BEARING WITNESS: NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS

John 1: 1-9

Witnessing does not come easily to most Presbyterians. Most of us do not go two by two knocking on stranger’s doors in neighborhoods, the way some faith groups do. Most of us are not standing on a street corner with a sandwich board like the man did in Deland pictured on the front page of the Friday newspaper; most of us do not stand on street corners and confront others about repenting or burning in h-e-l-l. The 29 year old woman in Raleigh, NC is not a Presbyterian who drives around in her car with the words “Save the Date!” all over it, insisting that Christ will return on May 21^st of this year. A few Presbyterians might make the giant John 3:16 poster and take it to a football game so that a camera can be trained your way and thus, you become an accomplice in witnessing! Around Halloween some other churches hold awful fright night haunted houses and keep terrified visiting youth locked in until they confess Jesus as Lord. It is no wonder, with those choices for witnessing, that Presbyterians want no part of them. But we would be foolish to want no part of witnessing. In fact, we would stop being New Testament Christians; we would be ignoring prophets like John; and we would be turning away from the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ that we are meant to carry out. How can we witness in authentic ways for us? The world needs a corrective to the ways other zealous Christians have witnessed to their faith. We need the zeal, we need the message, and we need the faith; we just need a better way to share it. Today, spurred on by the wonderful words in John chapter one, we will examine first the ways others have witnessed to their faith. Then we will look at the text about John’s message, and finally we will learn how to bear witness: nothing more, and nothing less.

First, here are some approaches I have experienced myself, and perhaps you have too. One I call the “bulldozer approach.” This is the person, whether a stranger on the street, in an airport, or on your doorstep who bowls you over with a stream of arguments, backed up by memorized Scripture passages. This approach produces a one-way conversation since they won’t take “no” for an answer! They want you to commit your life to Christ right then and there, and if you don’t, in bulldozer fashion, they scoop you up and push you along whether you willfully agree to go or not. That approach to witnesses never won me over; did it work for you? On the notebook in my mind I write: “No bulldozer approach for me!” Another method I’ve seen I’ll call the “decoy approach:” a person will use something like the decoy of friendship when what they want most is to convert you. I’ve had people approach me in public places, ask me my name, and then continue using it as they walk with me in lock-step, re-using my first name in every sentence. The trick is to dangle the appeal of a new friend in front of you and then, in the name of friendship, ask you to become their brand of Christianity. This one is harder to refuse because they have already learned your name and pulling away is difficult. The approach starts to feel predatory, and people wish they had never engaged in the conversation in the first place. On the notebook in my mind I write: “No decoy approach for me!” Finally, another method I’ve seen used I’ll call “the jealousy approach.” This method is evident when a group of persons treat their Christian love as something so special and selective that you are not a part of them unless you join their church. It is a kind of snob approach. John the Baptist proclaimed his message to anyone who would hear it. Jesus showed his love to any who would accept it: tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, and others who were shunned. The love of Christ is something that we too are called to share, but to those who only welcome those who agree to join their church or youth group, I make a mental note in my mind: “No jealousy approach for me!”

John chapter one records that John was a prophet sent from God to give testimony: to bear witness to the light. The old gospel song says “Jesus is the light is the, light of the world!” It is today’s passage where we learn John is not the light; he is pointing to the light; he is preaching about Jesus! That was his chosen way to witness. Witnessing in the New Testament, and for faithful Christians today, is done so that all may receive him and believe in his name. ( verse 12) When this gospel was written, there were many small splinter groups that wanted to call John the Baptist the light; to call him the anointed one. To fight that belief, this gospel over-emphasizes the fact that John is a messenger: he is sent to bear witness to the light: nothing more, nothing less. He is not the Christ; he is, in fact, inferior to the Christ. He simply points to him. John exhibits insistent humility, directing people who might want to follow him, and he points to Jesus.

Second, we can learn from John. We too are called to witness. Just like those Jesus called by the Sea of Galilee to follow him, Jesus has called each of us in unique ways to be witnesses. At Pentecost, he told his disciples that they would be his witnesses. The most powerful way you can witnesses to someone else is to tell them what the Lord has done in your life, or has meant to you, or how the Lord has carried you the muck and mire of tragedy. We call friends about great sales, or to warn them about impending storms, or to check on their health. But we stop short of saying to our unchurched friends and neighbors, “I don’t know what I would do without Jesus in my life!” We can go a step farther by saying to friend: “Hey! We’ve got a wonderful church! Why don’t you come with me next Sunday?” If Jesus is the Good News at Christmas, he could save or bless a friend in 2011.

Third, let’s look at the categories. Some here today fall into the “nothing less” category.” You are called to do nothing less than to tell others about Jesus, though it is much easier just to do nothing. If that is you: the Prophet John’s example is a call to action: one that begs you to share your faith with someone else. Some of the most memorable times in Sunday School, Elder training, and Disciple classes have been when class members shared their faith. I can imagine the voice in some of your heads: “I can’t share my faith with someone else! My faith isn’t that strong and I don’t know the Bible that well!” But if you have that voice in your head you are perfect for the job! Others are afraid they way you are afraid, and it is in your faith sharing that you will connect. Witnessing, according to D.T. Niles, “Is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” It is one miner donning a lighted hard hat and putting one on the head of a friend and say: “Let’s explore our faith together and see what we can learn at church today!” People are happy to hear that you don’t have it all together; but you can join them in their journey for truth and meaning. Most Presbyterians have already witnessed to their faith in one way: by following their Christian values and living Christian lives. By doing that, many believe that we are following the John 1 example and the Matthew 28 Great Commission. But we aren’t! We aren’t quite if we don’t put our invitation in to words. You may visit a shoe store having a fabulous sale, and crowds may cause people to check out what’s going on, but a phone call to a friend is a sure way to get the word out! We have to open our mouths; just as when we’ve heard other good news … or bad news … we start talking, or texting, or calling. We have news to tell, or text, or call, not just act out! And if your faith is shaky, remember that even Peter denied knowing Jesus three times! But it was not on just his actions; it was on his words that Jesus built his church: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” He is still building it, but it will only grow on testimonies just like that.

Sadly, we have also witnessed people who need to be reminded to bear witness, but nothing more. Those come from super-excited Christians or charismatic, magnetic preachers on television or in mega churches who begin to give in to the sin of pride and they begin to act like they are the light, not just a witness to the light. Our job description is to bear witness, and no more.

As we begin this new year, making resolutions is fresh on people’s minds. Can you decide to tell another person about your faith and your doubts; can you decide to invite another friend or new neighbor to come with you to church, or to meet you at church? I am a Presbyterian because as the new family on the block in St. Louis in 1967, our next door neighbors invited us to their church- thus the Methodist Sumner family became Presbyterians on an invitation! How can you change someone else’s life by inviting them to join you in finding and following … thy light of the world?

Jeffrey A. Sumner January 2, 2011