Christian Witness as Gospel Presence

What should Christian witness look like in practice? Evangelistic ministries, both local and global, are perhaps the most obvious examples of Christian witness. Many other examples are common among churches today: the support of missionary families and international gospel partnerships; various activities such as church planting, church member discipleship and training, and church-based community outreach; an assortment of apologetic ministries in diverse forms; and a host of other effective activities by faithful Christians both with and alongside the church. Christian witness, however, is much more than simply the sum of all these separate ministry activities. It is easy to think that our churches are faithful in witness when our church community as a whole is busy doing some of these activities at specific times and in particular places. But witness as merely ministry activity is not enough. The witness of the church is deeper and more comprehensive; Christian witness is essential to the identity and calling of the church. Informed discussion about contemporary methods and principles for witness in today’s world today will help us make relevant applications for our own churches and ministries. We start by focusing specifically on the church’s identity and calling in society, beginning with a fuller definition of Christian witness.

Aspects of the Church’s Witness

Christian witness[1] is a comprehensive biblical concept, like the new covenant or history of redemption, making it impossible to define with several exegetical studies or a few biblical examples. The role of the church after Pentecost is to bear witness to Christ by participating in God’s mission through evangelism, apologetics, global gospel partnerships, church planting, compassion ministries, cultural engagement, gospel worship, gospel suffering, and the many other related aspects of Christian witness. Having now briefly surveyed the more common methods of witness in church history, I now suggest a more precise definition.

The concept of Christian witness encapsulates the many ways in which God’s church is empowered by God’s Spirit to give testimony in the world about God’s redemption in Christ. It includes a multifaceted array of the many different biblical and historical aspects of bearing witness to Christ. In the Old Testament, God’s people participated in God’s mission by living as a showcase community, by the loving confrontation of error, and by expectant worship of the only true God. In the New Testament, God’s people bore witness to Christ by gospel living, gospel speaking, gospel defense, gospel increase, and gospel suffering. Since Pentecost, the church has borne witness to Christ by practicing these ten aspects of witness within various contexts, and by engaging in this witness with a variety of methods and strategies. Our definition of Christian witness, therefore, is determined by Scripture and guided by church history. Several observations help clarify this definition. First, the church’s witness is defined by and practiced within God’s mission. This is the reason we began our study with the biblical story of God’s redemption. The witness of the church serves within the Father’s mission and is a continuation of the ongoing mission of Christ. The church’s witness, built on the foundation of witness in the Old Testament, is continued and expanded in the New Testament. This witness is empowered by and cooperates with the Spirit’s mission to glorify Christ. Thus, the witness of the church must always seek to participate in and advance God’s mission, or else it is not mission at all but—at best—a postscript in God’s plan. Bearing witness to God’s promise in Christ continues to be the role of the church in the world. Second, Christian witness is not everything.[2] Witness is distinct from the doxology of God’s people: “Missions exist because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions. . . .”[3] Witness is also distinct from the creational calling of God’s people to cultivate and preserve God’s world, though often the work environment is a wonderful way to bear witness to how Christ is transforming our whole beings (Gen. 2:15; Rom. 12:1‒2). Additionally, we distinguish between the inward facing ministry of the church and the outward facing witness of the church, while recognizing that churches with mature internal ministries are best suited to be mature witnesses in society.

The church’s witness, though essential and wide-ranging, is only a part of God’s plan. Nevertheless, Christian witness is a comprehensive concept in Scripture, spanning the whole history of God’s redemption. Furthermore, as part of the church’s identity, it must not be segregated from other essential characteristics of the church, relegated to a small compartment of Christian living, or briefly mentioned at the end of the theological encyclopedia.

 

Content taken from You Will Be My Witnesses by Brian DeVries, ©2024. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

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[1] As indicated in the introduction, I use the terms Christian witness and the witness of the church somewhat interchangeably. However, the first term often accents the personal practice of all believers, whereas the second term usually highlights the corporate testimony of local gathering of God’s people.

[2] This statement echoes discussions in missiology: Stephen Neill (1964) said, “If everything is mission, nothing is mission,” though in practice he limited it to a broad scope of Christian activities. David Bosch (1991) wrote, “Ultimately, mission remains undefinable,” which is the logical conclusion if Scripture is viewed as merely contextual. John Stott (1975) is more guarded, saying mission is “everything the church is sent into the world to do.” These quotes come from DeYoung and Gilbert who advance the discussion but do not fully answer it. Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert, What Is the Mission of the Church? (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 15‒27.

[3] John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1993), 11.