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Personal Testimony

One of the best ways of communicating the gospel is personal testimony. We see this in the book of Acts. Paul’s conversion experience shows up three times in Acts: once, when it happened in chapter 9, and the other two when Paul is giving his testimony. The last time was when Paul was in chains before Agrippa and testifying to him.
“I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the Lord’s people in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. I was so obsessed with persecuting them that I even hunted them down in foreign cities.

“On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

“Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” (Acts 26:9-18)
Paul tells Agrippa the Great Commission as it was given to him by the Lord Jesus. There were three things Paul had to do for the Gentiles: open their eyes, turn them from darkness to light, and turn them from the dominion of Satan to God. The result was that they would receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who were sanctified by faith in Christ.

Giving your testimony is sharing what God has done in your life. Having done it to you, He is sending you to do these same three things: open eyes, turn people from darkness to light, and turn them from the power of Satan to God. That is our responsibility with the gospel.

When you testify, this is what you want to do: say what God has done in your life and why He has done it.

I recommend that you write your testimony out. Even if you are not planning to give it to anyone, write it out and read it to yourself. That way, when it comes time to give your testimony, you will know what to say and will not be unprepared.

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