With a Subtitle: The resurrection calls believers to deep conviction, holy endurance, and Spirit-shaped witness.

A brief Excerpt: Easter is more than a celebration of the resurrection. It is a call for believers to become true witnesses of Christ through deep conviction, submission to God’s process, and a life transformed by the Holy Spirit.

The Author is: Ogo Cathern

Why the Witness of Christianity Lacks Substance

I have increasingly become burdened by this question: why does the witness of Christianity lack substance?

And the simple answer I have arrived at is our lack of deep conviction.

The modern Christian doesn’t truly trust God.

There is a deep-seated idea that portrays God as slow.

Slow to act on our behalf. Slow to send us help. Just slow — so for that reason, we must help Him.

As I ponder this problem, I realize the problem lies in how we received the gospel.

We don’t understand God’s process.

We were not adequately taught that not all good comes from God.

That God’s answer can be NO!

And that hardship isn’t all bad.

What We Celebrate Has Shaped Us

I remember how my fellow believers and I celebrated testimonies that showcased prosperity, increase, and open doors.

Pastors and members alike made a big deal of such testimonies.

And because nobody wanted to feel left out or behind, false testimonies and hustle culture began to take center stage in the church.

Testimonies that showed perseverance, resisting temptation, and choosing suffering over pleasure began to fade — until they became almost extinct.

Do you know what this type of discipleship produced?

People felt the need to help God.

As this practice increased, conviction ran shallow.

The School of the Spirit

The phrase “God’s timing” has become utopian to many believers because they truly do not know how God accomplishes things — having never completed any spiritual training process.

This reminds me of a dream the Lord showed me sometime ago about how believers approach the school of the Spirit.

I saw a school bus carrying several people, and whenever the bus came to a four-way stop, some people would alight from the bus without getting to their destination — aborting the process God was taking them through to become witnesses whose conviction has deep roots.

Unaware that their ability to depend on God completely is what strengthens their faith and makes their witness powerful and true.

It amazes me to see that some Christians sincerely believe that God can use unrighteous means to accomplish His will.

Such believers are full of compromise because they do not understand that Christianity is about transformation, not results.

Let me just say this: It doesn’t matter how astounding the testimony is — if it was not produced by righteousness, it is not God. Period!!!

The Call to Decide

Truth be told, all of us have, from time to time, hopped off the school bus of the Spirit.

But we ought not to stay off.

There comes a time in our walk when we must decide that this back-and-forth, spiritual yo-yo can no longer continue.

It’s either we are in or out.

There is a quote by Alexander Hamilton that states:

“If you stand for nothing, you will fall for anything.”

What True Witness Looks Like

Our lack of conviction is costing Jesus genuine followers.

Today on Easter day, I am reminded of the mandate of Jesus to His disciples:

Acts 1:8 (AMP)

“But you will receive power and ability when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be My witnesses….”

But I can’t help but feel many Christians are bearing false witness to Jesus.

And this is because these Christians have never allowed themselves to be discipled by God.

Anytime there is testing, they make a way out for themselves.

They despise waiting. They do not honor process. And most of all, they are willing to compromise just to find momentary relief.

All because they have been led to believe that bearing witness to the gospel of Christ means telling people what they’ve read and heard — rather than what they’ve experienced.

How does one share a faith they themselves do not wholeheartedly believe?

Belief is deeper than confession.

The Cost of the Gospel

Many professing Christians get offended when we speak of the things that we have handled by God’s grace. They say we shouldn’t speak of our experiences because it isn’t doctrine.

What they ignore is that one’s lived experience gives credence to doctrine.

So I ask the question: what did the Apostles bear witness to? Was it only of things they read, or both things they read and saw? (1 John 1:1–3)

It is such a shame that we have forgotten the conviction of our forerunners.

No wonder we are left with the semblance of faith that can’t transform.

The gospel did not lose its power.

The Holy Spirit is not handicapped.

It’s us!

We refuse to pay the price.

The gospel comes with a steep price.

And that price requires sacrifice and suffering.

Because our salvation was authored by suffering.

The Power of the Resurrection

As we celebrate Easter, let our focus not only be on the resurrection of Jesus — but also what His resurrection affords us.

His resurrection is proof that the Holy Spirit has been poured out.

And that we now have access to God’s life — the Zoe life: The God-kind of life — eternal, divine, active life.

Through this life, we are empowered to live for Christ.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, if you identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, hunger for this divine life by allowing God to disciple you through His process.

So that you too can become a true witness whose conviction runs deep, and your testimony brings transformation — just like those of our forefathers, the Apostles of the Lamb.