Affirming Christ: The Testimony Of The Church In Evangelism

By most accounts, Christians place the primary burden of evangelism on the individuals of the church. The majority of teachings, regardless of the form (i.e., sermon, article, book, etc.), make much about the Christian's responsibility to share God's truth. Because of the charge issued by Christ for all believers to engage in the Great Commission, such an emphasis in the Christian life is virtuous. Without forgetting that crucial aspect, I want us to ask ourselves a question this morning: what is our corporate responsibility in evangelism?

John chapter 17 is memorable for most believers because it recounts the prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ. At this moment, our reading of Scripture causes us to encounter something exceptional about the Lord because not only is the prayer an expression of Christ's relationship with the Father, but it also is an expression of his heart and mind. By these words, believers capture an intimate sighting of our Lord and Savior. In the middle of that prayer, having prayed for the Lord’s safekeeping and sanctification of His people, we then come to these words:

“And for their sake, I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17:19-21).

There is much in that text which falls outside the intentions of this post. However, we see an essential connection between the church's unification with God and the church's testimony to God.

While connecting this to the moment when Jesus washes the disciples’ feet in John 13, Francis Schaeffer writes:

“In John 13, the point was that if an individual Christian does not show love toward other true Christians, the world has the right to judge he is not a Christian. (In John 17:21) Jesus is stating something else which is much more cutting, much more profound: We cannot expect the world to believe that the Father sent the Son, that Jesus' claims are true, and that Christianity is true unless the world sees some reality of the oneness of true Christians.”

These words assert something critical: The corporate testimony of Christians affirms the testimony of Christ to an unbelieving world.

The church is an exciting display of God's wisdom because it unites people of varying backgrounds, mindsets, and personalities. The world model for relationships is that we relate to and spend time with people like ourselves. Yet, that's not what the church does. The church brings people together despite their differences, unifying them in Christ. The idea that people of such vast distinctions is a testimony to the Lord’s work and the Spirit’s power.

While the gospel cannot be shared without words, the corporate testimony of the church creates a believable witness that may open the door to sharing with words. The Lord indeed tasked each individual with a responsibility for the Great Commission, and sometimes we undertake that task on our own. However, the Great Commission is also a task that the body of Christ carries together. It unites us in purpose and duty, calling upon us to be a testimony for the Lord not so that people believe us but so that they will believe Him.