Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Robert Murray McCheyne
4 Ways to Witness Without Appearing Like You Are
One of Jesus’ last commands to his disciples is to go out into the world and spread the Good News. That’s right. All Christians are told by Jesus to spread the gospel to all corners of the world. We’re talking all language groups, all cultures, all races, all walks of life. Jesus means all.
It’s easy for any individual Christian to feel that the Commission is such a big responsibility. They think you need to become a missionary. However, you don’t need to go to this extreme. The way you treat other people speaks way more about real Christian truths than whatever words come out of your mouth. As Robert Murray McCheyne said, make it easy for others to believe in God. In other words.the way we live our lives is a powerful way of witnessing for Jesus. Here are four ways to witness without appearing like you’re witnessing:
Witnessing tip #1: Keep your word
If you want to be a good ambassador for Christian living and Christian truth, do one simple thing: keep your word. When you make a promise, deliver on it. This is a big deal because in this modern world, it’s very common for people to break their word. In fact, we have reached a stage where it’s almost expected that our promises to each other are by necessity bound by convenience.
If you are that one person in the crowd that always follows through and always delivers, you stand out in a major way. You become the exception and when you become the exception, people look to you. You become credible and authoritative. The moment you talk about Jesus Christ, people will listen because they see in your life that Jesus is real.
Witnessing tip #2: Don’t be a hypocrite
One of the biggest problems people have with Christians is they sometimes say one thing and they do another. Christians are not alone in this because the world as a whole focuses on convenience, expediency and pleasure. When those are your motivating values, it’s very easy to put on a show and pretend you’re subscribing to a set of values, while living your life contrary to them.
When you refuse to play the game and you mean what you say and say what you mean, you stand out from the crowd. People sit up and take notice. If you are that solid rock of constancy and instability while everybody else is always changing and going with the flow or going with what’s easy, it’s easier for people to take your word. It becomes easier for people to listen to you. Why? You are not a hypocrite. You are the real deal.
Witnessing tip #3: Treat everyone equally well
One of the most common human traits is to love our friends and hate our enemies. It’s human to forgive people that we like. However, it’s also human to hold a grudge against people that we don’t like. When you treat other people well and you’re quick to forgive, you live out Christian values. As you know, Jesus said, “Love your enemies” and “Turn the other cheek.”
Our lives must be driven by the value of love. Nothing expresses love for our fellow human beings more than treating others well. You don’t just treat people well that that have all the same traits as you. When you treat everybody well, regardless of where they come from, their educational level, how well they treat you or how mean they treat you, you stand out. When you act and live this way makes it easy for others to believe in God.
Witnessing tip #4: Always remember you’re a sinner
One of the biggest drawbacks of witnessing as a Christian to non-believers is that you’re always compared to other Christians that went before you and unfortunately, not all Christians treat other people the way Christians should treat other people. Some Christian brothers and sisters are self-righteous and find it easy to judge and condemn others.
When you always remember that you’re a sinner, you develop a sense of humility that leads to less self-righteousness. When you’re less self-righteous, you’re less judgmental and you become more approachable to other people. This means that your words regarding Jesus Christ have a higher chance of resonating with other people because they’re less resistant to you.
Conclusion
Keep the tips above in mind when you are witnessing through your daily living experience. You have to remember that being a witness for Christ doesn’t necessarily mean getting on a ship and going to the other side of the planet to become a missionary. You can witness where you are. The best form of witnessing is to live out Jesus Christ’s love in your daily life.
