When the apostle Paul tells his own story, he doesn’t focus on how bad he was before Christ. He emphasises Jesus. That instinct runs counter to much of what passes for testimony-giving today, where the drama of a former life tends to take centre stage and the gospel itself gets relegated to a supporting role. The personal story matters, but it is the garnish, not the main course. The focus of any testimony ought to be the person and work of Jesus: who he is and what he came to do.
I have found Paul’s testimony in 1 Timothy chapter 1 a simple and practical framework to use in helping people prepare their testimonies for camps, baptisms, youth groups, and church gatherings.
Paul’s Testimony
Paul’s account in 1 Timothy 1:12–17 offers a simple and practical framework:
I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
He begins with who he once was: “a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man” (v. 13). He doesn’t dwell on it, but he doesn’t skip it either. This background establishes his need for what comes next: the mercy of God that intersected his life despite his unbelief. From there he moves to grace: how it changed him, and when faith in Christ began to take hold (v. 14).
The Gospel at the Centre
At the centre of it all is the gospel itself: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (v. 15). This is not incidental to Paul’s testimony, it ought to be at the centre of every testimony. Jesus is our Saviour. Paul is bearing witness to how “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (v. 14). Jesus is the hinge on which everything turns, and our personal story only makes sense in light of his gospel. Paul tells his personal story as one in which “Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life” (v. 16).
God at Work for His Glory
Paul then speaks to what that salvation looks like now: the patience and mercy of God at work in his life, redirected toward service to Christ (v. 16, see v. 12). The whole account ends not with Paul, but with worship—“Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen” (v. 17).
The shape of this biblical testimony, then, is: who you were before Christ, where God’s mercy met you and how his grace changed you, what the good news is (Jesus coming to save sinners), and what God is doing in you now for his glory and the good of others.
