You Have a Story
Few people will sit still for a lecture. Almost anyone will listen to a true story told by someone he knows. If you have trusted Christ, you have one.
You may not think so. You may have heard dramatic stories and decided yours is not worth telling. Or your past may embarrass you, and you would rather not bring it up. Or you may simply not know where to start. This study will help with all three. By the end you should have a story you can tell in two or three minutes, and the name of someone to tell it to.
The true account of what Christ has done for you: how you came to trust Him and what has changed since. The Greek word is marturia, from the same family as martus, a witness. A witness tells what he has seen and heard.
God has always used this. The psalmist said, Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul (Psalm 66:16). The apostles said, we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard (Acts 4:20). A story reaches people an argument may not. Someone can disagree with your conclusions. He cannot tell you that what happened to you did not happen.
Your testimony is not finally about you. It is a true story in which Jesus is the One who acts. If a listener walks away impressed with you, it has missed. If he walks away thinking about Jesus, it has done its work.
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For Deeper Study
- Grace Abounding to the Chief of SinnersAmazon John BunyanThe Bedford preacher's 1666 account of God's mercy to him, written in prison. Longer and more troubled than any story you will tell, and all about grace. Bunyan was Calvinistic, where we differ.
- Seeking Allah, Finding JesusAmazon Nabeel QureshiA former Muslim's moving account of how the evidence for Christ's death and resurrection led him to faith. Broadly evangelical.
- Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People's Hearts the Way Jesus DidAmazon Randy NewmanHelp with turning from your story to a real conversation. Broadly evangelical.
- Witnessing Without Fear: How to Share Your Faith with ConfidenceAmazon Bill BrightA step-by-step book for nervous believers by the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. Broadly evangelical. His Four Spiritual Laws tract uses Revelation 3:20 as an invitation, which we do not.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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How to Share the Gospel
Sharing the Gospel is a conversation in which a believer listens, tells who Jesus is and what He did, and asks for a response, leaving conviction to the Spirit and the decision to the one who must believe.
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