Compelling Witness
Today’s Verse:
So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. ~Romans 1:15
Whenever a prosecutor prepares to take a criminal case to trial, he knows the importance of having witnesses that are credible and compelling. A compelling witness completely persuades the jury that what he saw and heard was real and unmistaken. When we apply this analogy to the witness of a Christian, we must ask ourselves, “Is my witness for Christ compelling?” Is my witness strong enough and in the power of the Holy Spirit to where the person I am witnessing to desires Christ in his life? Paul gives us three essentials to be a compelling witness.
Paul was driven with duty.
“I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.” A debtor is someone who owes money to another person. A debt is a legal obligation to repay money that has been borrowed. After Paul experienced the grace of God that saved him, he realized his sin debt had been paid in full by the shed blood and sacrificial death of Christ on the cross for him. This in turn convicted him in his soul, that he had a spiritual and moral obligation for preaching the gospel to all men. Just as a debtor has a duty to repay a financial debt in a timely basis, Paul was driven with a call to duty to preach the gospel to as many people as he could reach. Duty is when we execute an obligation to the best of our ability until it is done. We should be moved by the fact that our duty of preaching the gospel to all men is lifelong.
Paul was driven with determination.
“So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.” Paul said he’s ready to preach! He was fully prepared to bring the gospel to Rome. Readiness begins in our minds. Paul gave great thought to preaching the gospel at Rome. He had a plan in his heart of going there, getting established and strategically getting the gospel out to everyone. Readiness proceeds to our message. We must be prepared to preach from our mouth the gospel. There are many verses of the Bible that we can use as our launching point for our message. Readiness proceeds from there into our motion. We will have a plan as to where we will do our door knocking, gather people we can preach to, and getting them grounded in the Word of God after they get saved. Readiness is not waiting for someone else to give you the open door: you must be conscientious and creative in looking for ways to get the gospel to people.
Paul was driven with daring.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Paul was a man of audacious boldness. Daring to preach the gospel begins with a burning conviction that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It is God’s message that convicts a sinner of his need for Christ, and converts him. Many Christians are anemic when it comes to witnessing and soulwinning because they do not have the conviction that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. He was not ashamed of preaching to the educated and uneducated. He was not ashamed of preaching to rich or poor. He was not ashamed of preaching to people who were friendly or unfriendly. He wanted everyone to experience the power of God unto salvation!
Paul was a compelling witness! You can be a compelling witness! You can have a 21st century witness that can be fruitful and fulfilling. These three essentials are the game changer for every soulwinner who desires to be used of God.
Have a determined God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Deuteronomy 32-34