Touchpoint Bible Study

Your personal testimony

According to Merriam Webster the definition of a testimony is a solemn declaration, usually made orally, by a witness or a firsthand authentication of a fact. The testimony is a powerful tool to convey the Christian transformation to the secular individual. 

Individuals are normally defensive and evasive, naturally, when dealing with paradigm shifting information such as radical political or religious declarations. One of the most effective ways to disarm such defensive reactions is to speak to an individual from a personal experience. The testimony allows a Christian to share his transformational experience in a way that draws the audience in and allows an empathic response. 

A persons testimony should focus on a balanced approach between factual information and the heart's emotions. Allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through us with a message of the love and salvation of Jesus Christ. A good testimony allows the listener an opportunity to ask questions. Once a dialog is established, the witness can then explain the basics of salvation through Jesus Christ. 

A good testimony has several characteristics: honesty, the need for salvation, how Jesus provides this salvation, and  a warning involving the nature of sin and how life is limited here but a chance for eternal life exists. A Christian can practice by speaking with family, neighbors, and coworkers. Over time a balance will develop between the love of salvation and the warning of dying with unresolved sin. 

Word of their testimony [84]

After a testimony has been delivered, questions answered, and the beginnings of a rapport is established, generally a plan is enacted. This plan can be as simple as providing resources such as Christian literature or an invitation to church or other event. It is providing the listener an opportunity to take the next step in discovering Christ. 

A simple way to conceptualize a testimony is through the following declarations to the listener: your life before Christ, how you came to find salvation through Jesus, your life in Jesus with the Holy Spirit, finally inviting the listener(s) to know Jesus Christ and receive salvation. 

Evangelism is a commission for every Christian as described in the gospel of Matthew. (Matt. 28:18-20) Practicing evangalism will allow a person to develop charisma and strengthen their own personal conviction; allowing the Holy Spirit to work through them and bring more individuals to the kingdom of heaven. 

Time is a crucial factor in judging whom we share our testimonies. Jesus taught us not to throw our pearls before swine. (Matt. 7:6) Just as doctors triage soldiers on the battlefield for who gets medical resources and those that do not, we as Christians have to judge our time and provide our testimonies and our energy into individuals ready to listen and to receive the message of salvation. 

There is a common strategy of meeting people where they are at in their understanding of God, sin, and the need for a savior. The evangelist is able to meet them at their current knowledge and then push them forward. We have all heard the expression of 'planting seeds'. It can feel frustration to share a testimony that doesn't seem to go anywhere by the audience, and easily rejected, but god knows how that message can be used to allow that individual opportunities to change through the Holy Spirit in the future.