Borrowed Light

Monday’s Ministry Musing: How Important IS a Testimony?

September 7, 2009Mike Leake 2 Comments

This may be one of those articles that I look back on 10 years (or 10 days) from now and regret. I think I may be flirting with the idea of tipping over a sacred cow of modern evangelicalism. I’ll show you my cards up front…I’m not sure a personal testimony is really as important as we make it out to be.

With every church interview I have ever been a part of this question is inevitable…”would you please share your testimony”. Granted, it’s a good question. You want to know that the person you are considering for membership, leadership, or whatever is actually a believer. The motivation behind the question is a good one. However, I do not think it is the right question.

Have you read anything in the New Testament where a person was asked to share their testimony?

I will grant the fact that Paul shares his story of coming to Christ. So does John in 1 John 1. In fact there are many places in Scripture that are personal stories of the work of God in the life of a believer. My point is not to say that personal stories or “testimonies” are not valuable. They are immensely valuable. My point is that personal testimonies are not an accurate criteria for judging a person’s salvation nor is it definitive in proclaiming the truthfulness of the claims of Christ.

A personal testimony really is not an accurate barometer as to a person’s relationship with Christ. Consider the early Gnostics. They had amazing testimonies. Think about the Colossian heresy. They went on and on about the visions and experiences with God that they had. Surely, you have known people with phenomenal “testimonies” that later forsook the gospel and rejected Christ. Despite what some evangelism material will tell you a personal testimony (by itself) has no authority. You can be an unbeliever and have a great story to tell of how you came to a Jesus of your own making.

And honestly, not having a clear testimony is not really all that accurate in telling that a person is not a believer. Ask Jonathan Edwards of his personal testimony and he’d probably stutter to tell you. John Bunyan would probably give you several dates. Do you think Peter would give you the day when he was called by the lake, was it when he professed Christ, or was it at some other point on his journey with Jesus? There are many people that do not have a S.P.O.T. (Specific Time or Place) that strongly profess Christ.

I have a challenge for you Bible/church history buffs. Find me times in Scripture or in the first 300 years of Christianity when someone’s story of coming to Jesus was a determining factor in admitting them into membership or participating in the Lord’s Supper? I am not saying that you will not find anything. I am simply saying it will not be a pervasive theme like it is in our day where subjective experience reigns over objective truth. What you see in the New Testament and the early church is a profession of belief in the claims of Jesus Christ…not a story.

There is one last sacred cow—maybe THE sacred cow—that needs to teeter. Your testimony is not really all that definitive in sharing the gospel. Oprah has a testimony. Heretical “Christian” groups have testimonies. A Muslim would have a testimony. This will sound like heresy…Jesus is not the only thing that can change your life. A homeless man that inherits a million dollars will have his life changed. An alcoholic that stops drinking will have his life changed. A woman whose family leaves her will have a significant life change. Many things can change your life.

Your testimony does not prove the truthfulness of the claims of Christ. Yes, it is true that nobody can argue with your personal testimony. That’s the problem. You can’t argue with it because it is subjective. The claims of Christ are objective truths. This type of witnessing just leaves the door wide open for the, “well that’s good for you…but as for me…I believe”. People need to be confronted with the claims of Jesus—not your story.

In summary, I am not against personal testimonies. I just think they are not nearly as important as we make them out to be. They are not all that helpful in witnessing and they aren’t the final answer in determining salvation. Feel free to disagree and argue your case. I’m willing to listen. If you agree with me I have a question for you. What are testimonies useful for?

Times of Testing

August 22, 2009Mike Leake 1 Comment

What constitutes a time/season of testing in a Christian’s life? Is it always a matter of great sacrifice which calls for painful endurance of such a nature that someone will eventually write a moving story about a super-saint who passed the test of sickness,adversity, persecution, or martyrdom? I think not. I think our American sense of exaggeration and extremism has led us to believe that a test is only a test if the probability of some kind of major harm comes into a person’s life. The ‘no blood – no foul’ mentality has become the measure of a whether something is a test or not.

Throughout my school years (public schools, college, & seminary) I took many, many, many tests. Most of them were not do-or-die. As a matter of fact, I would hazard a guess that the number of tests which would make/break my grade were few in number. By the time I got to seminary, I did have several classes which only gave a mid-term & final so those were certainly major tests. Then again, by the time I got to seminary I had years of experience in taking tests large and small. I was prepared to face the challenge of the mid-term & final. Regardless of whether it was the weekly spelling test of 2nd grade or the Baptist History mid-term that “ate my lunch” the tests were always over materials I knew or should have known.

I wonder how many pop-quizzes and tests God sends our way every single day? How many opportunities has the Spirit given us to strengthen our faith in preparation for the big test that is out there in our future? Perhaps I ought to ‘count it pure joy’ when I face the daily tests of turning away from that website — of encouraging instead of gossiping — of looking the other way when a scantily dressed woman passes by — of setting aside my routine to help out a neighbor I don’t particularly care for in a time of need — of praying for the person who mocks my faith instead of unleashing a sharp, biting retort — of singing instead of griping; encouraging instead of cutting; or thanking instead of criticizing. If I were to count it pure joy that God allowed me to do these things, surely I would be better prepared to face the big test that lies before me. I would be better equipped to face trials of many kinds because I know that the testing of my faith will develop perseverance which will finish the work so that I can become mature and complete in Christ? (James 1:2-4)

What constitutes a test, any test in a Christian’s life? Is it not fundamentally any situation which calls for us to live by faith in the leadership of our Lord Jesus Christ? Every day is a test. Every day is a day to live by faith. Every day is a day to count it pure joy that through his righteousness in us we can pass the test.