What is Your Testimony?

I love hearing people share their testimonies. It is truly beautiful to hear someone talk about how they came to know Jesus. But unfortunately, I have heard people share a version of their testimony where they made no mention of Jesus or salvation. Your testimony is not the story of good things God has done for you or how the Lord led you to a particular school or career path. Your testimony is not limited to how God helped you overcome some struggles or trials. These things are a part of your testimony, and God certainly uses them, but your testimony is primarily the story of how you were dead in sin but have now been made alive in Jesus. 

Your testimony’s details are unique because we are all unique. We have different backgrounds and varying life experiences, so share those details. Be discerning about what you say (for example, maybe don’t tell someone you just met about a sin you still struggle with), but be honest. Make it personal and truthful. 

If you’ve never shared your testimony, a good way to structure it is to answer these three questions: 1. What was my life like before Jesus? 2. How did I come to know Jesus? 3. What is my life like now with Jesus?

This model is something that we see laid out in Scripture, with one well-known example being Ephesians 2:1-10. This passage answers these questions by teaching that before Jesus, we were dead in sin, following after the world and after Satan, living in the passions of our flesh, and we were children of wrath by nature (Ephesians 2:1-3). But God has made us alive with Christ, saved us by grace — not by works — raised us up and seated us with Him in the Heavenly places (Ephesians 2:4-9). The third question — who we are now — is also answered in that we are God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), which means that we are His masterpiece! God has good works for us to do that He has already planned for us, “that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).  

Knowing Jesus changes everything. You cannot have a testimony apart from the one you are testifying about. Tell others you were dead in sin but are now alive. You were following after whatever the world said and whatever your fleshly nature prompted you to do, but you have been saved by the grace of God alone. You were born in a fallen state by nature, but now God continues to show you the riches of His grace in kindness in Christ. 

You might wonder why this is important or if you need to share your testimony. But there is power in your testimony because there is power in the gospel. There is power in your testimony because your testimony is the truth of how you have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. There is power in your testimony because there is power in the God who has changed your life, and you want others to know Him as well. Telling others your testimony makes sharing the gospel personal and builds a connection between you and them. Your salvation story is one of the greatest tools you have been equipped with as a child of God. 

May you boldly proclaim how God has “called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Have you encountered Jesus; has He changed your life? If so, who can you share your testimony with?