1. 1 Peter 4:11 “Speak as the oracles of God”

2. Is this how the gospel of Christ is taught to the world today?

3.  J ESUS T O T HE A POSTLES, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; & you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, & in all Judea & Samaria, & to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

4.  The Greek word is martus  English: one who bears witness by his death. One who is willing to die for what he believes to be true.  Greek (the work Jesus used): denotes one who declares what he has seen or heard or knows ( Vine’s ).

5.  The Greek word is martus  God – Rom 1:9; 2 Cor 1:23; Phil 1:8; 1 Thess 2:5,10  Christ – Rev 1:5; 3:14  1 st cent. saints who died for the faith – Acts 22:20; Rev 2:13; 17:6; cf. 11:3

6. “If Stephen & Antipas were ‘witnesses’ – why can’t we be…? 1. Both saw the apostles perform miracles. Possessed a miraculous gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:5, 8) – from an apostle.

7. “If Stephen & Antipas were ‘witnesses’ – why can’t we be…? 2. Both gave their lives for their eye-witness testimony. In that way, they were like the apostles.

8. The Apostles were the “witnesses” Jesus identified (Acts 1:8)  Accompanied Jesus before & after His resurrection (Acts 1:21-22).  Chosen before by God (Acts 10:40-42).  Peter stated, “we are witnesses…” (Acts 2:32; 3:15; 10:39) – the apostles!

9.  Today, Jesus commands “preaching” to communicate His gospel (1 Cor 1:21).  We “declare” the gospel, we do not “witness for Christ” (1 Cor 15:1).

10. Modern day so-called “witnessing” focuses on human experience. Preaching or Declaring the gospel focuses on the authority of God.

11. “We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, & ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Cor 4:5)

12. Make sure your choice of words suggest the meaning God intended. fellowship, ministry, grace, saint miracle witness/testify.