The post How to Share Your Testimony: The Basics of a Christian Testimony appeared first on Women Devotions.

Every believer has their own unique, magnificent story on how they were saved by Christ.

The story is referred to as our testimony.

Sharing our testimony not only to friends and family but to unbelievers IS A MUST! We should never be silent about the things God has done and is doing in our lives. There is such power in our testimony. NEVER be ashamed, but acknowledge what the Lord has done in your life to all the nations!

So what is our Testimony and why should we Share it?

Your testimony is your individualized story of how Jesus drew you out of sin and darkness and raised you into life in Him. Your testimony should always start with your life before Christ, revealing the necessity for Him. It needs to be honest and should give examples of what you were like. What did you spend your time doing? What did you look forward to? What did you find your identity in? What did you feel you could not live without? How did you live and how did you treat others? How did you view God? What did you believe?

It then should shift into how Jesus saved you. This should completely give God all the glory because it was Him who opened your eyes. Was it a sermon, was it a church camp, was it a believer sharing their testimony to you? Did someone invite you to church or did God work through a low point in your life?

Finally, your testimony should contain what your life is like after you have been saved by grace. Again, all the glory to God because He is the one who changed you. What is different about your life now that can clearly be seen? What desires are different? How do you view God now? What matters now? What is God teaching you?

We need to share our testimony because it glorifies the Father to do so! And God uses our stories to bring others to know Him.

What does the Bible say about sharing your testimony? Here are a few verses:

Mark 5:19 But Jesus said, “No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.”

Psalm 22:22  “I will praise you to all my brothers; I will stand up before the congregation and testify of the wonderful things you have done.”

Psalm 66:16 “Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me.”

Daniel 4:2 “I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the Most High God has performed for me.”

Matthew 10:32 “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.”

Galatians 6:14 “But may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world!”

Your Testimony is Not About You.

It is clear in Scripture that we are not to boast about ourselves or any accomplishments we have done. Look at the few verses above, we can see the consistent theme… He has been merciful, He has done, He did for me, He has performed for me, He will acknowledge.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Ephesians 2:8-9 which says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Be careful of which words you choose to use when sharing your testimony.

Some of the most common sayings we often hear from believers are sadly all about us. Sayings like, “I accepted Jesus into my heart”, “When I chose Jesus”, “When I let Jesus in”, “When I turned from sin and turned to Jesus”, “When I started to walk with Jesus”.

Can you see how easily we can distort how the scripture says, He, He, He, and make it all about, I, I, I…

Your Testimony Should Always Contain The Gospel Message

Your testimony is so powerful, and it is unique to you alone!

How amazing is it that every single one of us has our own special story of how God rescued us?

To really grow your testimony and increase its effectiveness, you must have a clear understanding of how your testimony fits into the gospel message.

So what is the Gospel? Here is a super fast overview.

1. 1. God is good

• • • God is just and He loves Justice (Isaiah 61:8), God is Holy (1 Samuel 2:2), God is righteous and perfect (Deuteronomy 32:4), God never changes, never lies, never changes his mind (Numbers 23:19).

2. We are not good

• • • We are not righteous (Ecclesiastes 7:20), we are wicked (Genesis 6:5), we do not seek after God (Romans 3:9-19), we desire things opposite of the Spirit (Galatians 5:17), we all sin (Romans 3:23).

3. The penalty for being “not good”, and our desperate need for a savior

• • • The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2), God will destroy sin (Exodus 33:3)

4. Jesus satisfies Gods payment for sin

• • • To fully satisfy Gods wrath and His perfect justice, the world needed a savior who was worthy. God sent His only son Jesus Christ (John 3:16), who lived a perfect life free of sin (1 Peter 2:22), to become sin on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21), and become the final sacrifice once and for all (John 19:28-30).

5. Jesus was raised to life, conquering death!

• • • Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:4), Jesus has authority over death (Revelation 1:17-18)

6. We can now live a life free from sin and empowered by the Spirit if we are born again.

• • • Jesus will set you free from sin (John 8:36), by believing in Him may we truly live (John 11:25), hoping in Him gives us strength (Isaiah 40:31), we must be born again to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).

So how should our testimony be “formatted” so it contains the Gospel message?  It is quite simple, just follow these couple questions.

Who were you before Christ? How did you come to know Jesus? How does your life look different now that you know Jesus?

If we follow these three questions when sharing the gospel, we can be sure to hit on every point of the gospel, and give glory to God and not ourselves.

Hope you were encouraged to get out there and share all the wonderful things God has done in your life! Do not be afraid, and don’t worry about being perfect. He is perfect for us. He will use the seeds you plant according to his perfect plan. Even if you don’t follow these guidelines God will still use you for His kingdom!

Here is my testimony shared on 3/24/2019.

The post How to Share Your Testimony: The Basics of a Christian Testimony Appeared first on Women Devotions.