Evangelism, Part 10

The Joy of Sharing the Good News

In the previous two posts, I offered some biblical examples of testimonies, explained the benefits of memorizing your testimony, and provided instructions on how to develop your personal testimony. Have you written yours yet? If not, just begin writing. You can edit it after your first draft — and continue to edit until it’s clear and concise. It will become a useful tool in your tool belt when introducing Jesus into a conversation or using it as a transition to explain the gospel more fully.

To help give you a better idea of a personal testimony, I humbly offer my own. Obviously, there are elements specific to me. What I want to you to see is how I attempt to weave elements of the gospel into my testimony. In one sense, I am sharing the gospel indirectly through my testimony. Notice I avoid technical language and end with a question. Some may be inclined to hear a testimony and say, “I’m glad that works for you” and change the subject. Pray your testimony will lead into a more thorough dialogue about the gospel.

Once you have finished, it would be wise to allow other Christians to review it. Invite their honest feedback. They will likely have something to offer that will help you refine and improve it. 

Frank’s Testimony

Have I ever told you the story of how I became a Christian? When I was 16, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. By the time I was 17 my medications proved useless, and I underwent two emergency surgeries — almost resulting in my death. It was during this period that I seriously pondered the fundamental questions of life for the first time. What was my purpose? Why was I here? I was not happy with what life appeared to be. It seemed like everyone was just going through the motions: go to school, get a degree, get a job, get married, have kids, make money, retire. And eventually die. Was that it? I desperately hoped there was something more significant in life than just living. There had to be some absolute standard I could appeal to. If not, how could I know if my life was headed in the right direction?

My junior year of college marked a critical turning point. I began talking with Christian students about their understanding of the Bible. Growing up, we always had a Bible in our house but no one ever read it. God always seemed so distant from daily life. I felt like God was out there, I was down here, and that was that. Finally, after talking with these Christian and beginning to read the New Testament for myself, I realized I knew a lot about God but did not know him in a personal way; in a way that transforms one’s life. Nor did I have the confidence that heaven would be my home when I died.

For years I failed to understand that my sin had separated me from God. The Bible clearly states that the only way we can have a relationship with a holy God is for our sins to be forgiven. Like many, I thought I could earn God’s acceptance by trying to be religious externally. I tried to live up to God’s standard, but Jesus said I couldn’t, and from experience I knew this to be true. It is only Jesus’s death on the cross in our place that can pay the penalty for our sins. I understood this intellectually, but I had never surrendered my life to Christ and put my trust in him alone.

Up until that time I had been trusting in myself and what I had done to be accepted by God. Unfortunately, I was trusting in the wrong person. Instead, I needed to trust in Christ and what he accomplished for me through his perfect life and his death on the cross. His forgiveness comes as a gift to be received, not as a reward to be earned. God’s grace moved me to turn from my sin and self-oriented life to Jesus to receive his forgiveness and fullness of life only he can give. That’s when my relationship with God truly began and knowing Jesus as Lord and Savior has made all the difference in the way I relate to others and the choices I make.

After I came to faith, my purpose became very clear to me. I was created to know God, love God, and serve God in a way that impacts life here and now. I was created to have a relationship with him. For years I was striving to make life work, but something was missing. I was not complete, and I knew it. But after I received Christ into my life, things started to change. Where there was once deep turmoil, God has given me an uncommon sense of peace and stability.

Life still has its problems and challenges, but Jesus grants me the grace and strength I need to live the kind of life he created me for. And because I belong to him, I have the assurance that if I died tonight, I would spend eternity with him. In our culture, so many people have misconceptions about Christianity.

I wonder if anyone has ever taken the time to explain to you what the Bible says about knowing Jesus personally?