Testimony

Stories

Stories are powerful! One of the best ways to teach concepts and truths is to use stories. Jesus often used stories called parables to make particular points to those listening to His teaching. The Bible itself is a book that contains a high percentage of narrative portions that are not fairy tales or fables but true accounts of what happened in people’s lives and God interacted with them. 

God is in Himself a God of community and communication even beyond the reality of His creation. Within God there is perfect community and communication among the trinitarian Godhead of Father, son and Holy Spirit.  Since we are created in God’s image this desire for true community and communication is at the core of humanity. Therefore it should not be surprising to us that we are drawn into stories of what has happened in the lives of other people.  Also we should expect these stories to be used by God to have effects on our lives and on our hearts. This seems to be evident as we read the accounts of people in the scriptures both individuals and the greater communities, especially God’s covenant people.

Personal Testimonies

Personal testimonies are impactful because there is connection between the truth being conveyed and real life experience. The Bible is clear that independent eyewitness testimony is crucial to convicting the guilty. But God also chose to use independent eyewitness testimony to attest to the reality of Jesus' resurrection. In the gospels, we see the angels, the women, and the disciples testify to the miracle that has taken place. Even the reality that we have four gospels written by four different authors is a picture of the importance of a plurality of personal eyewitness accounts of what has happened.

Our personal testimonies of what God has done in our loves can also have a real impact on others as we relay what God has done for us and through us. Oftentimes these stories are hard to tell because they involve us confessing our sins and/or bearing testimony to hard circumstances in our lives, but God is able to bring beauty out of the brokenness of our stories and meet people where they are in the midst of their own stories. Testimonies can be used to encourage brothers and sisters in trying times, warn the wayward of dangerous and hurtful paths, and to call lost people to the same salvation that we have found in Jesus through repentance and faith.

Biographies

Another way that stories can have a profound effect on us is through reading good biographies. There have now been twenty centuries of faithful believers who have lived for Christ, loved God and suffered by the power of the Spirit and their testimonies can be used by God to strengthen and encourage us in our part of the race of life. Of course, these biographies are not inspired by God and we should not base our doctrine on them. However, we can learn how other believers have applied the same doctrines that we believe to their lives which is valuable instruction for how to live for Christ in this present darkness. Biographies of church fathers, faithful pastors, brave reformers and valiant missionaries are a great source of hope and courage for those willing to read their stories.

HIStory

Of course we have heard the cliche that history is HIS-story, but in reality it is true. In all of our personal stories and in reading biographies even in the Bible we must focus on the most important part which is what we learn about God!  The purpose behind all of our stories is to convey what we have learned about God and how He related to people in tangible and practical ways. We serve the real and true God and so there are real and true accounts of His proactive interactions in time and space with His creation that help us understand who He is immaterial and eternal. Of course the greatest example of God revealing Himself is in the person of the Lord Jesus. (Hebrews 1:1-4;Colossians 1:15;John 14:8-11)

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