Are you A Christian
Clarifying your Testimony
© 2012 Andrew Knight and Campus Outreach All logos, icons, and images courtesy of Mysitemyway Design Team. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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PEAKS AND VALLEYS The Christian life is a series of peaks and valleys. It has its ups and downs. But over time the Christian life should be marked by more growth towards God than growth away from God. In other words, the peaks should begin either to be more consitent or have greater incline than the decline of the valleys. With regards to questions of one’s salvation Jesus says that the trend of one’s life is a good indicator of whether or not one has experienced a real life changing relationship with God. Coming into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ is an event, but sometimes the process of that relationship is a good indicator of whether or not someone has truly trusted in Jesus for salvation or not. Jesus says we will know someone’s true beliefs by their behaviors over time... “For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” Luke 6:43-45
Testimonies • And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:11,12) • Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith’ examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you indeed fail the test! (2 Corinthians 13:5)
Clarifying your testimony is as important as the testimony itself because it is a point in time in which the gospel becomes “personalized.” It is the time in which you embrace all that God is for you. A personal testimony is not only a great means by which you can verbally share with others the practical steps of how you became a Christian, but it is also the means and the end of our assurance in Christ. A personal testimony acts as the means or the catalyst of our assurance in being a Christian because it is a concise account of our deficiency apart from Christ, our decision in Christ, and our devotion to Christ. It acts as a summary of our conversion story that we can come back to continually for confidence. But remember, it is not our decision that we come back to for confidence, but our Savior. But, a testimony also acts as the end or result of our assurance because total affirmation compels us to share in certainty our life story. So, the personal testimony fuels and finishes our “certainty in” and “sharing of” Jesus’ life-changing grace. Crafting the testimony allows one to investigate the reality and authenticity of Christ in their life by confronting truth and analyzing past and present responses to this truth! Remember, the testimony is always the same: 1 John 5:11-12. The testimony always answers the “what” question. The “what” of the personal testimony is this: true life comes from God, through Christ, and to us. But the personal testimony also answers the “when” question. The “when” of the personal testimony accounts for the point in time in which one realizes and affirms the “what” internally and personally. Finally, the “how” of the personal testimony is the unique combination of how the “what” and the “when” happened. It is an explanation of the circumstances, situations, feelings, and thoughts that surrounded the life transformation.
Ephesians 2:1-10 - Our Story
Ephesians chapter 2 gives us the structure of the Gospel, which is the precise layout form for the personal testimony: !
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Our Deficiency (during conversion): What are we saved “from” (verses 1-3)
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. !
Our Decision (during conversion): What are we saved “to” (verses 4-9)
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. !
Our Devotion: (after conversion) What are we saved “for” (verse 10)
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
This Gospel storyline outlines the same structure for our Testimonies The personal testimony illustrates the very process that a person undergoes in being transformed from death to life. Just as Ephesians 2:1-10 has three distinct sections, so does the personal testimony. The first section is our deficient morale record before an all-holy God. Ephesians 2:1-3 accounts for our death, sin, and evilness through and through. When giving one’s story it is important to explain how our life was falling short or deficient of what God wants and what makes us ultimately happy. The second section of Ephesians 2:1-10 is found in verses 4-9. It accounts for God’s saving work and the transformation that happens at our expression of faith in Jesus. Ultimately, this is our new state, standing, and status before our God the moment we believe. This is the turning point of one’s testimony. This is an account of the events surrounding our saving trust in Jesus and the new realities that are true as a result of conversion. Finally, Ephesians 2:10 caps the gospel story for a believers life. It is a forward and future looking trajectory of one’s new life in Christ. After sharing your morale insufficiencies and Christ’s saving work on the cross, talk briefly about how God has changed your life both in outlook and in purpose. Your life is now marked by dependence and devotion unto him and no longer by damnation or disobedience.
Reflection Questions 1. Who is the subject and responsible (subject of all the verbs) for our condition in verses 1-3? In other words, Verses 1-3 are all about whose actions? What is the common pronoun used? (he, she, it, you, we...)
2. What word does Paul use to describe our spiritual condition? Why does he choose this word? What verb is used in front of this “word” and what tense is it (past, present, future)? —why is this significant?
3. Describe the words “trespass” and “sin.”
4. What does it mean to “walk according to the course of this world?”
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Who is “the prince of the power of the air?” Why is this his name?
