The Testimony of a Faithful Christian

“That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed,

because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard
what I have entrusted to him for that day.”
(II Timothy 1:12)

Have you ever wondered how to give a good testimony? Have you ever wished that the
testimony you gave would have a powerful impact on the lives of those who hear it?
William Carey became the father of the modern missionary movement in part because he
heard such a testimony. It was the testimony of David Brainerd. Brainerd spent only
four years preaching to the North American Indians in New York, New Jersey, and
Pennsylvania, and died at a very young age. But he wrote about what the Lord did
through him in his diary, and that diary sent William Carey to India. It also sent
Adoniram Judson to Burma, David Livingstone to Africa, Henry Martyn to Persia, and
Hudson Taylor to China. It is always a great blessing to God’s people when we hear a
servant of Christ who knows how to give a good testimony. Timothy was a servant of the
Lord who really needed to hear a testimony like this from the apostle Paul. He was a
young man with staggering responsibilities. In the city of Ephesus Paul had preached and
worked for almost three years, and Timothy had been with him much of that time. Tens
of thousands of souls lived there under the dark shadow of the temple of Diana, one of
the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Now, as Paul wrote to him, Timothy was back in Ephesus, and the work of the gospel
there had been entrusted to him (I Timothy1:3). Paul had been like a father to him and
treated him like his true son in the faith (I Timothy1:2). He had traveled with Paul and
helped him in his evangelistic ministry, and was even with him the first time he was
under arrest in Rome. Paul’s assessment of him was that “as a son with his father he has
served with me in the work of the gospel” (Philippians 2:22). According to
Hebrews13:23 Timothy himself was arrested and put in jail, but later released. And here
he was, his spiritual father on death row for preaching Christ. As Paul wrote, “Do your
best to come to me quickly” (II Timothy 4:9), he must have known that time was short.
But Timothy had been called to preach Christ, too. So the apostle encouraged him to be
strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; to remember Jesus Christ raised from the dead;
to present himself to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed; to continue in
the things he had learned; and to preach the word in season and out of season. And he
reminded Timothy of the testimony of his own life as a servant of the Lord.

Are you that servant of Christ? Do you have a story to tell of what the Lord has done for
you? Do you have a testimony that blesses, encourages, challenges, and strengthens other
believers? Hearing others tell of what the Lord has done for them is one thing. Telling
others about what the Lord has done for you is something else. The apostle Paul had a
testimony to give, a faith to proclaim, a confession to make, because God had done
something in his life. Our theme verse for this new year could have been Paul’s theme
verse at the end of his life. He wrote this letter to Timothy from prison in Rome. As far
as he was concerned, his life was all but over and he was sure that the end was near. He
was chained in a cold dungeon like a common criminal. But there was nothing common
about this man, because God had transformed his life by sovereign grace so that he had
the testimony of a faithful Christian. Let us discover the elements of the testimony of this
faithful servant of Jesus Christ.

A faithful Christian will say, “I am suffering.”

The apostle began by telling about what had happened to him. What happened to him
was simply another way of telling what the Lord had done for him. He had already
reviewed this in verses 8-11. In a word, it all added up to suffering for the gospel. Those
who presume to accept the gospel as a way around suffering are sadly deluded. Worse
still is the evil of those who see the ministry of the gospel as offering a life of ease and
retirement. The life and ministry of the apostle Paul told a different story. “In fact,
everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (II Timothy
3:12). In his efforts to instruct the church in Corinth he had to contend with false apostles
and their false teaching, even finding it necessary to defend his own integrity and calling
(II Corinthians 11). His ministry among the Galatians involved him in condemning false
gospels and those who preached them, taking his stand for the only true gospel even
against Peter (Galatians 1 and 2). He taught the Ephesians about the necessity of growing
up, putting off the old and putting on the new, and being careful how they lived
(Ephesians 4). He admonished them about the full armor of God, taking a stand against
the devil’s schemes, and engaging in an ongoing spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6). He
reminded the church in Philippi of his chains and imprisonment, assuring them that it all
came about in order “to advance the gospel” (Philippians 1:12-14). He issued them the
solemn message that

“it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him but also
to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had,
and now hear that I still have” (Philippians 1:27-30).

