Are You a Credible Witness? People pay attention when our actions match our words. By Wayne Butler

When God saves us He gives us a testimony. It is our shout of victory that we can take with us wherever we go. It is the greatest tool that we have as Christians to reach others for Christ.

Not long ago, I received a subpoena to appear as a witness at a burglary trial. As I was reading through the paper, I noticed that on the back it said: As a witness, you must tell the truth when testifying by telling the court or the jury accurately what you know. It also stated: The purpose of cross-examinations is to test your perception, recollection, and credibility.

As Christians, we are on trial. The world is watching us—observing what we do and taking note of what we say. How is your testimony? Are you living it? What people say about you when you are not around is your real testimony.

The Apostle Paul wrote that we are “known and read of all men” (2 Corinthians 3:2). Does your life back up what you are saying? Are you avoiding the appearance of evil in your choices of the things you do and the places you go? Do people look at your life and say, “That is what a Christian should be”?

Before I was saved, I knew many people who had a testimony. Those people lived the Christian life in front of me, and they are the ones I looked to in times of trouble. Where I lived, in Neah Bay , Washington, there were a lot of people who, even though they did not believe our Gospel, knew where to go when there was trouble in their lives. I remember many times when those people called my parents for prayer. They saw something in my parents' lives that made them know my parents were in touch with God. Why would they call if there were nothing there? if the life was not being lived?

There is a verse in the Bible that says, “Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). We need to guard our testimony. The devil would like to taint it and take just a little bit off the edge of it making it unbelievable. Does your conduct make your testimony believable? When I go to work I find it a lot easier to testify to somebody if I have done a good job. If I did a sloppy job I would be embarrassed to try to testify to them, but if I do a good job they are more likely to accept when I offer them a tract or tell them my testimony.

When He saves us, God also gives us a charge: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Sometimes you may give your testimony and people won't respond. I remember being in the checkout line at a grocery store, and a girl was talking to her friend about a medical condition she had. She told him that she was going to die. The Lord said to me, “You need to talk to her,” but I did not know what to say. I walked out of that store feeling really guilty. I got in my car, but it was still going through my mind, “You need to talk to her.” So I went digging through my glove box and grabbed a couple of tracts. I told the Lord, “If You give me another chance, I will talk to her.” About then, she and her friend walked right by my truck. I jumped out and said, “Hey, let me tell you about the Lord!” I started telling them about Jesus, but they didn't want to hear what I had to say. Here was a lady facing death, and she wanted nothing to do with the Gospel! I couldn't understand that, but I took comfort from the words in Isaiah 55:11, where the Lord said His Word “shall not return unto me void.” We need to take those words as a promise, because we may never know what kind of effect our testimony has on people until we get to Heaven.

Enoch had a testimony “that he pleased God” (Hebrews 11:5). That is the kind of testimony I want. How about you?

Wayne Butler is pastor of the Apostolic Faith Church in Woodlake, California.