How well do other people know you? How would they describe you to others? Would your relationship with Christ be one of the first things they mention about you to describe who you are to others?
Our testimony of who Christ is in our lives and how others know us is very important. What is meant by our testimony? Here are just a few examples. How others know how we live. How others hear what we say in person and even what we write on Facebook or another social media format. The decisions we make and how it affects others. How we make known to others who and what we support or give our backing to. All these things and many others gives evidence to other persons of the importance we give to who Christ is in our lives, and which makes up the context of our testimony.
“37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.”
Matthew 22:37-38
Every Christian should have a humble and sincere desire to always serve and be used by God by any means possible, where and whenever it is possible. But are we ready to be used by Him? Does our testimony of who Christ is in us glorify God? What image of Christ do others see in us and know us by? A major part of the answer is found in how much do we love Him and others.
One of the many ways others will see if we really know and love Jesus is not just because we say we do, but by what Jesus said in John 13:34-35, “34 A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”. Another obvious indication that others should see in us, is what Jesus said in John 15:9-10, “9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.” The Bible tells us that these and many others are ways that our testimony is demonstrated and experienced by others whether if they are Christians or not.
It was based on this principle, a Christian’s testimony, that the apostle Paul chose Timothy to travel with him on his second missionary journey (Acts15:36-18:22). “16 He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. 2 The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey…”, Acts 16:1-3. To most of us when reading of the two cities that Luke mentioned, “Lystra and Iconium” it does not have much significance. There is about a seventy-five-mile distance between the two cities. Luke in verse two tells us something very important about Timothy’s testimony, of how the Christians who lived in these cities knew or spoke of Timothy. Ver.2 “he [Timothy] constantly being well recommended by the brethren in Lystra and Iconium.” Wuest.
The importance of a Christian’s testimony collectively also makes a noticeable difference of how a local church is known. The apostle Paul in his letter to the congregation in Thessalonica points out how their “faith” in Christ is recognized by other churches in two other Roman provinces. 1 Thessalonians 1:7-8, “And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia — your faith in God has become known everywhere. If the individuals of the church in Thessalonica were lacking the type of faith that Paul is talking about, this would also reflect on how the congregation is known to others.”
Paul in his letter to his spiritual son Timothy, (“…Timothy my true son in the faith…” 1 Timothy 1:2), gives him his list of fifteen moral qualifications that Timothy needed to look for in a person from the congregation when choosing leaders for the church in Ephesus in 1 Timothy 3:1-13. He points out one point on this list that has to do with a person’s personal testimony with those who were not believers In Christ. “He must also have a good reputation with outsiders…” 1 Timothy 3:7.
It was important to choose leaders who had, a good testimony with those outside the church, or in other words, people who were not Christians. That those who did not know Christ as their Savior recognized Christ in your life by their testimony. Paul told Timothy to choose leaders who would be used by God in the church but it was important that they had a good reputation among unsaved people outside the church.
In Acts Chapter 10 Luke tells us about Cornelius, whom God used to open the way for the gospel of Christ Jesus to be heard and experienced among the gentiles or people who were not Jewish. But God also used the encounter that Peter had at Cornelius’ house to teach the Jewish leaders (Acts 11:1-18) in Jerusalem that non-Jewish persons, could also be believers in Christ and be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Acts 11:18, “When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
What kind of man was Cornelius? How was Cornelius known by others? What important role did his testimony have so he could be used by God? Luke tells us 5 important points about Cornelius in Acts 10:1-2.
a) Where he lived. “At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius,”.
b) He was a professional soldier who was a leader. “…a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment.”
c) He and his family knew God and were faithful to Him. “2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing;”
d) Cornelius was considerate by his actions to those less fortunate than him. “…he gave generously to those in need”
e) He was serious about and was committed to his relationship with God. “and prayed to God regularly.”
What did God’s angel (or messenger) know about Cornelius? Acts 10:4, “The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.”
(Acts 10:7-8, “7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.”)
There are three points to Cornelius’ testimony of how the three men who were sent by Cornelius knew and described him to Peter. Two points are who the men personally knew Cornelius to be. Acts 10:22, “22 The men replied,”
a) “We have come from Cornelius the centurion.”
b) “He is a righteous and God-fearing man,”
In the third point the men tell Peter of how others knew Cornelius.
c) “who is respected by all the Jewish people.”
Our testimony is not just used by God to enlighten others about us, but it is used by God to show others who Jesus in in us. Our testimony also opens the door for the Holy Spirit to work in situations with people who do not know us. The more we love Jesus the more others cannot help but notice who Jesus is in our lives, which is our testimony.
Pastor John
