Squelching Your Witness

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much… Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back,  let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:16, 19-20)

A while back I had an opportunity to share the Gospel with a stranger at the train station. We were chatting nicely, but as I began to share a bit of my testimony, I noticed her countenance change from cheerful to irritable.

“What’s the matter?” I asked.

“I know you,” she said angrily.

Ugh

As it turns out she did know me, and I knew her. It left me with only one option: I had to confess my sin to her. Essentially I informed her that the person she once knew was the old Dave and that he was no longer with us. I was in fact a new creation in Christ Jesus, submitted to His sanctification process. She wasn’t buying it at first, and frankly, I’m not sure she ever did, but nevertheless her smile did eventually return and I was able to finish our discussion on a positive and truthful note.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 

The truth of the matter is that had I not disclosed these things to her, she most likely would have not allowed me to continue; she would have rightly deduced that I was the same old person she knew way back when. This woman would not have been interested in any good-thing I was involved with had she concluded I was still clinging to my old ways.  She had a right to know what I knew: that what I had done was wrong and that I had repented. She was not required to believe me, but I was required to tell her.

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:1-3

All of which leads me to the focus of today’s blog.

Nelson Mandela

We can all agree I’m no Nelson Mandela, but can we agree, for the sake of the Gospel, he owed us an explanation? Using the example of my sin soiling my witness, does it not stand to reason that Nelson Mandela’s transgressions, while having a much larger platform, sullied his? I contend that they do. I further believe that Nelson Mandela owed us his testimony. He either came to understand that his pre-incarceration methodology was errant or he didn’t. And even if we put aside the terrorism, murder, and mayhem allegations that preceded his arrest, I need to know how he went about justifying the legalization of murdering babies in the womb after he became president. It matters not that God used him to bring about freedom in South Africa. Lest we forget, God, for His good purposes, once caused a donkey to talk.

Mandela-Phobic 

I want to be clear: I don’t hate Nelson Mandela. What I am saying is that because of his failure to be forthright with his previous enterprises, the man is not worthy of emulation or elevation. While it is true that we can suppose that he repented, I for one needed to hear it from the man himself; his position and status in the world demanded it. Nelson Mandela needed to share with the world how he got right with God, rather than lead us to assume he did. If he did not repent, he is not a role-model. If he did, the world would be a better place, for God’s sake, had he told us. For those who would say the world is a better place, there are approximately a million aborted people (in the Republic of South Africa) who might disagree, if given the chance. Again, I’m not saying I hate the man, nor am I even suggesting he was not a born-again believer. I’m merely saying the man blew his witness — his silence screamed, “It’s none of your business.”

It’s none of your business.”

From a worldly perspective, I suppose that a man’s business is private. After all, what transpires between man and God is personal. However, I assert that if that man wants to be effectively used by God, he must also be transparent in his walk with God. Our relationships with Jesus are personal ones, not private ones. This includes confession to others when confession to others is wise and prudent. I am keenly aware that had I chosen not to be truthful with the woman in the train station, it would have been right for her to exit.

Disagree?

That’s fine. But as Christians we must be prepared to defend the stances we have taken. In other words, if you laud Mandela for his anti-racism/apartheid efforts in South Africa, you will likely be called to justify his other less-than-popular deeds. And if you [rightly] say that you don’t agree with his other atrocities, then you’re left holding a shiny lump of gold atop a pile of feculent matter. Had he only confessed and repented, we could have set all this repugnant baggage aside.

Maybe he did.

I hope he did.

We’ll never know.

These are the things you shall do:
Speak each man the truth to his neighbor;
Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace

Zechariah 8:16 

These articles may or may not be related:

• Nelson Mandela Should Be Ranked Alongside Jesus Christ: BBC presenter (ameborepublik.wordpress.com)
• The Lasting Impression of Nelson Mandela (damnfit.wordpress.com)
• Should Catholics Praise Nelson Mandela? (catholictruthblog.com)
• Few human beings can be compared to Jesus Christ. Nelson Mandela was one (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)
• The Tragedy of Nelson Mandela (karlomongaya.wordpress.com)
• The One Thing Alveda King Wished She Had Told Nelson Mandela When They Met (blackchristiannews.com)
• Nelson Mandela: A 20th Century Jesus? (everydayreligions.wordpress.com)

*You may or not agree with my remarks. If you wish to leave a comment, please refrain from being cruel or abusive. I do respond to every remark. Contextual Bible verses are always welcome additions.

