The Testimony Of A Dead Man

Dear Visionary Leader:
We are called to be witnesses, not lawyers. A witness is somebody who tells what he or she has seen and heard. A lawyer is somebody who argues a case. We are witnesses of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
A Christian with a glowing testimony is worth a library full of arguments. We need to learn how to give our testimony. We do not have to be a theologian to be able to give our testimony.
Do you remember the man who was born blind that Jesus healed him? The Pharisees jumped on the blind man’s case. They were angry because this man had been healed. They backed him into a corner and asked him all kinds of theological questions. The man just said, “One thing I know; once I was blind, and now I see.” A Christian with a testimony is never at the mercy of an infidel with an argument. Our testimony is the most convincing thing when we witness and share the Lord Jesus Christ. During the next three weeks, I will write on The Testimony Of A Dead Man.
In Ephesians 2:1-10, we read:
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
The Testimony Of A Dead Man continues in the Visionary Coaching below.
There are several tremendous truths regarding the testimony of a dead man. I believe each of these truths will inspire you. First:
We Should Reflect On Our Past Guilt (Eph. 2:1-3)
We learn in verse one that we were dead. Christ made us alive when we dead in our trespasses and sins. When people get saved, they need more than the forgiveness of sin, they need the forgiveness of sins. If you forgive a dead man, he’s still dead. Death in the Bible is not the separation of the soul from the body. Death in the Bible is the separation of the soul from God. When a man became a sinner, or when we were sinners by nature, we were just simply ourselves minus God.
When Adam sinned, God moved out of Adam. God use to live in Adam. God inhabited the spirit of Adam. God said to Adam, if you disobey me, you will die. Well, Adam disobeyed God, did he die? Well, you say yes, he died because God said Adam, in the day you eat of this forbidden fruit you will die.
However, the Bible also records that he went on to live for hundreds of years. God said he’s going to die. Did he die or didn’t he? The answer is yes. He did die but how did he die? He died immediately in the Spirit, died progressively in his soul and died ultimately in his body. When the Lord went out of Adam, he was depraved. When the life went out Adam, he was dead. When the light went out of Adam, he was darkened.
God describes every man, women, boy, girl, who are without Christ, to be dead in trespasses with sin. They have existence, but they don’t have life. Jesus came to people who were already existing and said, “I have come that you might have life.” Eternal life does not mean to exist forever. People live forever in Hell. Eternal life means to have Jesus.
Jesus raised three people from the dead. Jesus raised from the dead a little girl, Jairus’ daughter. Jesus walked into the room of the little girl who had just died. While he walked into the bedroom, they were laughing him to scorn. Yet, he took her by the hand and told her to get up out of bed.
Later, Jesus raised the widow’s son. They were on their way to the funeral with him. He was a young man. Jesus interrupted the funeral processional and raised that widow’s son from the dead.
The third person Jesus raised from the dead was Lazarus. Now, Lazarus had been buried for four days and already corruption had set in. Jesus said roll away the stone. The people told Jesus not to do it since the odor of death is in there. Yet, Jesus said roll away the stone and he raised him from the dead.
Of the three that Jesus raised from the dead, which one was the deadest? They were all just as dead. Dead is dead.
Sometimes, we look at young boys and girls who are at the age of accountability and express how sweet they are. If we are not careful, we will conclude they are not dead in their trespasses with sin. Yet, dead is dead. We can see that Lazarus is dead, but the daughter and son were just as dead.
We know that a thief, a pervert, a liar, an adulterer, and a drunkard are dead. Yet, I want you to know that the boys and girls who are in our churches, who are at the age of accountability and don’t know Jesus, are just as dead as the worst bank robber or drunkard on skid row. Dead is dead, whether it’s a little girl in her bedroom or Lazarus in a grave. The Bible says that we’re dead in trespasses of sin.
There was a time, when you and I were devilish. In Ephesians 2:2, we read, “Wherein time pass you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience.”
The walking dead in this world are living under the dictatorship of the devil. People who are without the Lord Jesus Christ talk about how free they are. They’re not free at all. They are slaves. They are free to do what they want, but they’re not free to do as they ought. They’re not free to live until they have the power of Jesus in their lives. Jesus said that he had come to give us abundant life. Yet, people without Christ are not only dead, they’re devilish and disobedient.
The Apostle Paul says, “the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience.” Man is inherently disobedient and rebellious. Have you ever noticed you don’t have to teach a child to lie? You must teach them not to lie. You don’t have to teach a little child to steal. Our children are dead, devilish and disobedient.
In Ephesians 2:3, we learn that we are also depraved. We read, “Among whom also we all had our behavior in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath even as others.”

Every one of us are sinners by nature. We are born with a depraved nature. David said in the Psalms, “in sin did my mother conceive me.” Before we even began school, we already knew how to lie and deceive. We were born with a depraved nature.

The Global Church Network is striving to tell all those who are dead in the trespasses and sin, that there is forgiveness and freedom through Jesus Christ!

Until The Last Person Has Heard,

Dr. James. O. Davis
Founder/President
Global Church Network
Cochair / Global Networking