It was a regular occurrence at the little denominational group I assembled with as a teenager for folks to get up and give their personal testimony. You’d hear a number of different things, from how the person came to faith to what God had done for them in the past week. As I recall, it was simply called “sharing time.”
Testimony is defined as:
an open acknowledgement; a public profession of religious experience. (M-W.com)
The idea of believers giving a testimony is certainly not foreign to the Bible. It is good for our faith, and also our brethren if we openly acknowledge God’s goodness as we experience it in our daily lives. Such will help us to realize and appreciate how blessed we are, and channel the praise heavenward. I fear we do not do this enough. We don’t need a formalized time in the assembly to share with each other how our week has been blessed by the Lord. We should call one another up, send an e-mail of encouragement, go out for a coffee together and share how God has blessed us. The word testimony is never used in this manner in the Scriptures, but surely it is good for us to profess our experience as a child of God to others.
The word “testimony,” so far as it applies to the child of God, is used in two ways in the Bible. Primarily, it is used of our testimony for Jesus Christ; that is, sharing our faith with those who are lost. It’s also used at times of our reputation. We will begin by looking at this latter use.
A good testimony
When we consider Paul’s conversion, we often focus on the blinding light he saw the Lord speaking to him from on his way to Damascus. Rightly so, for it was this experience that sent Paul into the city, not as a persecuting threat to the Christians, but as a destitute soul. But as Paul recounts his conversion, he acknowledged Ananias, the man who laid hands on him, and likely taught and baptized him (Acts 9:10-18). Paul called him
…a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there (Acts 22:12)
In his third epistle, John spoke of Demetrius, whom he said
…has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. (3 John 12)
What a wonderful thing for a man to have said of him! Not only did his fellow Christians speak well of him [which is not always a good thing, 2 Corinthians 10:12], but he had a good testimony from the truth – that is he was obedient to the word of God.
In sports, those who set themselves apart by their excellence are generally inducted into a hall of fame. These sport shrines have memorabilia from the playing days of their inductees. You’ll find the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, ON; the baseball hall of fame in Cooperstown, NY; the NASCAR hall of fame in Charlotte, NC, the football hall of fame in Canton, OH, etc..
There is also a “faith” hall of fame, and there is no travel necessary to get there. Open your Bible to Hebrews 11, and there it is. One of the inductees is Enoch. Of him we read,
By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.(Hebrews 11:5)
Could there be any better epitaph than this? It was his reputation among his contemporaries, and by the record of Scripture, to all generations, that God bore him witness, that he was faithful! God was so pleased with Enoch, that He saw fit to simply take him – he would not die, he was simply conveyed from this life and its trials into eternal life in the presence of God!
Friend, we want to have a good testimony – that is, a good reputation.
An occasion for testimony
As Jesus told His disciples of the trials that would come their way, He said
…it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. (Luke 21:13)
Paul encouraged Timothy,
…do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord… (2 Timothy 1:8)
In the book of Revelation, the Lord showed John
…those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. (Revelation 6:9)
Later, John saw those
...who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.(Revelation 12:17)
Friend, when we “give a testimony,” it ought to be about Jesus Christ, not about us! Our purpose is not to tell others how much we gave up so that we might serve Christ. Our aim should not be to display how great we are or how great our faith is. When we have “an occasion for testimony,” let it be about Jesus!
When Stephen appeared before the Sanhedrin in Acts 7, he doesn’t speak a single word about himself. His focus was upon the plan of God for the souls of men. When an opportunity was given to Peter to speak with the house of Cornelius, he didn’t tell them what he gave up to follow Jesus – he spoke of the universal call of the gospel (Acts 10:34-35). Before the Sanhedrin, Felix, Festus, Agrippa, and even Caesar, Paul’s focus was upon the Son of God and the saving of souls, not himself (Acts 22-26). That does not mean we don’t give some details of our own salvation, but the focus needs to be on Jesus Christ.
Take every opportunity to give a testimony, the testimony of the Christ!
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