Blessing and Testimony

QUESTION RECEIVED:

When my pastor asks the congregation 'does any have a testimony?' my question, is what is the difference between a testimony and a blessing?

MY ANSWER:

Usually a "blessing" is what God has done for us or what God can do for others through us.

A "testimony" is what we share with others in what God has done for us.

Make no mistake, all blessings come from God.

To Abraham the Lord said-

Genesis 12:2 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
"2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you,
And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;"

We receive blessings from God and bless Him back, and bless others through the blessing He gave us.

Ephesians 1:3 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
"3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,"

With our mouth we give blessings and display our testimony, or can damage your reputation and the glory of God as seen by others by curses from your mouth.

James 3:10 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
"10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way."


A testimony is all about Jesus and what His gospel of salvation has done for us.

Acts 4:33
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
"33 And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all."

Jesus Christ is testified about in the verse below from the Apostle Paul concerning the testimony and mission of Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 2:6 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
"6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time."

Jesus Christ paid it all with His living testimony as he died to appease the wrath of god aimed at sinners. He took our punishment on the cross and we receive forgiveness of sins, peace with God and eternal life in Heaven by his testimony.
Sometimes a testimony can cost us-even our lives. As the verse below in Revelation lets us know; The gospel is worth the price. You will be blessed no matter what price a true testimony costs.

Revelation 20:4 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
"4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."


Here are fuller definitions from Baker's Evangelical Dictionary
Blessing-
"God's intention and desire to bless humanity is a central focus of his covenant relationships. For this reason, the concept of blessing pervades the biblical record. Two distinct ideas are present. First, a blessing was a public declaration of a favored status with God. Second, the blessing endowed power for prosperity and success. In all cases, the blessing served as a guide and motivation to pursue a course of life within the blessing."


Testimony-
"The biblical concept of testimony or witness is closely allied with the conventional Old Testament legal sense of testimony given in a court of law. Linguistically, the biblical term principally derives from the Hebrew yaad, ud, anah [h"n'a] and Greek marturein [marturevw] word groups; conceptually, it broadly influences the thought patterns, truth claims, and theology of nearly all of Scripture."

Christians are blessed. We testify. As a pastor I learned you must study who should be allowed to testify. In a ministry with youth I once let a student give testimony with out a pre-testimony conference. The student told how he yelled "Help me Jesus", and his skidding van did not sink when it landed in the river. The boy lived. That was his testimony, not being killed, and nothing about Jesus. Later in life that boy left the faith for a deviant lifestyle. SO...? What was wrong with his testimony? There was no mention of the life death and Resurrection and the power of Jesus Christ in a salvation experience. No Jesus then no salvation, no forgiveness of sins, no personal power, no witness, no peace with God, no eternal life with the Father in Heaven.

Be a blessing to others from the blessing you have received by sharing the life saving gospel of Jesus Christ.