The Testimony
Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” (Rev 19:10)
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We have often heard someone say, ‘keep your testimony’. The stable and progressive man who keeps good morals and attitudes attracts people to his motivation and faith. This is what Paul meant in Titus 2, where he particularly speaks of sound doctrine, and then goes on to list people groups who need specific encouragement and teaching for the purpose of maintaining the Word of God above reproach: ‘so that no one will malign the word of God’ (v.5); ‘so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us’ (v.8); ‘(to) make the teaching about God our Savior attractive’ (v.10).
Does your life make the Word of God attractive to your spectators, including those who would love to oppose you? Your testimony comprises three parts: your life (morals and attitudes and overcoming sin, the world and the devil), your thanksgiving in recognition of God’s hand in your affairs, and your acknowledgement and faith and witness that Jesus is Lord and Saviour. The three are interdependent and work together. While Paul, in his Titus 2 admonitions, dwells mostly on the first part, John in the book of Revelation dwells mostly on the third part.
In Revelation, ‘the testimony of Jesus’ is an essential part of the definition of God’s people. The apostle John himself uses this word to describe himself (1:2,9) and the reason for his incarceration at Patmos. He then describes the martyrs as ‘those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained’ (6:9, 11:7); the good news is that there is clear hope for their eternal life in what John saw; their testimony brought them pain but not in vain. More so, those who triumphed over the devil and the dragon did so ‘by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony’ (12:11,17); and finally the angel at the great Wedding of the Lamb describes believers as those ‘who hold to the testimony of Jesus’ (19:10). It is therefore vitally important to hold fast to the Testimony of Jesus – it is the Testimony.
The first person to testify was John the Baptist; he pointed his followers to Jesus and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ Many others before him testified thus prophetically, while many others after him have the opportunity to follow and hold fast to the Testimony. May the Almighty God empower you to always keep your testimony, to give thanks and proclaim His wonders in the congregation and to spread widely the Testimony of Jesus.
God bless you.