I wanted to share my testimony here on the blog, but I’ve hesitated. Look, I’ll warn you up front, my testimony won’t be going in any sermon illustrations. I’ve never had an amazing story to share when others ask how I became a Christian, and I’ve always secretly wished it could be cooler. In reality, my testimony is about as simple as it gets: I got saved when I was five years old. I prayed with my mom and dad, hands folded on my pink floral bedspread. I acknowledged in my young mind that God was really big, really important, and really powerful and I wanted to know Him. I don’t know what life was like before I was a Christian, I can’t remember. Of course, since then, I continue to walk a dynamic journey with Christ dotted with sufferings, joy, and a lot of grace. But, by all accounts, my moment of salvation is pretty boring.
This week, my own 6-year-old daughter became a Christian. She prayed with us in our living room—a short, precious prayer—and beamed with joy as we told her today was her second birthday. She talked with us for weeks before that day, asking questions, answering questions, and confessing she wasn’t quite ready to make such a big commitment. But that morning was different. She came downstairs with confidence. She was ready. We asked her the same questions. We challenged her to understand that salvation was a life commitment to Christ. She knew it was time. And just like that, my daughter has a testimony.
Her decision made me think about the idea of a testimony, what it means, and how we define testimonies as Christians.
The word “testimony” in itself is one of those words that has more than one connotation. In a Christian context, a testimony is the story of how one’s life has been changed by Jesus. In a legal context, a testimony is something different entirely. It’s a formal statement given in a court of law. It’s the evidence or proof of the existence of something. To testify in front of a judge and jury paints a picture of a factual, calculated, and powerful presentation, one that can literally decide the fate of the accused. That’s why everyone loves a good court drama! In contrast, to testify in front of others about God more often looks like a passionate, personal story of salvation.
But I would argue that while we view this word in two very different contexts, the meaning is exactly the same. A Christian’s testimony is a statement given before a judge, proof and evidence of the existence of something. Romans 12:11 says, and they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony…”
There is a whole lot more to study in Revelation 12, information that I’m not going to even attempt to explain, but the context is important. This chapter is about the coming end times when a great battle ensues in heaven. The angels fight against Satan and ultimately have victory, casting him down to the earth. In Revelation 12:10, Satan is defined as “the accuser”. This word literally means to make an accusation before a judge.
Because the accuser has been cast down, Romans 12:11 says those who belong to Christ have “conquered him”. Other translations often use the word “overcome” here. Overcome means to have victory, and that’s how we most often think of it in this verse. But it also has a legal meaning—to win the case.
We keep being brought back to the picture of a courtroom. And it isn’t just a metaphor. We will one day stand trial in a very real sense. There will be God, the judge, Satan, the prosecutor, and Jesus, the defense. When I sit as the defendant in that trial, the sinking reality will be: I am guilty and I deserve the death penalty. As the accuser presents his case against me, I will know that his accusations are true. I am a sinner. I have done all the horrible things he says. I am ashamed, blotted with sin for all to see.
But when the rebuttal comes, my defense will rise, walk to the Judge’s stand and exchange the evidence that condemns me. He will offer his blood, instead of my own as the irrefutable DNA proof that HE should receive the conviction instead of me. In fact, he has already died in my place, and more, he has defeated death itself. And when I am put on the stand to testify, I will simply say the only truth that remains: “It is by grace I have been saved, through faith. And this is not of my own doing; this is a gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)
THAT is my testimony. One day, my daughter will sit in that seat. One day, you will, too. It doesn’t matter if you were 6 or 60, quietly saved in a living room or redeemed from the darkest corner of the earth, no testimony is boring.
Like the best legal drama that has ever existed, that courtroom scene will never get old as Christian after Christian will win their cases by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony.
If you aren’t sure what you would say in that courtroom in the face of a brutal accuser, Jesus is the only answer. I’m so thankful He is my (and my daughter’s!) testimony.