Building the Testimony

One of the remnants of revivalism, and perhaps evidence of our own narcissism, has been the call to share "our testimony." If you ever find yourself among modern evangelicals in a small group, it will not be long before someone suggests that you go around the room and share testimonies (especially if you are a teenager on a youth retreat and there is a camp fire). Additionally, all of the witnessing programs that I have had experience with, have insisted on the goal that each participant be able to clearly articulate his testimony. The presumption is that our stories will be one of the primary tools in winning the lost to Christ. Thus, we'd better know them cold.

However, when we look at the apostles, we find the New Testament rather bereft as to the details of their personal lives. Why is that? Perhaps it is because they were more concerned about preaching Christ than themselves. They were actually testifying, first hand, to historic events. A true witness in a legal sense. The late Edmond P. Clowney writes:

"But we often define witness as our own 'testimony' of God's grace in our lives. We recount how God has been gracious in saving us. In our day and culture in a postmodern world, however, such witness bears little weight. 'So you have had a religious experience? Great! I'm glad for you! I've had a few, too.' When we bear witness to Christ's name, we must not be content to speak of personal experience, though this is, of course, not to be excluded. We must join our own witness to that of the apostles and prophets, and even to the witness of Jesus to the Old testament. Without such roots, our own experience remains what our non-Christian friends have said:'a religious experience.'" How Jesus Transforms the Ten Commandments, P & R Publishing, (2007) p. 136

Any Christian who is relying on his own experience to witness to an unbeliever is setting himself up for failure. I remember one time in college talking with a friend who told me, with a tear in his eye, that if it had not been for marital arts he did not know how he would have made it through the hard times. It struck me ,at that time, how similar his testimony was to that of my Christian friends. So what is the difference to the unbeliever?

I recently listened to a series by Steve Smallman on "How Our Children Come to Faith" (which I would recommend). Smallman talks about how is own son fell under the pressure of his Christian peers to admittedly lie about his testimony. Growing up in a Christian home Smallman's son really didn't know a time that he was not a Christian. Of course, this doesn't make a very interesting testimony. So when his turn came "to share," he made something more dramatic up.

Is there a time and a place to share the blessing of what God has done for us? Certainly! However, I think we should first and primarily point to Christ's death and resurrection. Push the unbeliever to deal with the Christ of history - the Christ of scripture. Ask the question, "who was this person," rather than focusing on our own personal testimonies which can be so easily dismissed by a postmodern world.