Testimonies

The word “testimony” is used in a few different ways. To link the word “Christian” to the word “testimony” is to narrow the focus of the testimony and who can give it. Only a Christian can provide a Christian testimony statement, and a Christian is one who has received forgiveness for sin by trusting alone in God and the work of Jesus Christ for that forgiveness.

A Christian testimony is given when Christians relate how we came to know God through the moving of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Most commonly, we are sharing how we became Christians by God’s miraculous intervention and work in our lives through specific events. Also, when giving this testimony, a sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is always a necessity. Though we can include accurate information about how we came to accept Christ as Savior, those details should not be the focus of the testimony.

The focus should be about the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. A Christian testimony should not end with the conversion experience, but should also include how the Lord has worked in our lives to sanctify us for His service. As an example, a testimony could consist of how He thought us to overcome a difficult time in our life (such as a loss or some sort or severe illness) and built our faith in Him through that experience. We should also be able to describe the continual process by which the Spirit who now dwells in us leads, guides, moulds and shapes us into mature Christians. Again, the focus should be on the Lord and His faithfulness and should include at least one verse that speaks of that faithfulness.