The expectation of suffering for the gospel was not unique to Paul. His fellow apostles
spoke with the same voice.

“Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds… Blessed is the man who
perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of
life that God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:2, 12).

Peter spoke of Christians suffering “grief in all kinds of trials” (I Peter 1:6) and went on
to write,

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though
something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the
sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (I Peter
4:12,13).
Notice how Paul used the present tense here – “I am suffering.” The testimony of a
Christian is a testimony about suffering. It is the inevitable result of being called to
follow Jesus. We have grounds for calling in question the “testimony” of someone who is
having the time of his life since he became a “Christian.” Those who claim that the
testimony of a faithful Christian should bubble over with reports of health, wealth, and
unprecedented self-esteem are highly suspect at best. Many who believe they are biblical
Christians are more self-assured, self-absorbed, and self-important than they ever were.
Their testimonies bear no resemblance at all to the testimonies of the early Christians.
Many have forgotten that the servant is not greater than his Lord (John 15:20). Jesus
warned his disciples that the world would inevitably hate them and persecute them
(John:18-21). He said, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you” (Luke 6:26).

If God has called us out of darkness into the kingdom of his dear Son, it means that we no
longer belong to the realm of darkness. We are out of step with it, out of synch with the
world. We have adopted a different way, a different style, a different language, different
goals, and different motives. We belong to a different kingdom that is not of this world in
any way. We serve a different king and live by different rules. In the days of the first
generation of disciples of Jesus, they were regarded as what was wrong with the world –
they had turned the world upside down (Acts 17:6)! The conventional wisdom was that,
but for those Christians, the world would be fine. The Book of Revelation was written by
the apostle John, who was on the island of Patmos for the word of God and the testimony
of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:9). He wrote to his fellow believers who were suffering
because of the word of God and the testimony they maintained. He saw visions of the
dragon, the beasts and the great city of Babylon, making war against the saints, who obey
God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus. He understood that the testimony of a
faithful Christian is, “I am suffering.”

A faithful Christian will say, “I am not ashamed.”

The apostle Paul did not stop at his suffering, but went on to explain what he thought
about it. “Nevertheless I am not ashamed” (KJV). This was his response to what God had
done with him and for him. It means that he had no regrets about these things. He was
not worried about what people thought of him. There was nothing surprising or
disappointing about the fact that he had given his life to Christ, he was suffering as a
result, and now his life was about to be taken from him. The same word is used in verses
8 and 16. When you do something and you are not ashamed, it means that you stand by
it, you are willing to be identified with it, you want your name to be associated with it. It
is your reputation and you are not going to back away from it. Shame implies
embarrassment and disappointment. When you are found out in some wrong doing, you
are ashamed and ought to be. When you find that you have made a mistake, or have been
deceived or misguided, you are ashamed. When you have believed something that turns
out to be a hoax, you are ashamed for having been so gullible. But Paul was not ashamed,
even as he had declared in another place that he was “not ashamed of the gospel”
(Romans 1:16). His confidence in the gospel stemmed from his assurance that Jesus is
not ashamed to call us brothers (Hebrews 2:11).
Jesus said, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and
sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his
Father’s glory with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38).

In a similar way the apostle Peter exhorted his readers, “If you suffer, it should not be as a
murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, If you
suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name” (I Peter
4:16).

Matthew Henry wrote, “A life spent in the service of God, and in communion with Him,
is the most comfortable life that any man can lead in this present world.” This has always
been the testimony of God’s people who understand what it means to suffer for Christ and
not be ashamed. The story of John and Betty Stam is legendary. Missionaries to China
and married only a little over a year, they were caught up in the terror of the communist
uprising. Shortly before they were both beheaded by the communists on December 7,
1934, John wrote to the China Inland Mission that their captors wanted $20,000 for their
release. They resigned themselves to the Lord, calling to mind the testimony of the
apostle Paul: “So now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether by life or by
death” (Philippians 1:20). They left a baby daughter, only three months old. A Chinese
pastor and his wife somehow managed to save her life, carrying her some seventy miles,
evading capture, and finding nursing mothers along the way.