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Who are the “sons of disobedience?”
5. What is Paul’s main point in verse 3? What is he making sure the Christian understands? What are some of “the desires of the flesh and of the mind?”
6. Verses 4-9 are all about whose actions? The preposition at the beginning of verse 4 hints at this. Who is the subject of all the verbs in verses 4-9? What does this answer tell us about who accomplishes our salvation?
Reflection Questions Continued 7. What word does Paul use to describe our spiritual condition in verse 5? How is this different from verse 1?
8. Define “grace?”
9. Why is it important to be raised up with Jesus? (See Romans 6:1-11) How can we be seated in the heavenly places when we are still living here on earth?
11. What do you think verse 7 speaks of? (hint: the coming ages)
12. How is grace applied to us? “through...____________”
13. What are the two gifts of God that Paul speaks of in verse 8? !
How does a gift keep us from boasting?
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Explain why faith keeps us humble? (Why does someone turn to faith?)
14. To whom is credit due for our new creation as communicated in verse 10? How are we recreated? !
What were we created for? What is our purpose?
15. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words: (Word Bank: Faith, Good Works, Grace) We are saved by _______________, through _________________, for ___________________.
Defining our Terms Deficiency (Before): the first part of a personal testimony deals with the details or the “dirt” of your life before Christ. This describes the pattern of the life that you lived before you became a Christian. This part of your personal testimony includes such things as family background, memorable experiences that affected you for the better or worse, spiritual atmosphere with which you were raised and any overall experiences and situations that shaped your spiritual journey. The important thing to remember is honesty. Do not change or alter your testimony because you do not think it is exciting enough. Remember, passing out of death into life, coming from blindness to sight, judgment to grace, peace from rebellion is incredible regardless of how the process happened. Whether your life is an example of “grotesque living” or of “goodness earning grace”, both are abhorred by Jesus in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) because they are both attempts to run away from God and pursue something less than the best and something far from sufficient. The description of your life before Christ is to highlight your deficiency in yourself, among others, and before your God. Which promises were you hoping the finite world would come through in? What areas were you trusting in to provide satisfaction, and fulfillment-- (relationships, grades, athletics, popularity, social life, money)! For My people have committed two great evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13)
Your Deficiency 1.
When did you start having distaste for sin?
2.
Is the trend of your life displaying an increasing obedience to/desire for God, rather than disobedience and apathy toward God?
Defining our Terms Decision (How): the second part of the personal testimony highlights the specifics of the actual conversion or heart change that is most often followed by a decision that cements the new reality into our life. It is not the decision that earns us salvation, but the decision is just an outward expression of the inward reality that has taken place. The decision always follows desire. The heart always moves the head. Once God has pulled us to Himself and shown us our deficiency apart from Him we experience new desires and this sparks us to decide to put our life in Jesus’ hands, even though it is quite evident by our wanting Him to become the Lord and love of our lives that He has already secured our lives in and for Himself. This is an intangible event in our lives, but it is most often pinpointed and easily explained by our tangible reference given by our decision! Remember, do your best to highlight an event, a scripture, a conversation, or a sermon that really awakened your heart to its desperate shape and its need for reviving. For most people there is a process that leads up to this conversion point, but the actual point in time that you cease to have faith in yourself and put it in God for everything from satisfaction to salvation is an event, not a process. This is a moment that the “what,” the “when,” and the “how” all climax. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come (II Corinthians 5:17).
Your Decision... 1.
When did you first logically/mentally comprehend the truths of the Gospel?
2.
When did the knowledge of the Gospel begin causing an emotional response in you?
