get a real job because I was pastoring and evangelizing the gospel. Anyone who has pastored or evangelized in a full time capacity knows how much work they do! Some people go to college to get a job; pastors study for their whole lives to win people to Jesus so they’ll go to heaven for eternity. What’s more important? Is it the temporary or the eternal? I have stood for hours preaching and then praying for hundreds of people at a time. I remember losing friends and family because I chose to obey the call of God instead of the call of sin. You see; I had seen the light. My life was in total darkness and debauchery and then one day after years of denial I received a witness of the gospel. I was at wit’s end and desperate to have something to live for; I had lived my life in sin and riotous living. Yet this time when I heard the gospel it was music to my ears. I started going to church and on my seventh attendance I gave my heart to Jesus!
As long as a person is a sinner it doesn’t matter how many good works they do! Many in the world think that if they can do good deeds and are generous over the holidays that God will smile on them and they will make it past the pearly gates upon their death.
(8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
(9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.
(10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 KJV
It’s time to wake up unto the righteousness of Christ and to do the will of God and be a light to those around us. God is calling us all to witness the gospel and to have compassion on others by caring enough to tell them the truth concerning sin’s consequences. Selah
Bishop D. Ray Ritchie