The testimony of a faithful Christian is, “I am suffering but I am not ashamed.” The “but”
suggests not an acceptable alternative, but a radical contrast (the NIV’s “yet”). I am
suffering for the gospel, but I am not ashamed of the gospel. I am suffering for Christ,
but I am not ashamed of Christ. I am suffering for my faith, but I am not ashamed of my
faith. I am suffering for the truth, but I am not ashamed of the truth. In other words, the
apostle saw these as two completely opposite alternatives – suffering and shame. For him
suffering as a Christian was never a cause for shame. Men may suffer for all kinds of
reasons, and suffer shame as the result, but not the child of God. Men may be ashamed of
failure to study for a test, ashamed of becoming involved in an extra-marital affair,
ashamed of falling asleep on guard duty, or ashamed of being disobedient to their parents.
In the great Nuremberg war crimes trials following World War II, Albert Speer possibly
saved his life by showing shame and remorse. But a servant of Jesus Christ who suffers
for him must never accept shame. The faithful Christian is never ashamed of Jesus Christ.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil
against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven,
for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew
5:11,12).

A faithful Christian will say, “I know.”

The apostle gave this as the reason why he was not ashamed, even though his life had
been a life of suffering for Christ. It was because of something he knew. How often do we
have to admit that we are ashamed of something because we claim we did not know? “I
didn’t know it would end this way.” “I didn’t know the gun was loaded.” “I didn’t know
enough to read the fine print.” “I didn’t know you were allergic to flowers.” “I didn’t
know you were coming.” But the testimony of the Christian is, I am not ashamed because
I know. We have everything we need to know so that we will not be ashamed. Again, the
apostle used the present tense here (“I am continually knowing”). But what is the
“knowing” of the child of God? The testimony of a faithful Christian is no testimony at
all if what he knows is nothing more than facts and information. It is not so much what
we know, as it is how we know. This is the knowing of seeing and understanding. Paul’s
assurance to the Philippians was, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to
have plenty” (Philippians 4:12). He meant that he understood these things, he lived them,
and he spoke out the experience of them. These were not merely cold hard facts.

But when he wrote to Timothy, what did he know? We discover immediately that it was
not “what” he knew but “whom” he knew. His testimony was, “I know him.” What is
necessary for a person to know in order to be a Christian? He must know Christ. Is this
your testimony, that you have come to know Jesus Christ, that you have seen him with
the eye of faith, and that you understand who he is? Do you know him in his godhead as
the Son of God who is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father? Do you know him as the
one in whom all the fullness of the godhead dwells in bodily form? Do you know him as
the one whose name is Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace. Do you know him as the one in whom perfect humanity and complete deity are
forever joined together in the person of Jesus Christ? Do you know him as the redeemer,
the savior, the shepherd of the sheep, the lover of your soul? Do you know him as the
only mediator between God and man? Do you know Christ as priest and sacrifice, as sin-
bearer and ransom price? Do you know this Christ as the one who hung upon the cross
and offered up an atoning sacrifice that satisfied the Father and opened up the gates of
heaven to all who will believe? The testimony of a Christian is not merely that he knows
these things about Jesus, but that he knows him.

A faithful Christian will say, “I have believed.”

