Witnessing: Means to an End?

Witnessing is one of the pillars of Christianity. The ability to share the Gospel with others is key for furthering the Church. We all have a responsibility and privilege to share our faith with others through word and deed. But what should our attitude with this witnessing actually be?

But this has becoming a point of contention for many people recently. One camp would argue that we need to witness so that people can go to heaven. Another camp would argue that we need to share our faith out of simple love for others. One thought would be attributed to the traditional church of years past, and the other thought would be attributed to the emergent church of today. Yet there is a middle road where both of these thoughts can come together to form a great foundation for witnessing.

The emergent church views witnessing not as a means to an end - but as an end unto its own. Witnessing should be done out of love, and it should done with no strings attached. We should share our faith with others because it is an extension of ourselves - not because it is an obligation to get someone else into heaven. Also, our basis for friendships should not be to get someone out of hell. We should befriend people because we love them and we want to experience community with them. Our witnessing and sharing of our faith should be done with no strings attached, out of an extension of who we are, with the sole purpose of love and nothing else.

Yet the traditional approach to witnessing takes a different approach. Older generations focus their witnessing upon the certainties of life after death. People share their faith with others because they want them to gain salvation and find a relationship with the Lord. They have such a heart for others that they do not want them to go to hell. People share their faith with others because the Bible encouarges us to do that in the Great Commission and in other places. Witnessing is a means to an end: hoping that those who hear the Word can accept the Lord and go to heaven. These witnessing actions are done out of love and because of the gravity of the situation of life after death.

These two thoughts seem to be far apart, but there is a Middle Road that can put these thoughts onto the same page. There are pro's and con's to basically everything, but combining these thoughts can reveal a better way.

Witnessing is a vital part of a Christian's life. And it is something that is eternally important. We should take seriously our responsibility to share our faith in order for others to find Jesus and ultimately heaven. We should be intentional and disciplined with this because of its eternal importance. And yet, we should be careful not to intentionally witness without love - a love that has no strings attached. When people share their faith, it needs to be an extension of themselves and not a begrudged chore. Essentially, witnessing is both a means to an end and an end: it is a means and an end.

Instead of arguing about ways to witness and how to witness and things like that, we should simply learn from each other in order to witness to the best of our collective ability. We need to find this Middle Road where we can all walk and learn from each other in order that we can share our faith to bring others in relationship with Christ and into the joy of heaven. Witnessing is so important that we need to intentionally be dedicated to it; but we need to be dedicated to it in love, as an extension of ourselves, and in relation with others.

We need to walk on this Middle Road together.