Why Testimonies Aren't Necessary

I was listening to an excellent sermon by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones today while cleaning the garage out (after school). It has given me much to think about. (I actually listened to 2 sermons but they've blended together a bit). Namely, the point was 'what is the church' and 'what does it really mean to be a Christian'? The sermons were so different from what you hear today in much of the mainstream. Christianity isn't about adding some 'fix' to our lives or doing any sort of 'add on'. It is living utterly to the devotion of God, whatever that ends up meaning for us. We don't make all our choices, devoid of God, and then tack Him on to what we've already decided. No, that is not the life of a true follower of God. Another point that has given me tons to ponder is that our personal testimony is not really helpful or relevant. Not that our experiences aren't real or things God uses in our lives, but salvation has nothing to do with them. If we base our 'sharing Christ' with what He has done for us, we move something completely holy in to the realm of psychology. Eve the cults can talk about how Jesus has made their life better. But what also of this--we share how He helped us through our cancer, or a death, or financial hardship...we say how those things turned us to Christ. But what does that do for a person who 'has it all'? Their life isn't lacking, they are perfectly content in the world's eyes.

We need to stay true to the truth--which is that of us fall short of God's standard, and what is unique and real about Jesus Christ is that He not only died for our sins, but he rose from the dead. And no matter what is going on in our lives, we are sinners in need of reconciliation with a Savior. Living for God may not change your circumstances, or if it does, it may change them for the worse, but that doesn't make it untrue that Christ is the One to seek and save.

I know I've been guilty of trying to turn people on to Jesus because of the peace He brought in to my life, and that has been true, He brought a peace I'd never known. There is a still that comes from knowing we are right with God. But that is not the point or reason to be saved-- to be reconciled to God through His one and only begotten Son.

We need to tell people the whole truth--they are sinners, bound for an eternal separation from God in Hell, but there is One who bore the penalty for that sin and rose again showing He conquered death. This change of heart is called regeneration, when we turn to the only Savior or men, the man Jesus Christ. And it won't happen by putting on a Jesus jacket. It must be from the inside of our being.