2 Corinthians 5:17 (Personal Testimony)

HOW TO GIVE A PERSONAL FAITH TESTIMONY

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

If you were asked to give your personal testimony, how would you respond? Would you relish the opportunity to share how has God changed your life, or would you hesitate to reveal your story of transformation because you’re scared of what others might think if they knew what sins formerly enslaved you?

The greatest challenge with sharing one’s testimony is that when we reveal the skeletons of our past, there is no going back. What once was private suddenly becomes public, and there is no way to determine whether others will look at us differently after they know how wretched and sinful we once were.

“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me” (Psalm 51:3).

Make no mistake, spiritual warfare is intense for those who have never publicly shared their personal testimony before, for the enemy knows which buttons to push to make us fear man’s rejection, doubt God’s provision, and ultimately worry about things we cannot control.

Therefore, how will we respond? Will we remain silent and keep our personal testimonies “general” at best, or will we risk our personal comforts and allow the Lord to use our stories in supernatural ways to advance the Gospel for the salvation of lost souls?

GOD’S STORY:

The most critical thing we must remember in giving our personal testimony is IT’S NOT ABOUT US, because Christ has rescued our hearts, redeemed our souls, and restored the joy of salvation. Only through His shed blood are we cleansed and made whole again. So what causes us to hesitate from sharing our story of redemption if we’re glorifying Him and not ourselves?

The greatest tactic Satan uses to stop us from giving our personal testimony is presumed embarrassment. We think, “If others knew what God knows about me, they’d never look at me the same again.” However, in believing such lies we thwart the advancement of the Gospel because we’re solely focused on our personal reputation rather than the Lord’s provision.

Keep in mind, testimonies of faith and heart change have incredible power to influence others because they force us to shift our attention on what God has done in and through us, not what we have done by works to earn His favor. Therefore, when we share our testimonies we are magnifying the power and majesty of what Jesus has done, first and foremost.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Oftentimes, we can get lulled to sleep by the enemy into worrying about how our testimonies reflect upon who we are, past and present. However, that is not the reason why God calls us to evangelize by means of personal testimonies. Rather, we share because our testimonies allow others to see themselves through our struggles to break the chains of isolation from their hearts.

God’s grace and mercy are magnified when we share how lost we once were. Therefore, we are called to abandon our fears and trust His sovereign Word which reminds us of who we are in Christ compared to our lost, former selves apart from Him.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4–5).

DISCERNMENT:

The key to giving a God-honoring testimony is discerning which details of our past we should share to give proper context and understanding concerning our redemption in Christ. However, our success is far more contingent on the reasons WHY we are sharing them than the details themselves.

That is why fervent prayer and wise counsel are so important in preparing our testimonies, so we can rest assured our focus is always on Christ. Prayer keeps our hearts and minds in tune with the Spirit’s conviction as we navigate which details are pertinent vs. those which are distracting to the story at large and virtually inconsequential.

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).

In some cases, personal testimonies are shared testimonies. Therefore, it is critical we’re sensitive to the hearts of those who have been grievously impacted by our sins. For example, if a man’s testimony involves confession of sins such as adultery, it would be wise for him to first talk with his wife beforehand and get her permission before divulging details of their shared past.

That doesn’t mean he shouldn’t share how God rescued him from sin, redeemed his heart, and restored their marriage. Rather, it means he is sensitive to his wife’s feelings to ensure she feels safe and protected from the spiritual warfare which will impact her heart and mind when he reveals his testimony publicly.

“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7).

GUILT, SHAME & REGRET:

If we’re honest with ourselves, the greater struggle we face is reconciling the guilt, shame, and regret we bear because of our sins. However, God does not want us to bear them alone. Instead, He wants us to release those burdens back to Him as a sacrificial offering of repentance and lay them at the foot of the cross.

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Far too often, we hold onto our past like a scarlet letter and identify who we are presently by who we were previously. However, the longer we hold onto our past, the greater opportunity we give the enemy to keep us enslaved in bondage to our former selves. Therefore, we have a choice to make. We can either accept our freedom in Christ or hold onto the memories of our past and allow guilt, shame, and regret to define who we are today.

Keep in mind, becoming a new creation doesn’t mean we forget the sins of our past. Those memories play a vital role in keeping us humble, so we should never take for granted the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf to set us free.

Therefore, guilt, shame, and regret can serve two completely different purposes. They can be used by Satan to keep us permanently enslaved in bondage to the memories of our past and the destruction we’ve caused, or they can be redeemed by God as a catalyst for heart change which draws us to the foot of the cross in repentance.

Granted, memories remain to keep our posture before God reverent and our obedience to His Word steadfast, but they are the residual blessings of our salvation from death to new life in Christ, not something we should be ashamed of because they hold us accountable.

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:16–17).

THORN IN THE FLESH:

Where the rubber meets the road for many people attempting to overcome their fear of giving a personal testimony hinges upon their ability to shift personal perspective from darkness to light and discover the silver lining of God’s grace interwoven throughout their lives.

We are given free will by God to choose which path we will take in life. Therefore, He does not force our hand but waits patiently with open arms to welcome us home, so long as we turn from our wicked ways and accept His free gift of salvation for the forgiveness of sins.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23–24).

When we reconcile our hearts to God, we are set free from the chains which formerly enslaved us. However, who we once were and who we are now are forever intertwined because our former depravity and sinful bents are the catalysts God used to draw us home to Himself.

Truly, memories have a way of holding us captive to the past and stifling our future growth because the enemy is determined to remind us at every turn how wretched we used to be. Satan never wants us to forget the pain we’ve caused others because his intent is always to bait us into questioning the authenticity of our own change, and ultimately doubting whether our identity in Christ is real.

“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

I have long held the position that perhaps the thorn in the flesh Paul struggled with most during his ministry was not physical at all, but spiritual. Keep in mind, Paul gave his approval for the stoning of Stephen and vehemently persecuted the church by having followers of Christ beaten, imprisoned, and killed. He was determined to eradicate “The Way” at all costs, but Jesus literally stopped Him in his tracks on the Damascus road and immediately converted him to be a missionary of the Gospel of salvation.

However, no matter how passionately Paul preached and endured persecution on behalf of Jesus, he could not escape the memory of his past. Every city he visited his reputation preceded him, which meant the atrocities of his “old self” were always front and center in his mind.

“For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:9–10a).

Paul likely dealt with the thorns of guilt, shame, and regret on a regular basis, yet they did not deter him from his mission. Rather, his former self inspired him to remain humbly dependent on Christ as his sole source of strength in this world—which is why Paul ultimately praised God for his thorns and accepted the spiritual warfare they produced because Christ was glorified through them.

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:7–10).

BOTTOM-LINE:

The beauty of Paul’s ministry was that he did not shy away from his old self but used that as a platform for ministry. He was not afraid to talk about his past because he knew God would use his personal testimony to inspire others to turn from their wicked ways as well.

Paul certainly could have chosen to never speak of his past ever again, but instead he embraced it with humility because he understood his story was no longer his own. God had rescued, redeemed, and restored him for eternity. Therefore, every time Paul gave his testimony, he was sharing God’s story of redemption by using his own life as a sacrificial offering for others to identify with and learn from.

“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life” (1 Timothy 1:12–16).

Giving a personal testimony is not easy, but it is necessary for the advancement of the Gospel because people need to see how Jesus can come alive in the heart of man and transform him from the inside out. For people need an example to follow, and our testimonies can be the primary instruments of righteousness God uses to seek and save the lost. All we have to do is trust Him and obey.

“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).