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When, in your opinion, did you actively put your trust/hope/belief in Christ alone for your eternal salvation and acceptance before God? (aka, living by faith)
Defining our Terms Devotion (After): The final phase of the personal testimony consists of the time between your conversion and current life. This is most often a summary of your relationship with Christ up until now. What has changed? With what perspectives do you view the world? How has behavior, language, habits, and thinking become more godly? Answering these questions leads one to an understanding of the sanctification process that is ongoing in their life. Sanctification is just a fancy Biblical word for becoming more like Jesus. Just as the path towards salvation was a process that led to an event, so is sanctification a process that will end in completion when we are called to our Father’s side in heaven. As the trend of one’s life in the “deficiency stage” is progressively moving away from God in adoration and action, a life in the “devotion stage” is a life that is ever more moving toward a life pleasing and pleasuring itself in Jesus. Furthermore, just as salvation is a work of God and not of man, sanctification is a work of God that man desires to have happen (Gal. 3:3). This is such a critical part of the testimony because this is where assurance is born or blown. The “decision stage” gives birth to devotion which overwhelmingly supports a new life in Christ. The more the devotional life has been developed by God, the more love, thanksgiving and amazement accompanies our view of God. Our assurance gradually becomes more and more visible and more and more commendable as we progress in this stage. The more we can remember the more we realize the Father’s grace-changing gospel has taken root and is reproducing in our lives rapidly. But, just as the “devotional stage” gives birth to assurance it can also uncover deceptive assurance. A true believer’s life has a marked change at the decision sector of their life. They have a growing inclination for godliness and a general trend of life that is marked by increasing intimacy with Jesus. This does not mean that sin is no where to be found, but that sin is hated, and is being defeated by new desires and a present Spirit-filled life conquers over a past Satanfilled life. What is the trend of your life? Has it progressively moved toward or away from God? Has there been a marked change in your life that your testimony, scripture and friends affirm? After the decision, you will know if the Spirit of God has entered your life based on your lifestyle—is it becoming more like Christ? If it has remained unchanged decide now that you want Jesus more than you want your old life. Be sure and be assured! By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in Him; but whoever keeps His word, in Him, the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked (1 John 2:3-6).
Your Devotion...
1. When did you start desiring to spend time knowing God in the Bible and in prayer? 2. When did others begin to notice a change in your life?
Self-Examination Questions 1. When did repentance and faith become conscious actions of your heart? • 1 John 1:9 • Hebrews 11:1, 6 2. When did the trend of your life demonstrate obedience to God, rather than disobedience? • 1 John 2:3-6 • John 14:15 3. When were you assured of the Holy Spirit’s presence in your life? • I John 3:24 • Galatians 5:22-25 4. When did others around you begin to see a real change in your life? • Luke 6:43-45 • 2 Corinthians 2:15-17 5. In light on your conclusions, do you think Christ has come into your life? If so, when? If not, why do you delay?
Helpful Hints The personal testimony can be of great benefit to you as you share the gospel. Its effectiveness lies in its personalization. The gospel ceases to be just a religion or a set of believed doctrines and becomes a channel by which the audience sees how it affects one personally and practically. The personal testimony is an invaluable tool nowadays because society is looking to personal experience more and more for answers. Besides, the gospel caters to this well because it is not so much explained as it is experienced. Your testimony is sure to give your audience irrefutable evidence for “the power of God for salvation to all who believe.” (Romans 1:16-17).
Thing to Remember: 1. Speak with a tempered enthusiasm. -This is the story of your freedom, fulfillment, friendship, and forgiveness— so act like it. Remember to smile and be happy, but not so much as to appear unapproachable. Your want to maintain a pleasant and peaceful countenance that shows Jesus for who He is—attractive and inviting. 2. Be mindful of transparency. -Share your life story without cleaning it up. Sharing your heart openly usually necessitates their openness as well. 3. Aim for Connection. -The person giving their testimony does not want to create walls through their present circumstance but wants to tear them down by relating to the individual as much as possible. It is best to paint a portrait of humility so not as to raise yourself above the one you are sharing with. Put yourself in their shoes, and make the testimony as pertinent to them as possible. Look for overlapping areas of life that are shared between you. 4. Use layman’s terms. -Work on using language that is relatable to the audience you are speaking to. Avoid using “Christiany” jargon such as “saved,” “convicted,” “converted,” “born again,” “sin.” You want to change nothing of the message of Christ, but pay special attention to how it is communicated. 5. Concise and Scriptural -You only get one shot, so aim to be more concise. Beware of dumping too much on them at once or of losing their attention. Build your story around 1-2 Gospel-centered and Christ-exalting verses that will keep Jesus in focus.
Personal Testimony Outline Deficiency: My Life Before knowing Christ:
How I became aware of My need:
Decision: How I became a Christian:
Devotion: What has Christ done /doing in my life and how am I changing?
Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:10-13 ESV)