What are we called to testify today? Our Saviour-King declared to His people this promise: “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also will testify! (John 15:26-26). It is a frightening thing to go against the grain in a culture that is all for Spiritual truth being relative and subjective. The notion of an objective truth is considered either ignorant or downright stupid unless it has a scientific basis to it. Any consideration of the Supernatural is met with suspicion or even hostility, especially if it places demands on our way of life or, dare I say, it submits our wills to a God. Church History is not short of courageous women and men who faced conflict from the World but still stood for the Truth about Christ and His Everlasting Kingdom. “50 People Every Christian Should Know” is a good book of short biographies written by Warren Wiersbe. The book contains examples of both extraordinary and ordinary people who witnessed to the Truth of the Gospel during their lifetime. But so what? Why bother reading about people of the past? What does reading history have to do with knowing how we are to witness about Jesus? Everything! Our Faith is not only based on the Supernatural but also on historical facts concerning the truth of the Gospel. The promise of the Spirit was not only given to the Apostles but also to us. After Jesus’ ascension into Heaven, the Spirit has come to help everyone bear witness from generation to generation. As Christians, we belong to a communion of saints who bear witness to the Truth as well. Those who have gone before us have something to teach us and we should never divorce ourselves from the past. Even CPC’s early history had a small, but faithful band who dedicated themselves to the hard task of Gospel Witnessing amongst the early Chinese migrants. Although we may face different challenges in Gospel Witnessing to those of the past, still they join the great cloud of witnesses (Heb 12:1-3) to the Gospel of Christ. We should be encouraged that in Christ we share the same Holy Spirit to aid us in the same task to take the Gospel to the World. The Church in God’s mission is not a solo human entity but one empowered through the Spirit sent to us by the King of Glory.
我們今天要見證什麼？我們的救主君王向祂的子民宣告了這樣的應許：「但我要從父那裡差保惠師來，就是從父出來真理的聖靈；他來了，就要為我作見證。你們也要作見證！」(約15:26-27)
在一個對屬靈真理持相對和主觀態度的文化下，要逆流而行是一件令人駭怕的事。除非有科學依據，否則客觀真理的概念要不是被認為是無知，就是徹頭徹尾的愚蠢。任何對超自然現象的考量，特別是如果對我們的生活方式提出要求，或我敢說將我們的意願降服於神，都會遭到懷疑甚至敵意。教會歷史上不乏勇敢的男女，他們面對來自世界的衝突，但仍堅持基督及其永恆國度的真理。
《五十位每個基督徒都應該認識的人》是華倫．威爾斯比寫的一本很好的短篇傳記書。這本書包含了非凡和平凡信徒在一生中見證福音真理的例子。但這又如何呢？為什麼要費力去閱讀有關前人的故事呢？閱讀歷史與了解我們應如何見證耶穌有什麼關係？關係重大！我們的信仰不僅基於超自然現象，也基於福音真理的歷史事實。聖靈的應許不僅賜給使徒，也賜給我們。耶穌升天後，聖靈來幫助我們每個信徒代代相傳作見證。
作為基督徒，我們屬於一個見證真理的聖徒群體。那些在我們以先的人有教導我們的事，我們不應與過去脫節。即使在我們教會的早期歷史裡也有一小群忠心的人，他們致力於在早期的華人移民中作福音見證的艱鉅任務。雖然我們在福音見證中面臨的挑戰與過去不同，但他們仍然成為了如同雲彩般圍着我們的基督福音見證人 (來12:1-3)。我們當感到鼓舞，因為在基督裡，我們同享一個聖靈，幫助我們完成將福音傳遍世界的同一個使命。神使命中的教會不是一個獨立的個體，而是藉榮耀君王，差遣給我們的聖靈所賦予能力的群體。