The apostle Paul was insisting, “I have believed and I now continue to believe.” The
whole object of the gospel is to set forth someone who can be believed. The gospel
proclaims a sinless person who has accomplished a finished work, and sinners are
commanded to believe it. Sinners cannot be saved apart from believing in the Lord Jesus
Christ. In the gospel God has announced his terms of peace and reconciliation with
himself, and those terms require of the sinner nothing less than unconditional surrender.
Herein lies the great distinctiveness of Christianity. This is what sets it apart from all
forms of false religion. It requires whole-hearted belief in the person and work of Christ.
It requires a belief in him entirely and exclusively. The testimony of a faithful Christian is
that he has done that and that he continues to do so. It is the testimony of his lips as well
as his life. It is his testimony in all circumstances, in all areas of his life, in all his
relationships and responsibilities. “I know whom I have believed,” he insists. He who
truly knows Christ as did the apostle Paul will believe Christ. He found in Christ the only
one who could save him from the condition he was in. He knew what Jesus had done for
him and what Jesus could still do for him. He could not and he would not turn back, even
when it meant that he would have to identify with Jesus in his sufferings. He still must
insist, “I know whom I have believed.” To believe in Christ as Paul did means that you
surrender yourself to Christ and say, “Lord save me, I cannot save myself. I give myself
up to you. I submit to your power and authority to deal with sinners like me. I trust you
to wash me, cleanse me, save me, preserve me.” You say with Charles Wesley,

“Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee;

Leave, ah leave me not alone, still support and comfort me!
All my trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of Thy wing.”

But at the same time, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ also means that you start
believing the right things about yourself. You give up once and for all any idea
that you can save yourself by any method or means. When the apostle Paul
testified that he knew whom he had believed, he was saying that he no longer
trusted in himself or his works. The testimony of a faithful Christian does not try
to add works to faith, nor does it try to add faith to works. A Christian is someone
who believes in Christ for salvation. Paul had therefore abandoned all confidence
in anything he had ever been or done. In fact, he came to realize that the things he
thought he could claim to his credit had actually kept him from coming to Christ
(Philippians 3:7). He realized, like all who believe in Christ must realize, that he
was like a person trapped on the side of a mountain. There is no way up or down,
only certain death. But a rescuer has been let down from a helicopter, and he must
let go of whatever he is clinging to and trust the rescuer as the only way out. The
testimony of a faithful Christian is, “I have believed.”

A faithful Christian will say, “I am convinced.”

When you are convinced, you take action. You sign on the dotted line. You make the
purchase. You agree to the proposal. To be convinced is to be persuaded, to trust, to have
confidence that you are doing the right thing. Being persuaded means that your mind has
been changed. You have “made up your mind.” You are no longer on the fence, torn
between two opinions. You are no longer double-minded, undecided, or uncommitted.
You have come around, so that instead of objecting you are in full and unreserved
agreement. Being convinced means that you don’t just agree with the vacuum cleaner
salesman that he has a fine product and send him on his way. It means that you buy the
product and even become a vacuum cleaner salesman yourself. And so it was with Paul.
Whereas formerly he persecuted the followers of Jesus, now he was one himself. He was
persuaded or convinced of a similar transformation in Timothy (verse 5). When you
consider how this word is used in the New Testament, you are quickly reminded that
there is nothing shallow or superficial about it. In fact, it can be accomplished only by
divine power.

Jesus said as much as he spoke of the rich man in hell. “If they do not listen to Moses and
the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead” (Luke
16:31). King Agrippa scoffed at Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can
persuade me to be a Christian?” (Acts 26:28). Yet a common assumption today is that
convincing people to be Christians is a relatively easy thing, once you know how to do it.
But becoming convinced in the sense that a faithful Christian will testify is a mighty
accomplishment, and only God can bring it about. This is the reason Paul could say,
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). It is only on this basis that a
believer can ever declare,

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life…nor anything else in all creation will be
able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,
39).

The testimony of the apostle was what yours and mine should be, that the
experience of serving the Lord has convinced us of something. It has not filled us
full of doubts and fears. It has not left us frustrated and discouraged. It has not
brought us to the brink of despair. It has not driven us to the conclusion that we
have wasted our lives while we could have been doing other things. No, it has
persuaded us of something. And what is that something? We with the apostle
have become convinced that Jesus is able, that he has power. The disciples came
to know him that way, and spoke of him as a prophet who was powerful in word
and deed before God and all the people (Luke 24:19). In other words, he is able
to do what he says. He speaks and it is done! And what he is able to do is to guard
or keep something. If you give something to him for safekeeping, he will take
care of it. “He is able to guard what I have entrusted to him.” It is like the
shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night (Luke 2:8). It is like how God
kept Noah safe in the ark (II Peter 2:5). This is the word for “prison” that is used
many times in the NT. It was where Paul was as he wrote. It is a place of security
and confinement, where you are under constant watch and supervision. You are
not your own in prison. You are in custody. And Jesus has taken you into
protective custody. He is able to guard or keep whatever is put into his care. The
faithful Christian will say, “I am convinced.”

