Witness

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

In John 15:26 Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would bear witness about Him. In Acts 1:8, Jesus said His followers would be witnesses…”My witnesses.” A witness has only one role – to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Therefore, there is only one requirement to be a witness – you must have personally seen or experienced that which you are witnessing about. There is a legal term, hearsay, which is not accepted testimony from a witness. A witness is not allowed to bear witness of what someone else saw or experienced. Only personal experience and knowledge is admissible in court.

The Holy Spirit bears witness of Jesus. He doesn’t talk about religion. The Holy Spirit doesn’t talk about church. He talks about Jesus…who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. Just as a compass will always point to the north, the Holy Spirit will always point to Jesus. The same should be true of us as Christ’s followers.

We have not been saved by a religion or by a church. Jesus has saved us. Our knowledge and experience is of Him. The purpose of our bearing witness is not to ask people to adopt a philosophy, live out a principle, or start a new practice. The purpose of bearing witness is to invite people to accept a person, and His name is Jesus.

Dear Lord, the free gift of salvation is the best give I've ever been given, and I want to tell others about that gift as well. Help me to be bold in sharing my faith with others so that they might come to know you. In Jesus' name, amen.