Acts 26:14-15 NKJV
14 And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Everyone who is born again has a testimony but unfortunately, unbeknown to many believers, one’s testimony is a powerful tool for evangelism. Even for those who know they have a testimony, a good number have not been taught how to package and share their testimony as an effective evangelism tool.
An effective testimony has three segments; Life before Christ, Your encounter with Christ and how you got born again, and lastly, the difference in your life after your conversion.
Acts 26 contains an in-depth testimony of Paul’s conversion. In verse 1 to 11 he shares his early life and how he was raised as a Jew and lived as a Pharisee. He tells of how he went about putting to death the saints and sending some to jail. He was zealous for his beliefs to the point of putting the saints to death.
From verses 12-18, he shares the miraculous encounter he had on the road to Damascus and how he came face to face with Jesus. Jesus gives Paul a new purpose in life as he sends him both to the Jews and Gentiles to turn them from darkness to light.
From verses 19, Paul shares how his life changed after his conversion. He who was persecuting the saints has now become one of them, the hatred and bitterness that was in his heart towards them is no longer there. In fact, he has gone to the gentiles and back to the Jewish people to show them the light of the good news, and it is for this reason that he is being persecuted.
His testimony clearly brings out the three aspects highlighted above.
King Agrippa’s response to this testimony was, “Paul, you almost convince me to be a Christian.”
Think through your testimony, package it well, and practice on how to share it effectively.
Reflections;
- What was your life like before you met Christ?
- How did you meet Christ? (your conversion experience)
- How has your life been like after you became a Christian?