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Get Over It

“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:26)

It Ain’t Over

I attended a prayer meeting last night at my church and before we began, my pastor laid out his vision for our time together and asked if there were any questions. One hand went up and the question was asked, “Do I have to pray?” The person expounded a bit and when they finished my pastor summarized their narrative.

“So what you’re saying is that you’re a little shy about praying out-loud in front of other people…I understand…I’d say to you in love: ‘get over it.'”

A Question

My query is not in regard to your participation in corporate prayer, but rather to your passionate presence in your daily witness. If it’s applicable, “Why aren’t you talking about Jesus with the people God has put in your life?”

It’s not a rhetorical question; I’d like you to pause and answer it. Pull out a piece of paper (if you have to) and write down the names of the people you had contact with yesterday that you did not take the opportunity to mention Jesus (If there aren’t a lot of names, then consider the people you had contact with for the entire week). Next to each name jot down the reason why you did not or could not mention the Name of Jesus.

Finished?

I suspect that you have some acceptable reasons on your list, but I ask you, to whom are they acceptable? I submit to you that after a thorough examination, with God as your examiner, what you likely have in front of you is a list of fear-based excuses.

“I’ll get fired from my job,” or, “I’ll lose a client,” or “I won’t be able to visit my grand-kids anymore.” 

“The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10)

Arguably, those excuses are valid, so I won’t dispute them here.  So let’s put them aside for a moment to give consideration to everyone else; what about all the other people you’ve had contact with? Does it appear that some of those excuses you’re using are being stretched thinly? If so, it’s time to be honest before God. It’s time to reckon that your baseless justifications are contemptuous before the Lord and He may rightly ask you, “Are you ashamed of My Son?”

I’m not condemning you, nor am I suggesting that your salvation is lost (Heaven forbid). What I am saying is that there is no shame in admitting you’re ashamed. You have simply come to an obstacle in the road and it’s time to make a choice. Do you turn around and seek another route? Do you step off the narrow path in an attempt to navigate around the obstruction?  Or, do you stop dead in your tracks and set up camp?

Of course you could always consider this maneuver:

Get over it!

If you’re a Christian, you have within you the power and authority to move forward, over and beyond the things that frighten and hold you back. In so doing you will discover (among other things) that the majority of the issues you fear never come to fruition. They are typically nothing more than seeds of doubt sown my the evil one; seeds that you have nurtured and cultivated through the years. By the dynamic of the Holy Spirit, you can now see these concerns for the weeds that they are and trample them under foot.

Will somebody be offended by the Name of Jesus?

Probably. At some point it’s inevitable.

But know with certainty that the Father will equip you for each and every situation. You need not fear man or worldly consequences. God is with you always. Jesus is your refuge and your high tower. He will see you through safely to the other side.

“The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe…The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me…do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell…For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (Proverbs 29:25, Hebrews 13:6, Matthew 10:28, 2 Timothy 1:7)

For Those Who Have Ears

This message may not be for you. By that I mean that this message is for you, but you may not be ready to hear it. Frankly, that’s an issue for a whole other blog. Having said that, there are some who are ready and able to see themselves clearly in this mirror and confess that the shameful image they see is their own. That is not meant to be an indictment against anyone, but rather encouragement for those who are ready to move forward for the Glory of the Father, in the Name of Jesus, and in the power of His Holy Spirit.

“Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in Heaven” (Matthew 10:32)

Leave a Comment

Many of you actively share your faith, but you remember the time(s) when you did not. Please share below about the decision-making process you went through and how Jesus was faithful to make provision for you. Your encouragement may be precisely the thing someone else needs to hear.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17

These articles may or may not be related:

• Never Ashamed (Spurgeon’s Faith’s Checkbook) (hisimagenme.wordpress.com)
• Pentecost 20 – “Treasures of Faith” (2 Timothy 1:1-14) (revtucher.com)
• Why Should I Get Saved and What is the Holy Spirit? (soulfulbluediamond.wordpress.com)
• Matthew 10.28-31 (apologistmike.wordpress.com)
• Monday Ministry Moment: Confession, Forgiveness, Repentance and Absolution (lavendermindy.wordpress.com)
• A Different Kind of “Far” (saralynnbelmer.wordpress.com)
• Love Leads To Obedience And Insight (whyjesusministries.wordpress.com)
• Direction, Confession and Forgiveness (inlovewematter.wordpress.com)
• Lost in Tomorrowland (rollietom.wordpress.com)
• Training and Following Instructions (forklifttheology.com)

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New Jersey Malls and Your Freedom of Speech

“Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established; By knowledge the rooms are filled With all precious and pleasant riches.  A wise man is strong, Yes, a man of knowledge increases strength; For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 24:3-6)

In my last blog I shared how Mark Cahill, a full-time evangelist, and Christian author and teacher, encouraged me to step it up a notch in regard to sharing my faith more conversationally. As a result I found myself heading off to the local mall with Bible, testimony, and tracts in hand. Long story short, (you can read yesterday’s blog here), it was an incredible blessing from the Lord.

