Testimonial Evidence: Witness Statements!

In the days before cameras were allowed in courtrooms, we depended on artists like Walt Stewart to attend the trials with sketchpads, capturing the electrifying moments for news organizations. Stewart’s first assignment was the trial of Jack Ruby, who was accused of shooting Lee Harvey Oswald. He depicted on his sketchpad the dramatic scene when the prosecutor, facing the jury, said about Oswald, “Whatever he did, he was entitled to be tried before a judge and jury.” Then whirling around to the defendant, he pointed a finger at Ruby and said, “Just like you.”
Suppose you were on trial, accused of being a Christian. If the prosecuting attorney assembled a group of your friends to testify against you, would there be any dramatic moments? Would they whirl and point their finger at you?
God has always had a handful of people whose lives were so uniquely different that the world easily “convicted” them of being Christians. We’re always on display, whether we realize it or not. Romans 14:7 says, For none of us lives to himself.
In his book, Ten Mistakes Parents Make with Teenagers, Jay Kesler describes a conversation he had with a young lady at a Youth for Christ summer camp in Ohio. She told a sordid story of long-term abuse in a dysfunctional home. As they talked, Jay noticed that the girl’s wrists were scarred, and he asked her about it. She admitted that she had tried to kill herself.
“Why didn’t you do it?” Jay asked.
“Well, I got to thinking,” said the girl, “We have a youth pastor at our church—”
At first, Jay thought he was going to hear an ugly story about her getting involved with some youth pastor. But that wasn’t it at all. She said, “He’d just gotten married before he came to our church, and I’ve been watching him. When he’s standing in line in church behind his wife, he squeezes her right in church. They look at each other, and they hug each other right in our church. One day I was standing in the pastor’s study, looking out the window and the youth pastor walked his wife out into the parking lot. Now there was only one car in the parking lot; nobody was around; nobody was looking.  And that guy walked all the way around the car and opened the door and let her in. Then he walked all the way around and got in himself. And there was nobody even looking.?”
Jay thought that was a nice story, but he couldn’t make a connection between that, her problems at home, or attempted suicide. So he asked why this was so significant.
She replied, “Well, I just got to thinking that all men must not be like my dad, huh?” Then she said, “Jay, do you suppose our youth pastor’s a Christian?”
“Yes,” Jay said, “I think he probably is.”
“Well, that’s why I came tonight,” she said. “I want to be a Christian, too.”
She wanted to be a Christian simply because she saw a man being respectful to his wife even when nobody was looking. That’s the power of a consistent life.
An unknown author once wrote:

I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day.

I’d rather one would walk with me than merely show the way.

The eye’s a better pupil and much sharper than the ear.

Fine counsel can confuse me, but example’s always clear.

The lectures you deliver may be very wise and true,

But I’d rather get my lesson by observing what you do.

Many unbelievers don’t attend church because of “all the hypocrites there.” Perhaps we’re all guilty of hypocrisy to some extent, for none of us is perfect. There aren’t any perfect churches here below. We don’t live as consistently and perfectly as our great example, Jesus Christ. But we should be trying. We should be maturing. We should be growing. And we should increasingly be learning to “walk the talk.”
It’s said that one day St. Francis of Assisi invited one of his young assistants at the monastery to go with him into town to preach. The novice was delighted to be singled out as Francis’ companion. The two men passed through the main streets, turned down many of the byways and alleys, made their way into the suburbs, and at great length returned by a circuitous route to the monastery gate. As they approached it, the younger man reminded Francis of his original intention. “You have forgotten, Father, that we went to the town to preach!”
“My son,” Francis replied, “we have preached. We were preaching while we were walking. We have been seen by many; our behavior has been closely watched; it was thus that we preached our morning sermon. It is of no use, my son, to walk anywhere to preach unless we preach everywhere as we walk.?”?
It reminds us of the old poem by Paul Gilbert that says:

You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day,

By the deeds that you do, by the words that you say;

Men read what you write, whether faithless or true.

Say—what is the gospel according to you?       

What can you do to improve the chances of your being “convicted” of being a follower of Jesus Christ?
Start each day by rededicating yourself to Him, asking Him to guide your thoughts, words, and actions during that day. Bishop Taylor Smith (1860-1937), British commanding army chaplain, once wrote: “As soon as I awake each morning I rise from bed at once. I dress promptly. I wash myself, shave and comb my hair. Then fully attired, wide-awake and properly groomed, I go quietly to my study. There, before God Almighty and Christ my King, I humbly present myself as a loyal subject to my Sovereign, ready and eager to be of service to Him for the day.”
Then enter each day with a joyful attitude. Our Christian faith shows up on our faces. Remember the exhortation of 1 Peter 3:15: But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you. In other words, our most effective witness comes when others have seen the hope and joy that radiate from our lives.
It might also be helpful to imagine that a film crew was following you throughout the day with television cameras, watching for you to “blow it” as a Christian. Guard against such moments. Recognize the damage you could do to your testimony by uttering that word, looking at that magazine, listening to that joke, or snapping at that employee.

We are the only Bible a careless world will read;

We are the sinner’s gospel; we are the scoffer’s creed;

We are the Lord’s last message, given in deed and word;

What if the type is crooked; what if the print is blurred?

                                                —Author Unknown
When you do fail as a Christian, be quick to admit it and apologize. Recently a Christian father lost his temper with his children while trying to get them ready for church. He yelled at them, slamming his fist on the table and creating a frightful scene. As it happened that day, the sermon was about the importance of a father’s influence. Afterward, this man gathered his kids and said to them, “This morning I failed God and I failed you by losing my temper. I’m not a perfect man, but I try to live as I should each day. This morning I didn’t do very well, and I’m sorry. I’ve confessed it to God and asked for His forgiveness, and I’d like to ask for your forgiveness, too.”
It was a moment his children would remember for a long time.
Finally, be growing each day as a Christian. The Lord wants to perfect what concerns you (Psalm 138:8). He desires your being increasingly conformed into His image, so that your testimony will grow increasingly effective. Daily Christian growth is a matter of staying in the Bible, praying, trusting, and obeying.
The Bible says, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). That’s a solemn command. Someone’s eyes are on you, and you may be the only Gospel they will ever see. If they keep watching for evidence of your Christianity, will there be enough to reach a verdict?
May we all be found “guilty as charged.”