God spreads the Gospel message of his kingdom in two different way through two different types of people. He uses pastors according to their vocation to preach, teach, and administer the sacraments. They do this work to believer and unbeliever alike as the center of their work. Laypeople also though are wrapped up in this work as they go about their other God-given work. They share Jesus with the people the interact within their vocations (at work, school, home, etc.).
Every Christian knows they are to share the hope that is within them but often are frightened by the prospect. In general, people are scared to do things they do not feel they know how to do well. And certainly the thought of doing something they feel ill-equipped to do in front of other people, maybe even people hostile to that task, is terrifying. So we do well to each have a simple way to think about testifying to what we believe so that Satan does not have his way in silencing us.
True Christian evangelism aims at repentance and baptism and trusts the Spirit to drive people towards these goals. Listen to these words,
Acts 2:36-39 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."
Yes, the Spirit drives people through repentance to the forgiving waters of Baptism. Our testifying should be shaped by this reality. We should seek to let our words also lead towards those waters. But the question remains how.
I would suggest the how lies in something very familiar, the Apostles Creed. This Creed has been and still is a baptismal creed. It has been used in Baptism ever since its creation and continues to be used in Christian Baptism to this day. I would suggest it provides a perfect framework for thinking about testifying.
Our testifying should be Triune in nature. It should speak of Father, Son, and Spirit. Let me try to flesh this out as briefly as I can.
When speaking to others, we should speak of three things:
- The Father: Tell them he created all things. He shows us his will for all things in the Ten Commandments.
- The Son: Tell them he died for the sin of the whole world, yours and theirs.
- The Spirit: Tell them He is working to cause faith and wants to give them Jesus’ riches in Baptism.
If we fail to speak of the Father’s perfect will, the need for the Son will not be known. If we fail to speak of the Son, people will solely be crushed underneath the Father’s perfect will. But even if we speak of Father and Son and that message is heard, the work is not done. We must tell people how it is in their lives that they become reconciled to the Father through the Son.
We must tell them that the Spirit works in the Holy Christian Church to bring them the forgiveness of sin that results in life everlasting. And that means we talk to them about the pure gift of Holy Baptism plainly. If we testify in a Triune way and the that word is not rejected, we will be blessed to hear people in our day say with the Ethiopian Eunuch, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" And those are words that cause rejoicing in the halls of heaven and our hearts as well.
This work will rarely be accomplished is a single setting which affords a chance to speak about all three person of the Trinity in order. But this framework is a great guide to think about our overall witness to any individual. It reminds us of what truths we need to impart and invites reflection on what parts of our testifying might be weak in our current approach. It can lead us to be holistic in our Triune Testifying.
Let us pray. Almighty and everlasting God, You desire not the death of a sinner but that all would repent and live. Hear our prayers for those outside the Church. Take away their iniquity, and turn them from their false gods to You, the living and true God. Gather them into Your holy Church to the glory of Your name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen
