For most of us the first thing that comes to mind when we think of witnessing is that it is what one does when he tells others about God and about being a child of God, a Christian. That is certainly true. But witnessing is more than that.

Witnessing begins, not with telling others about God and the salvation that we have in Him (though that certainly is a very important part of it), but with our personal behavior and conduct. Our actions are the most important part of witnessing.

In all our witnessing there are only two possibilities – we are either showing ourselves to be children of God or children of the devil. We are each confronted, therefore, by an important question: “Do I show by my actions that I am a child of God, or do others see me and think that I am a child of the devil?”

Examples of godly witnessing abound in Scripture. Many of God’s people, in both the Old and the New Testament, were faithful in their witnessing and showed clearly that they were children of God. Perhaps you could sit down and come up with a list of such men and women. Let us for now, however, turn our attention to the example of Daniel. By looking at Daniel we will find out what true witnessing is and involves.

The specific incident of Daniel’s life to which we will turn is the well-known story of Daniel in the lion’s den. Daniel, as we all know, was a godly man who loved God and strove to serve Him. But certain men hated Daniel and desired to kill him. These wicked men devised a plan so that Daniel would be thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel knew about this wicked plan, but yet he served God before he obeyed the wicked and ungodly rules of men. In spite of the king’s command, Daniel continued to pray to God three times a day.

We see four very important parts of witnessing in the example of Daniel. If we remember this story and remember what Daniel did, then we also have a guide for godly witnessing.

First – Daniel acted according to God’s law and did what was right in God’s sight, and not what man said was right. Daniel knew that he would be thrown into the lion’s den, but he went and prayed to God as he always had done. Daniel did what was commanded by God.

This is what you and I should do. God says to us that we must obey Him and so we must. Either we act as children of God or as children of the devil. Whenever we disobey God we are acting as children of the devil, as those who are on the way to eternal damnation in hell.

Just as Daniel obeyed God by praying to Him three times a day, so we also must obey God by always doing as He commands.

Second – The second thing that we notice from the example of Daniel is this: when we obey God as we should, then others, both Christian and non-Christian, see how we act and see that we are children of God and not of the devil.

In Daniel 6:1-3 we find that Daniel was made a ruler over King Darius’ kingdom. He was not made a ruler because he made himself friendly with the king and sought fame and glory. No! Daniel acted as a child of God. And the king, seeing that Daniel was an honest man and faithful in all that he did, appointed Daniel as ruler because he knew that he could trust Daniel.

You and I must also act as did Daniel. When others see us they should be able to tell that we are Christians. Each of us must be a godly witness. This does not mean that we have to go down the street and talk about the things of God to people that we meet, though this certainly is a good and important thing to do. But it means that we must witness by our actions.

This is always easier to do when we are seen and observed by our parents and others in authority, for then we know that we will get into serious trouble if we don’t do the right things. But what is more important is that we act this way when we aren’t seen by those in authority.

What is even more difficult than being a good witness when we aren’t seen by parents, teachers, elders, etc., is being a faithful witness when we are with those who are unbelievers and who show themselves to be children of the devil. These people are always ready to laugh at us, to mock us, to hurt us, and even to hate us if we don’t do things their way. But we must never give in to them nor join with them in their evil actions. We must never think we can get away with sin. We must always act so that they look at us and see that we are those who love God.

It is here that we see the truth of that well-known saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” By our actions, which are like a picture to those who see us, we must show that we love God and that we are children of God and not of the devil. It is when others see that we are Christians that God is glorified. We are then able to tell others about God and to witness not only by our actions but also by our words.

Third – The third thing we notice from the life of Daniel is that he was persecuted, for he was thrown into the lion’s den. Because he obeyed God and was a godly witness he had to face certain death by being eaten by the lions. Daniel realized this, but what did he do? Did he disobey God so that his life would be spared? No! Daniel did not even hide, but he opened his windows and prayed to God as he always had done. The threat of death did not stop him from being a faithful child of God.

You and I also face this. If you are a true witness you will be mocked and laughed at. This will certainly happen, for the world sees us and hates us. The world never wants to be friends with us. The world always tries to make our lives difficult. And sometimes even those who are our own Christian friends will treat us this way. This is difficult, but still we must witness by acting as God commands. Even if we know that we will be mocked, ridiculed, and punished, we still must do what is right. Scripture teaches us this, for we read in I Peter 3:17: For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well-doing, than for evil-doing.”

            So what about you? Are you afraid to serve God because you might be laughed at and mocked? The threat of these things is never a reason for not being a good witness. You must always obey God, no matter what the cost may be.

Fourth – This brings us to the fourth and final thing that we see from the example of Daniel. What happened to Daniel in the lion’s den? Did the lions kill Daniel? No! Daniel was still alive the next morning when the king went to the lion’s den. Was that because the lions weren’t hungry? No! The only reason why the lions didn’t kill Daniel was because God cared for him. God was with Daniel and saved him from harm and danger and death.

And this is what God will do for you and me too. God has promised to care for us. He loves us who are His children. God controls all things, even the dangers that we face in our lives, and God will care for us when we faithfully witness for Him. Even though we may lose our earthly life, God will care for our souls and bring us to glory. We never need to worry about what others think when we show by our actions that we love God. We must only be concerned about what God thinks. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).

Let us remember Daniel and what he did. Remember that he obeyed God. Remember that others could see that Daniel obeyed and loved God. Remember that Daniel was not afraid of what his enemies would do to him. And remember that God took care of Daniel. Be a godly witness. Be like Daniel.