"That's a nice testimony you have....Wanna swap?"

Recent events concerning Dr. Ergun Caner, Dean of Liberty Theological Seminary have reminded me of a great joke by Tim Hawkins. It’s at around the 3:10 mark on this video but the rest is just for you to enjoy:



We laugh about this until we see how true it can be. I remember being in Peru and thinking that I shouldn’t have to share my testimony because I was so young when I was saved. In fact, the great majority of the sin in my past is post-conversion, not pre-conversion. But this really is a problem. The value we place on “better” testimonies. Sure we can think, “if God could save him He could save anyone” just as long as we are thinking, “if God could save ME He could save anyone.” Because that’s the truth.

Moreover, we tend to think of the grand testimonies in the Bible thinking that they are the norm, and let’s face it there are some good ones. Paul goes from being a church persecutor to the greatest theologian we’ve seen since the ascension of Christ. The thief on the cross turns to Jesus for mercy in the last hours of his life. The Philippian jailor was about to commit suicide when he found out Paul and Silas hadn’t left so he asks them for the gospel. But we forget just how many testimonies there are that look like ours (assuming you don’t have one of those “spectacular” ones).

Take Lydia for example:

One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us. (Acts 16:14-15)

Here’s a woman who is hard working, financially stable, and religious. Chances are she isn’t a murderer or drug dealer. She simply pays attention to Paul’s words, gets baptized, and shows hospitality. Big deal right? RIGHT! What she probably didn’t even realize was the fact that the Holy Spirit was leading the evangelists to her (Acts 16:6-10), that her prior status as a “worshiper of God” was not enough to save her, and that the Lord opened her heart to hear the gospel. Now things are starting to sound more like 2 Corinthians 4:3-6.

We are all in the same boat. No matter how your sinful heart manifested itself, you needed Christ. So there is no need to embellish your testimony or covet someone else’s. So to all who have done so, or been tempted to do so (including Dr. Caner) just know that Christ is still as powerful a savior for that sin as he is for any other sin.

Grace and Peace,
Stephen