Basis of the Society Article 10 

Belief that the child of God is called to a life-long witness to the Lord Jesus Christ and to a humble following of him in daily life.

Note first that they are lifelong; there is no graduation or retirement in this life! Secondly they are for all Christians, not just a few on the margins of local churches. 

The first aspect of lifelong Christian responsibility is witness to the Lord Jesus Christ. I often hear Francis of Assisi quoted: “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words”. Certainly our actions and attitudes speak volumes about what we believe, and one of the most devastating criticisms of Christians is that of hypocrisy. We need to ‘walk the talk’, but this Article challenges the suggestion that the ‘talk’ is an optional extra. If people do not hear about Jesus: “How are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?” (Romans 10:14). 

There are surprisingly few references in the New Testament enjoining evangelism on the Christian disciple. However, Peter shows that as well as being special people in God’s sight, Christians also have a special task: “that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9- 10). This declaration is to be made to the nations (Isaiah 49:1), and therefore it is every Christian’s responsibility to proclaim God’s saving deeds to a needy world. 

The second aspect of this Article is ‘a humble following of him in daily life’. There is a desperate need for godly living to underline – not undermine – our words. Nevertheless the life without the words does not answer the question ‘Why?’ So Peter goes on to say: “always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). 

100 years ago Christians were influenced by the watchword: ‘Evangelisation of the world in this generation’. There was huge enthusiasm to proclaim the Gospel. This led some to brush aside theological considerations in order that more people might take part, but we must remember “Evangelistic zeal does not necessarily lead to biblical orthodoxy” (Oliver Barclay and Robert Horn “From Cambridge to the World”, IVP). 

Crosslinks magazine October 2005 index