“If you are called to testify about something you have seen or that you know about, it is sinful to refuse to testify and you will be punished for your sin.” (Leviticus 5:1 NLT)
Yesterday I flipped the page to Leviticus. It’s funny, people cite Numbers as the place to give up on reading their way through the Bible, but more often than not, it’s Leviticus that trips people up. Numbers actually holds some fascinating accounts, punctuated by the begats, but Leviticus reads like an ancient legal document. (Because it is.) As readers, we struggle to appreciate the Old Testament instructions in our modern context.
This particular law is about the moral responsibility to testify and I’ve shared it from the New Living Translation so it would be crystal clear. God’s law basically states that if you’ve seen something, you need to say something. It would seem that God knows what we know and we are accountable to what we’ve heard and seen. To abstain from offering a testimony (whether it acquits or imputes) is sinful and an offense against God.
This is a levitical law that still holds true today: it falls under the umbrella of loving our neighbor. If our neighbor is accused but innocent and we know something that could contribute to their acquittal, we are obligated to testify out of love for their personhood. Likewise, if they are guilty and we have witnessed evidence of their offense against another, we testify out of love for the injured party.
This morning I read this text and think again about the gospel. It’s a bit of a stretch, but follow me and I think we’ll get there. You and I have heard and seen the goodness of God, have we not? We have witnessed His glory. And He, in His wisdom and mercy, sets us in situations with people who need to know Him personally. In those moments, we may feel the ‘call to testify’. I’m not talking about crushing folks with our theological blows and wowing them with our spiritual superiority. I’m talking about engaging in authentic, relational conversation and remaining sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit amidst it.
In my experience, the Lord will nudge us. “This is the moment to testify.” And I am suggesting that it is sinful to ignore the nudge. How have I come to this conclusion? Painful personal experience. I have ignored the nudge before and felt the discomfort of my failure.
See, the Holy Spirit is engaged in all the corners of every conversation we engage in. He is at work in our hearts as believers, but He is also hard at work in the heart of the pre-believer. He is faithfully overturning the soil to receive the seed He is asking us to plant in faith. We need to trust His process and cooperate with His call to testify.
Case in point, yesterday I was at lunch with a group of ladies I am just getting to know. As a general rule of thumb, I try not to come on too strong initially. I don’t want to chase people off before we’ve had opportunity to build relationship. In the first few minutes of our shared meal, I felt like the Lord had laid something on my heart. I sat on it to be certain it was Him before I opened my mouth. But as we were concluding, collecting our tickets to pay and go our separate ways, I for sure felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit to speak up. We had been talking all morning about our family stories and expressing sadness about the details being lost with our loved ones. In those last minutes together, I shared how I’m sure of heaven because of the scriptural evidence. I went on to say that our family history isn’t gone, rather it will be remembered and celebrated in eternity, stripped of the pain and tears we’ve experienced. This brave statement was well-received by my new friends; it was clearly comforting. Then one lady – one that I’d already made a heart connection with – announced that she was an atheist but that was a beautiful sentiment. And I knew, a seed had been planted.
Friend, we are living in a season where people no longer no the truth about God. The average American is not engaged in scripture and bad theology abounds, especially about matters of life and death. As believers, we are designed to be truth tellers. We have borne witness to God’s capacity and power. Historians tell us: first person accounts are the most reliable sources. The written word is only secondary to an actual observer. If God gives us an opportunity and a nudge to testify, we need to be obedient in that moment. Steward the experiences and resources the Lord has gifted you. Don’t miss what He is hoping to accomplish through you.
“Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not except if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!” (Hebrews 12:25 NLT)
Lord, first of all, please forgive us for all the times we have refused to testify. Fear has been a lousy friend to us. May we choose You instead. Let us learn firsthand how obedience opens up a whole new level of intimacy with our Creator. May we be faithful to guard that closeness at all costs, even our personal comfort. Give us great love for our neighbor that exceeds our self-preservation. May we say ‘yes’ to You without hesitation. Amen.