We’re going to talk about Testimony or Testimonies… In Christianity you hear about testimonies all the time. People giving their testimony.
Do you believe that as a Christian, you have to share your faith or do you believe your faith can be a private thing?
What is the definition of Testimony to you?
And what does it have to do with your faith?
The definition of Testimony
: something that someone says especially in a court of law while formally promising to tell the truth
: proof or evidence that something exists or is true
b : a divine decree attested in the Scriptures
2
a : firsthand authentication of a fact : evidence
b : an outward sign
c : a solemn declaration usually made orally by a witness under oath in response to interrogation by a lawyer or authorized public official
3
a : an open acknowledgment
b : a public profession of religious experience
When we give a testimony, what are we testifying to?
The truth about Jesus
What scripture says about Jesus
Proof or evidence about Jesus
Firsthand authentication of Jesus
Signs that Jesus has performed
Going on record that you believe who Jesus is
Openly telling people who God is and what He’s done
Publicly talking about the experience you’ve had with God
Nothing is more powerful when you are talking to someone than being able to tell someone you’ve had an experience with God. That you believe who Jesus is and why. Ultimately it isn’t about you. It’s about Him. In 1 John 5, it makes it very simple what this testimony is.
1 John 5
We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
Some of you may ask where does it say that my faith must be public? I will point out a couple places.
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
3 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[a]”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[d]
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.[e] 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[f] 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”[g]
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Jesus talks about being born again - that equals identity. Being born into the family of God.
Then Jesus talks about being born by Water - That speaks of Baptism. What is Baptism but a public declaration of Faith about Jesus. Or I could say Baptism is a testimony about your faith in Jesus.
Being born of Spirit speaks of the power by which we live our lives. The Holy Spirit that dwells in us and empowers us.
What our Identity rests in. What our Testimony relies on. What our Power is based on. For all of those things, the answer is Jesus.
Matthew 10
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.
Romans 10
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
There is something to declaring Jesus as Lord with our mouths… not only in our hearts... that is really important.
Revelation 6:9
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.
Revelation 12:11
They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
Revelation 20:4
I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
In two of these scriptures it not only refers to them holding fast to the Word of God but also to their Testimony about Jesus. Not only the objective truth that we talk about in 1 John 5. But they also held fast to their personal testimony about who Jesus is.
Their truth about Jesus
The Proof or evidence about Jesus in their own lives
Their firsthand accounts of Jesus
Signs that Jesus had performed in their lives
Going on record that they believed who Jesus is
Openly telling people who Jesus is and what He’s done in their lives
Publicly talking about the experience they’ve had with God
If we are Christians, we have to have a testimony. We have to testify to what God has done… not only in His Word. But in our own lives. People are dying to hear what God has done in your life. Pastor Joe told me this… remember that each of our lives is a rescue story. The star of that story is Jesus. Our testimony is about how Jesus rescued us. Telling people your rescue story will lead to others having a rescue story of their own.
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