Witness or a witness?

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I originally sent this not to long ago but did it at at time of great
dicussion over organizations and such.  So for anyone who might
of missed it, here it is again.......
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Are you a witness, or a witness?

I would love to dialogue and make this a "pretty" little story that
fits into our christian living, but I cannot think of any way to put it
across nicely.  So with that in mind, I go on with this thought.

This question came to me one day when I overheard some
people talking about their jewish faith.  One of the guys stood
back and watched the other guy get made fun of because he
was a jew.  After the incident occured, the other guy made it
known to the attacked guy, that he was a jew too.  He
apologized for not stepping in and helping him but was afraid of
getting made fun of too.  The guy which was attacked looked at
the other and said, the reason he was being attacked is because
he stood up for what he believed and he was not about to let
anyone put his faith down.  He went on to say that the reason
this other guy stood there and did not help was because he was
unsure of what he believed or afraid to make a stand.

Today, we as Apostolics sometimes do as either of these men
do.  This is where the question comes in, are you a witness, or
a witness?  You see one of the witnesses is those that are either
unsure about their faith or just afraid to stand up for what they
believe in.  They don't want to be made fun of, or they don't want
to be attacked or disliked by others.  These are the "sideline"
witnesses.  They are not involved in anything outside the
church, that would connect them with their faith.  They act like
the world when talking to others and never bring up church or
salvation.  They are the ones that mumble when someone asks
what church they go to.  They are the ones that only witness
what is going on around them and do nothing to change it.

The other witness is the one that stands up for what they
believe.  They will defend their faith and take the punishment the
world deals to them.  They are the ones that go out and hand
out tracts, tell people the good news of Jesus and His saving
hand.  They are the ones who look and talk Christian.  They are
the ones who are not afraid to bring up Jesus in conversation.
They are the ones who can proudly say what church they attend.
They are the ones out witnessing to others and doing what they
can to bring the unsaved to Jesus.

I bring up Paul as an example of a witness.  He boldly walked
into the synagoges where the Jews worshipped and told them
the "good news".  He was beaten, made fun of, imprisoned for
his beliefs.  He could of sat back and acted like the world and
ecscaped much of this, but he refused to be a "sideline" witness.

The Bible says we are to go out and spread this good news.
What is this good news?  That Jesus is alive and well!  That if
we want to live eternal life with Him, we must repent of our sins,
 and be baptized in Jesus name.  After this, we are promised the
gift of the Holy Ghost.  Many today will not agree with what we
have to say about salvation.  Some don't want to because they
don't want to believe that what has been passed on generation
after generation in their family is a lie.  They will curse at us, spit
at us, and many Apostolics will be attacked for doing this.  If we
do not stand up for our beliefs and witness to the lost, who will
do the witnessing for us?

Decide today, are you going to be a witness, or a witness?

Chris Sterrett	9-11-96


Chris Sterrett
sterrett@juno.com
-------------------------------
Apostolic Bible Church
Acts2.38@juno.com