If you are a Christian, you have a story about how you came to salvation — a testimony.

My Story

My testimony is that I grew up in a Christian home, and I went to a Christian school. Because of my familiarity with the Bible through church and school, I mistakenly thought I was a Christian.

However, when I was 16, some of my friends in the youth group and my Youth Pastor, at the time, started to challenge my understanding of what it meant to be a Christian. I knew all the right words to say, I knew all the answers to give — I was a sinner, Jesus was my Savior, I needed to repent and believe. If you would have pressed me, I would have said I believed those things. There, however, was just one problem, what I professed to believe hadn’t affected my life. I still desired, did, and sought out the same things as before. That’s a problem because when you become a believer your heart should change, which means that your affections, desires, and will should change so that they are for the things of God. Of course, this will take place in greater degrees over time through the process of sanctification, but if this has not happened in your life, then you may need to question whether you are a believer or not like I had to do.

As I thought about the conversations I had with my friends, I realized I was actually living in opposition to God instead of for Him. It’s at that time I repented of my sins, made a public profession of faith through baptism, and I started to actually live my life for God. Since then, I have had my fair share of struggles and setbacks, but, for the most part, I have been living for and growing in my relationship with Jesus. That’s my story.

Share Your Story

I know you have a story as well. Just like I have shared my story with you, it is good for you to share your story with others. It’s an easy way to evangelize, and a way to worship the Lord for the work He has done in your life.

If you haven’t shared your testimony with anyone lately, I challenge you to do so. Hearing that, some of you may be like a deer in the headlights — frozen with fear. Or you might be thinking, “You want me to actually open up to someone else and tell them my story?” Yes, that’s exactly what I want you to do. I want you to share your testimony with someone else. To make it easier, I suggest you start with your spouse or a family member. You know them well, so it should be easy to talk with them.

After you have shared your testimony with a friend or family member a few times and are comfortable with it, begin to work outwards. Next time you are talking with a co-worker, friend, or neighbor and the conversation turns toward the spiritual, take some time to tell them your story. It’s a great way to share the gospel with them because everyone loves to hear stories, especially stories of change. So if you haven’t shared your testimony lately, I challenge you to do that this week.

Necessary Elements

While we all have our individual stories of how we came to salvation, there are several threads that should be present in all our stories.

• We must all recognize that we are sinners, who deserve to be punished by God.
• We must all recognize Jesus is our Savior, the One who took our punishment for us.
• We must all recognize our need to repent of our sins, and follow Jesus as the Lord of our lives.

Those are the necessary elements that should be present in all our stories, so build your testimony around them as you practice sharing it this week.

Question for Reflection

1. Who did you share your testimony with this week?

Resources

Post developed from my sermon The Humility of Salvation.

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