Charity is the peak of Christianity (2 Peter 1:5-7). The Bible says that after salvation, charity is to be desired above all other things (1 Peter 4:8) and is the bond of perfectness (Colossians 3:14). Yet far too many people, Christians included, know so little about charity. God has not left man without answers, both simple and profound. First Corinthians chapter 13 offers the most vivid description of charity: charity suffereth long and is kind (1 Corinthians 13:4). It rejoiceth not in iniquity but in the truth (1 Corinthians 13:6). It beareth, believeth, hopeth, and endureth all things (1 Corinthians 13:7). Out of all the wonderful things associated to charity, the Bible makes it clear that charity will have no part with envy.
During the Lord’s earthly ministry, His most malicious enemies were not common men or even the Roman government. His greatest enemies were the religious leaders charged with maintaining the spiritual purity of the people of God. How could those most religious create discord with the very One who gave them the dictates for the Jewish religion they claimed to defend? The answer is simple. It was envy! According to John 11:48, the religious leadership of Israel determined that they could not allow Jesus to continue teaching, preaching, and ministering to others. These leaders realized that all men would believe on Him causing the Romans to demote them. They would not allow this to happen. How far would they go to keep their place and nation? The Bible reveals that they would even cause the crucifixion of the innocent Son of God.
The book of Proverbs offers many profound truths and sometimes conveys these truths through the implementation of comparisons and contrasts. Today’s proverb is a case in point. The Lord uses this structure to assist man’s venturing from the familiar to that which is unfamiliar. Those concepts recognizable to mankind can be used to help convey and explain deeper truths known only to the Lord. For instance, man easily understands what is meant by saying that a stone is heavy and sand is weighty, but the Lord wants man to comprehend the heaviness of a fool’s wrath. Man knows that wrath is cruel and anger is outrageous, but God wants man to realize that envy is crueler and more outrageous than both wrath and anger. During times of anger and wrath, merciful moments might be displayed; however, envy relentlessly pursues its victim without mercy.
The gospel witness involves a message that is narrow in scope, but it can be distributed using a variety of methods. The apostle Paul provided three means by which he ministered the word: he shewed them, he taught them publickly, and he ministered the word from house to house. These same three categories exist even today. Believers can preach the gospel in church services, in publick settings, and from house to house. Even within these areas, the gospel can be spread audibly or by using a printed medium. Every believer should take part in at least some form of witnessing. One very effective means involves the distribution of gospel tracts. Truly, there exists no adequate excuse for a believer not to give the gospel to others.
Faith moves a believer to speak on the Lord’s behalf. If an individual believed a building would burn to the ground, he would naturally desire to warn those in danger. Believers in like manner desire to tell the lost of the judgment to come. Those who truly believe God’s impending judgment to be real and the way of salvation to be unquestionably necessary will naturally desire for their loved ones to learn these truths before eternally too late. If a person claims to have trusted the gospel for salvation but lacks a desire to tell others, that person should examine his conversion to confirm its genuineness.
The question of an appropriate audience to receive witness of the resurrection may seem quite simple at first. However, the issue is somewhat controversial. Some erroneously teach that believers should only witness to Jews, while others teach that believers should witness to all except for Jews. Others might suggest that believers should not witness to any of the lost because God has chosen some to die and go to hell. These teachings exist for many reasons, none of which are scriptural. The biblical pattern for the New Testament church is that believers should “witness unto all men.” Everyone needs the opportunity to hear the gospel, despite his or her background or current living conditions. The whole world needs to hear that Christ has risen!
A witness is one who testifies to the certainty of an event. As such, the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. By doing so, they were declaring the resurrection to be an absolute truth. The disciples physically witnessed the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ had been put to death, but was alive and well. Although no believer today physically saw the birth, life, death, burial, or resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can and should still testify to its truthfulness. In order to offer an adequate witness of the Lord’s saving grace, an individual must first have experienced the new birth combined with the witness of God’s indwelling Spirit (1 John 5:10).