A faithful Christian will say, “I have entrusted.”

Paul was confident that Jesus would guard what he had entrusted to him. The KJV
renders it, “he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” In
actual fact this is not a verb, but a noun. It is not so much the act of entrusting, but the
thing entrusted. Paul went on to use the verb form of this word as he instructed Timothy,

“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to
reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (II Timothy 2:2).

From the cross Jesus called out loud enough for all to hear, “Father, into your hands I
commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). What was it that the former Pharisee had entrusted to the
Lord Jesus Christ? It would be better to ask, What did he not entrust to him? Clearly, the
apostle Paul was a man who had committed everything to Christ. He held back nothing.
His position was clear:

“For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we
live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong
to the Lord” (Romans 14:7,8).

When he reminded the Corinthians, “You are not your own; you were bought at a price,”
he knew and understood whereof he spoke (I Corinthians 6:19,20). When he declared,
“For to me, to live is Christ,” he meant the same thing (Philippians 1:21). Suppose you
are going away, and you have something of great value that you give to a friend to keep
for you until you return. Can you trust him? Can you depend upon him to keep what you
have entrusted to him? Suppose it is a precious photograph or piece of jewelry that has
been handed down to you. Suppose it is the key to your house. You put it in the bank
perhaps, in a safety deposit box, and you count on the bank to guard what you have
entrusted to them until to come back for it. Paul’s testimony was that he had entrusted
himself to Christ. He had made a deposit with Christ, had handed everything over to him
to keep safe for the day when he needed it again. Paul’s deposit was his whole life and
ministry. Have you made that deposit?

But he had entrusted himself to Jesus “for that day.” What day? It is not just any day, and
it is not just for the present day. The testimony of a faithful Christian is that he has
entrusted himself to Jesus “for that day.” It is the same day in view in verse 18 and then
again in 4:8:

“Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed
for his appearing.”

In other words, it is the day of the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. That day will be the
last day, as far as the present age is concerned. It is the day to which Jesus referred when
he promised his disciples, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”
(Matthew 28:20). In time of war men used to enlist in the armed forces “for the duration,”
or “for the emergency.” They did not expect to go home until the war was over and
victory was sure. So it is with faithful believers. We entrust ourselves to the Captain of
our salvation, our Commander in Chief, for the duration – until that day! We do so with
full confidence in his battle plan, knowing that he has already accomplished the victory
and has gone on ahead of us, and knowing that where he is we shall also be (John 12:26;
14:3; 17:24). The testimony of a faithful Christian is, “I have entrusted.”

Such a testimony as this is a mighty instrument in the hand of God. It is the

testimony that we must live before our children and grandchildren. The
world will not be impressed with anything less. This is a testimony that
will identify us with Jesus Christ. It will cause us to stand apart from the
world, but will place us on a solid footing to be good ambassadors of
Christ in the world. Christians are the weakest and the least effective when
they try to be the most accommodating to the world. All too often our
testimony has a hollow sound to it because it cannot truthfully declare, I
am suffering, I am not ashamed, I know, I have believed, I am convinced,
and I have entrusted.

“I’m not ashamed to own my Lord,

Or to defend his cause,
Maintain the honor of his Word,
The glory of his cross.

Jesus, my God! I know his Name,

His Name is all my trust;
Nor will he put my soul to shame,
Nor let my hope be lost.

Firm as his throne his promise stands,

And he can well secure
What I’ve committed to his hands
Till the decisive hour.

Then will he own my worthless name

Before his Father’s face,
And in the new Jerusalem
Appoint my soul a place.”
(Isaac Watts, 1709)