Anyway, when I had listened to Mark speak, he had shared how New Jersey was one of only 3 states that allowed free speech in the mall. By that he meant that shopping malls are technically private property and therefore in most cases, they have the right to say what can or cannot be shared on their property, but New Jersey (praise be to God), was the exception to the rule!

Give That to Me in Writing

I suppose it’s the ex-cop in me, but I wanted to see the law. So I dropped Mark an email. He didn’t have the citation on hand, but he directed me to the Christian Law Association (CLA). As per their website, “CLA provides free legal assistance to Bible-believing churches and Christians who are experiencing difficulty in practicing their religious faith because of governmental regulation, intrusion, or prohibition in one form or another.” I wasn’t having any difficulties; I just had a question about the law and glory to God, they answered my question in less than 24 hours!

Here’s the response I received from CLA and I wanted to share it with you.  I hope you find it helpful — especially if you’re a Christian living in Jersey.

Here it is:

“Thank you for contacting the Christian Law Association regarding your right to witness and distribute literature in shopping malls in New Jersey.  Only a few states have declared shopping malls to be a “traditional public forum” permitting free speech rights.  New Jersey is one of those few states.  This means that in New Jersey, your free speech rights are protected in shopping malls as well as in private universities and hallways in residential buildings.  (See State v. Schmid, 423 A.2d 615, 631 – 633 (N.J. 1980); Guttenberg Taxpayers & Rentpayers Ass’n v. Galaxy Towers Condominium Ass’n, 688 A.2d 156 (N.J. Super. Ct. Ch. Div. 1996), aff’d, 688 A.2d 108 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1996).

Please note that in most states no free speech activities are allowed in shopping malls without permission of the owner.  The law in most states categorizes malls as private property and permission must be obtained before conducting any witnessing activities.  This includes getting permission to place leaflets on cars parked in a store’s private parking lot.

Federal courts have held that the right of private property owners to control activities on their property outweighs the right of free speech.  This will likely continue to be the case with respect to privately owned businesses and their parking lot areas in states who have not declared shopping malls to be a “traditional public forum”.

 That’s great news (for New Jersey), isn’t it? I also found this little blurb about our ‘first amendment rights and NJ malls’ from a website called the First Amendment Center.

Question: Do individuals have First Amendment rights on others’ private property?

Answer: Generally no. The Bill of Rights provides protection for individual liberty from actions by government officials. This is called the state-action doctrine. Private property is not government-owned. Restrictions on individuals’ free-speech rights on private property do not involve state action.

However, a few states have interpreted their own state constitutions to provide even greater free-speech protection than the federal Constitution offers. For example, the New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that individuals have free-speech rights at privately owned shopping malls. Most state supreme courts that have examined the issue have disagreed. In April 2002, the Iowa Supreme Court refused to extend its definition of public property to include large, privately owned shopping malls.

Here’s what I found…

I went to the mall yesterday without any of this data, and freely witnessed to a bunch of people and handed out Bible tracts. I passed several security guards (or they passed me) and they seemed quite indifferent to what I was doing. The truth be told, they probably had no idea what I was doing because I wasn’t just handing out Bible tracts willy-nilly, but was engaging folks in one-on-one conversations. The good news (pun intended) is that I could have stood there and handed out Bible tracts willy-nilly, because the NJ Supreme Court has ruled in favor of that issue as long as we don’t block  stores, and/or impede the general flow of traffic (which of course is a reminder to be good stewards of this privilege). I was excited to learn that we can do the same thing on college campuses!

Final Admonition

I hope you found this information to be as enlightening and encouraging as I did, but you might want to take advantage of the situation while the NJ law is still on your side, because I suspect in the not too distant future these laws will be repealed.

“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

These articles may or may not relate (this first one does, I don’t think the others do):

• Taking it to the Mall (compassiondave.wordpress.com)
• New Jersey Second Amendment Society Speeches (thelastcivilright.org)
• America’s Best Malls (local.answers.com)
• Commack mall request draws anger from neighbors (newsday.com)
• Christie: Meadowlands mall work to restart soon (newsday.com)

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