I love the hymn “Blessed Assurance” written by Fanny Crosby in 1873. The chorus of this hymn is a declaration of the blessed assurance of salvation that we have in Jesus Christ. “This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long; this is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.” I would imagine whenever these words are sung, each person singing or listening is deeply reflecting on their very own special story about how they came to know God personally.
A person who is truly a Christian has their very own story, also known as a personal testimony, of how they came to faith in Jesus Christ. A Christian’s personal testimony is simply a love story of God’s pursuit to rescue those who are lost, broken and burdened. It is a story of God supernaturally bringing a person to the realization that they are a sinner separated from him and that he loves them so much, that he sent his son, Jesus Christ to pay the penalty of their sins. To me, the most powerful and genuine personal testimony in the Bible is found in John 9:25. The sight of a man who had been born blind was miraculously restored by Jesus. The blind man was questioned by the Pharisees who, “blinded” by their own self-righteousness, accused Jesus of being a sinner. The blind man said, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind, but now I see!” After further interrogation from the Pharisees, he says in John 9:30-33, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” This is one of the most humble, honest and straightforward personal testimonies in the Bible. It is also symbolically significant because it describes the transformation from spiritual darkness to new life in Jesus Christ.
What would you say if someone asked you how you became a Christian? Speaking about the events that led to your salvation in Christ can be a blessing to those you share it with. It can lead to opportunities for you to plant, water seeds or even be used by God to lead someone to faith in Christ. It can also be a little intimidating for some folks. Here is an easy formula that you can use to help you share your personal testimony in 3 concise parts.
1. Share how your life was before accepting Christ.
– In your personal testimony, state how your life was self-centered and not God centered.
– Discuss what your church life was like before accepting Christ.
– State how sin affected your life.
2. Share how you came to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
– State how you came to the point where you agreed with God that you were a sinner and as a result you were separated from Him (Romans 3:23).
– State that you realized that you could not save yourself or trust in your own conduct or good works for salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9).
– Talk about how you repented and turned away from your sins.
3. Share how you now feel about your life with Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal Savior.
– Talk about the hope and freedom you have in your personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
– State how your life is now God centered.
– State how your life is no longer self-centered or self-sufficient, but dependent on God.
Here are some other tips:
Listen to the Guidance of the Holy Spirit
Although it’s your personal testimony, it’s not all about you. It’s all about glorifying God. It’s important to rely on the Holy Spirit to help you with this. He may direct you to share how you came to faith in Jesus Christ or simply a testimony of how God answered a prayer and helped you with a recent problem in your life. Trust God to give you the words to say.
Use Discernment when Revealing Very Graphic Details about Your Life before Accepting Christ
When sharing personal testimonies, one does not have to reveal past events in very graphic detail unless you feel led by God to do so. However, if the Lord is leading you to mention anything from your past, it is very important that you emphasize how he has delivered you from it. Rely on the Holy Spirit to provide discernment and the articulation needed when speaking about these graphic details in your life before accepting Christ. Also, rely on him to help you discern if these things should be shared or if they should remain between you and God. As a Christian matures, God will provide the strength to speak about the graphic details of their past. They will find that God has delivered so many others from the very same things. In turn, God will use this person’s testimony to minister to an unbeliever who may not feel that they can’t be forgiven. There are many people in the Bible like the Apostle Paul and Rahab who had notorious pasts yet God used them for his glory.
Do Not Embellish Events about Your Life before Accepting Christ
In comparison to another Christian’s testimony, someone may feel that they may not have had difficult hardships prior to becoming a Christian. As a result, they may think that their personal testimony is not as powerful as the personal testimony of a recovering addict, alcoholic or former gang member. As a rule, a personal testimony should be given without adding embellishments. Trust God to deal with the hearts of those listening. Your personal testimony could be a tremendous encouragement to others. All in Christ have a powerful testimony that God can use.
Keep it Positive
When sharing your personal testimony, do not discuss negative events like rejection from friends and family as a result of becoming a Christian.
Try Not to Use Religious Vernacular
Using terms like “saved” and “born again” can sound confusing to an unbeliever. You can say, “before I knew Jesus Christ as my personal Savior”. 1 Corinthians 2:14 says that the natural man cannot understand spiritual things because they are discerned only through the Spirit.
Control Your Emotions
Before I accepted Christ, I remember a very nice lady who shared her personal testimony with me. She began to cry (almost uncontrollably) and then she spoke in tongues. I was confused by her emotions and was also completely freaked out! She was very offended by my reaction, but I honestly could not understand why she was crying and ultimately did not know what she was saying. She was experiencing spiritual things that I could not understand as an unbeliever. This example may be a bit extreme, but I would suggest that when sharing your personal testimony with an unbeliever, especially in a one on one setting, that you try not to get extremely emotional. They will not understand the spiritual reason (1 Corinthians 2:14) behind your tears and may become very uncomfortable.
Be Open and Ready
Be ready to lead into sharing the Gospel and open to answer questions that someone may have about how you became a Christian.
Live Worthy of Having a Personal Testimony in Jesus Christ
If you’ve shared your personal testimony with a person that is an active part of your life, your conduct as a Christian is very important. Also, be on guard because the evil one will try to damage your testimony in hopes of tarnishing your credibility with the person that you have shared it with.
In conclusion, although your personal testimony is your story of how you came to know Christ personally, remember that it’s not for you to keep to yourself. It is meant for you to share with all the people whom God has placed on your path. Pray for opportunities to share your God story. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says, “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
HIS IS MY TRUE STORY”
I gave my life to JESUS at the tender age of 14 years of age, and about two weeks later this is what happened to me.
On one morning in 1986, I was getting up and I saw that everybody was sound asleep. Right across my room was the restroom, and as I begin to walk toward the restroom I heard theT spirit of GOD say to me, “Look in your hand”. I began to say back to the spirit of GOD, “Why would I look in my hand?” Then the spirit of GOD spoke for the second time, “I said look in your hand”. By now I am still talking back to the spirit of GOD, because I didn’t know what was going on. I was only 14 years of age when this happened to me, so as you can imagine, I was frightened. So for the third and final time the spirit of GOD’S voice got really loud and HE said to me, “I said to look in your hand!” This time I looked at my right hand and I saw what looked like a puddle of blood, but here’s the thing: it was not bleeding. Then, right in the center of my hand I noticed that GOD had put a beautiful cross in my right hand.
By now I had gone to my mother’s room and knocked as hard as I could on her door and when she opened the door and saw my hand, the only thing she could say was “Oh my GOD! Oh my GOD! Oh my GOD!” Well my mother and I didn’t know what to do, so we just decided to pick up the phone book and call up some of our local pastor’s to tell them what had happened to me. My mother and I came across a particular pastor in Newnan, Georgia, and we decided to call him. My mother started to tell this pastor about all that had happened to me, and the pastor told my mom, “Tell your daughter to show as many people as she can about the cross that GOD had put in her hand”. The pastor also told my mother that GOD had ‘marked your daughter’. It was so amazing and so touching that GOD had chosen to put a cross in my right hand, and yes, this is a true story. To this day that same cross is still in my hand.
ANGEL]
Angel, thanks so much for sharing.