If you are sharing your testimony make sure that you are making it very clear that Jesus is not just something that works for you. That is too often and easily assumed as everyone loves a good redeeming spiritual story — ala Oprah.

I view our good works and testimony as serving the same purpose as Jesus’ miracles did.

You can talk a good talk, “Your sins are forgiven”, but until you have something to show for it, say something like healing the lame, they are just empty words. The testimony of your life and works must be done and they must be done well if anyone is going to listen to your Gospel.

Here is where I think the LDS beat the American evangelical church hands down. Though armed with a false gospel, they have a balanced approach to equipping followers to be able to articulate their world view and be a shining moral example.

@Larry: Granted these are Gators we are talking about, but the post-modern world has plenty of answers waiting when the questions are honestly asked, is the church to offer one answer and say “take it or leave it”? I think the ostrich church is how our culture got to where it’s at in the first place.

http://str.typepad.com/weblog/2008/04/top-3-questions.html

Depending on whom you observe, there may be more or less proof of God’s working…

That’s the difference between knowing and showing. You know God’s work in your life because it’s your life. That doesn’t prove anything to somebody who isn’t you, and let’s face it, we can even deceive ourselves. I’m sure Mormons and Muslims and all kinds of people can tell their stories.

The evidence of change in someone’s life can be one part of showing the truth of the Gospel, but it can’t be the only part (and I would say it can’t be the main part). The incredible thing about Christianity is that it is bolted to a reality that is external to all of us, which means it’s not a “true for you” sort of thing — it’s true for everybody.

Like Francis Schaeffer said… “There is only one reason to be a Christian: because it’s true.”

Here Here!

Our lives and the change is supernatural proof of God’s workings in 2008!

The gospel is what God did but also what he is doing. The pinnacle was indeed on Calvary 2000 years ago, but he has risen and is working today.

I also agree with you where personal testimonies are concerned. As I heard the guys at the White Horse Inn say once, the gospel is what God did, not what you experienced (or something to that effect).

“If you can’t answer a man’s arguments, all is not lost; you can still call him vile names.” — Elbert Hubbard

I want to be very careful about playing the “atheists are fools” card (Psalm 14:1 et al.) When someone hears a Christian dismiss as a fool someone as intelligent as Bertrand Russell or Ayn Rand or countless others, it makes it look like the best defense Christianity can muster is name-calling.

However, a charitable atheist will let the ad hominem fallacy slide. Instead, he will, a fortiori, criticize you for begging the question: If, in fact, there is no God, then Psalm 14:1 has no authority to declare anyone a fool.

So while I agree with you that the scripture is our final authority, I think we must recognize that our primary source of knowledge to that effect is the Spirit’s work of regeneration in our lives. When speaking to those who don’t enjoy the benefits of regeneration, we have to show it to them so that they can see that they are “without excuse” (literally, “without an apologetic”) before a holy God. In this way, I think the creation’s testimony to God’s existence (”natural theology”) functions much like the law does: it convicts, but cannot save.

Testimonies can be powerful, but the one big problem with “telling your story” is this: the reason no one will argue against your experience is that no one can argue against your experience. For that matter, no one needs to argue against your experience because you aren’t the authority. Defending your faith isn’t the same as defending the faith.

Still: without a doubt, personal testimony is a powerful evangelistic tool — so long as it’s the “frosting on the cake” and not the cake itself.

This also gives people who don’t know all the great reasons to be a christian a foot hold to talk to someone who is either apathetic, or hostile to the faith. If you are uncertain how to articulate the gospel, tell your own story. As Christians we know first hand what the gospel has done in our lives. I think this gives you a couple advantages to begin with. First, no one will argue against your experience. Second, it is compelling because the human condition is that we are all rebels and have the sense that we have not lived up to God’s standard and, something is wrong in this world. If they can see the person you are now is not just different but changed, they know something happened. Third, you can’t mess it up. It is your story. Nobody knows it better.

The scriptures put no effort at all into proving God’s existence, it is assumed from the very first verse. The only interaction the Bible has with people we would call atheists is to call them fools (Psalm 14:1, 53:1).

Paul tells us in Romans 1 that people disbelieve God because they are suppressing the truth about Him due to their wickedness. In other words, the problem is not a lack of knowledge or want of a good logical argument, the problem with someone who denies God is their sin. The only solution for that is the Gospel.

I’m not suggesting we should just ignore “I don’t believe in God” if its given to us as an objection when taking to someone about Christ but I do think pointing out how God has revealed Himself all around us in nature, etc. is a sufficient response (it’s after all Paul’s response to such an attitude in Romans 1). If the Holy Spirit is drawing them, it will be enough, if He is not, no amount of scientific data will be enough.