Witnessing
As a
Doctrines of Grace Believer
By Dr. Ken
Matto
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is
come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
The question normally arises among many who believe in
free will, “If God is going to save a certain amount of people, then what is the
purpose of witnessing?” We witness
based on five reasons and there may be more:
1) And he said
unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
(Mark 16:15)
The first major reason we witness is because we are
commanded to. The word “preach” can
also be understood as “proclaim” and is in the Imperative Mood making it a
command. The Lord Jesus Christ
himself gave the marching order to the church to take the gospel to the whole
world until the last one is saved.
2) And he called
his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till
I come. (Luke 19:13)
The second reason that we witness is because we are
commanded to “occupy” until he returns.
The word “occupy” is in the Imperative Mood making it a command.
The Lord did not save Christians to become an army of couch potatoes to
stare at their phones till he returns.
We are to be involved in the Great Commission till the day we go home.
Our responsibility is to get the gospel out to the world and not sit home
and watch sports or the Bachelorette.
Those Christians who are doing nothing, what will you say to the Lord on
the day you meet him?
3) Now then we
are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray
you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20)
The third main reason is that we are ambassadors for the
Kingdom of God. We represent the
Heavenly Kingdom of God, God the Father, and God the Son to the world just as an
ambassador represents their nation to another.
It is a high political position in any country.
Shouldn’t we view it as the highest calling since we represent the
greatest and exalted kingdom of the Most High God?
We Christians get to show the world a better way than being slaves to the
kingdom of Satan and just seeing each day as the same old grind.
4) All that the
Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. (John 6:37)
The fourth main
reason is that we do not know who the Elect of God are.
Can you look out over a great city like Philadelphia or Tokyo and point
out the Elect of God? Of course we
cannot. Those named before the
foundation of the world are known only to the Father and as he has determined
the date of salvation for each one, they are given to the Lord Jesus Christ and
are saved. This is a great mystery
but that is how it is.
Romans 10:17
states that faith comes by hearing the word of God and that is why we go out so
the Elect can hear or read the gospel and if that day is their time of
visitation then they will become saved.
Sometimes it is future. I
heard the first true presentation of the Gospel when I was 12 but did not get
saved till I was 27. Another major
reason why we go out and bring the
gospel because while we are bringing the gospel, those who are unsaved will hear
us and have no excuse on Judgment day.
The LORD hath made all
things for himself: yea, even
the wicked for the day of evil. (Proverbs 16:4)
Proverbs 16:4 states the LORD made the wicked, that is, those who would
never become saved especially for the day of Judgment.
5) But ye shall
receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be
witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto
the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
The fifth reason that we go out with the gospel is that
we are witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ and what he has done in our lives.
We witness to the fact that Christ is real and that he has made a great
difference in our lives. The
drunkard becomes sober! The drug
addict becomes clean! The sex
addict is cured! Families are
brought back together! Smokers are
delivered! Greed is checked! The
world no longer looks the same but now a person sees it as a fleeting abyss with
all its traps.
Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I
none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth
rise up and walk. (Acts 3:6)
Peter was a poor man but he witnessed to the lame man and gave him what he had
and that was Jesus and the lame man was healed.
We may not have much gold and silver but we can witness to a hurting
person with what we have and that is the true gospel which gives massive hope in
a hopeless world.
Summary
Belief in the biblical doctrines of Election and Predestination in no way negates our responsibility to take the gospel to the whole world. Our ministry can be local or it can be worldwide if the Lord takes it to that extent. These five reasons will help those who struggle with the mistaken notion that just because God has named those whom he planned to save does not mean we disobey the commands of the Great Commission. We are still under marching orders and in no way should we ever nullify our obedience to the Lord.