The Key to a Strong Testimony
For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2)
I like to hear how people came to Christ. But to be quite honest, I don’t like it when people go into the gory details of their past. I have listened to some Christians share their testimonies who seem a little more excited about the way they were as nonbelievers than the way they are today. Then there are others who talk about how much they have given up for Jesus. They gave up this. They gave up that.
Don’t tell me about what you gave up for Jesus; tell me what He gave up for you. Don’t tell me what you have done for Jesus; tell me what Jesus has done for you. It is Jesus who has done the work. It is Jesus who matters. It is Jesus whom we are proclaiming.
A good, strong testimony will lift up what Christ has done for us. The fact of the matter is that all of us were sinners hopelessly separated from God, on our way to Hell. The same gospel came and transformed us. So we all have a testimony.
When the apostle Paul, who was a great intellect and a brilliant orator, stood before the great Roman leaders and other people of his day to present the message of the gospel, he often began with his testimony. Why? Because it builds common ground. It helps people to see there is a bridge for them, there is a way for them, and that they, too, can change.
You may not be a great theologian. You may not know all of the verses in the Bible. But you do have a testimony. You have enough that has happened in your life that you can say, “Here is what Jesus did for me.” And that is a good place to start.
Copyright © 2017 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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