Acts 1:8, Matthew 5:14-16, Acts 4:20
3 Characteristics of a Witness
There are certain characteristics that identify a witness for Christ. Let’s take a look at what they are and see if you identify with any of them.
We are called to be a witness.
We should live out our faith so that people see Christ in us.
We must not neglect to speak about him.
First and foremost, you are called to be a witness as Acts 1:8 declares. In this verse, the word “will” is used and it shows us that the act of witnessing is inevitable. Furthermore, it’s in relation to being filled with the Holy Spirit and it’s by the Holy Spirit we have the ability to be a witness. It is a mandate that we be a witness to the people around us once we accept Christ as Lord.
In the Message translation of Matthew 5, we get this beautiful illustration of the way we should be representing Christ. A witness is something we naturally are as we live out our life for Jesus; our love and commitment should shine forth in order to point people to God. Living our lives so that others see Christ in us is essential. If we only tell people about God and yet neglect to show them a glimpse of Him within ourselves, we have only empty words.
Finally, in Acts 4 we are instructed to be verbal about who He is. One commentator wrote, “There has to be a verbal witness because there cannot be communication of important convictions without language. We must use words because our faith must be something vastly greater than ourselves. We make a witness by telling not who we are but whose we are.”
If you want to be an effective and authentic witness for Christ you must both live out your faith in action and verbalize how good God is. Start with that and God will use you to reach others.
