Reflections from Week Two of Our Evangelism Class

“Who does that sound like to you?” my friend Blaine asked after reading a passage from Scripture. My Buddhist friend paused, then quietly said, “Uh… Jesus.” Blaine smiled. “You know what? I think you’re right. That sounds like Jesus to me too. Does it mean anything to you that this was written 700 years before Jesus was born?”

I watched the color drain from my friend’s face. For the first time in our many conversations about faith, he had no wise-crack response, no smarmy comeback. He just sat there, speechless.

That moment, years ago, taught me something powerful about the difference between sharing my personal experience with Jesus and sharing God’s own testimony about His Son. Both have their place, but one carries a weight and authority that the other simply cannot match.

Starting with What We Think We Know

I began our second class by asking participants to define “Christian testimony.” The responses were exactly what I expected:

• “Testimony of what the Lord has done to save you personally in the context of the gospel”
• “The way that we act can be a ‘bad witness’ or a ‘bad testimony’ to others if we are living like hypocrites”
• “When people share testimonies, it’s almost always about the depths of their sin and this enormous change that God has brought about”

These aren’t wrong answers—they’re just incomplete. What I wanted to help our class discover is that Christian testimony can be so much more than our personal stories, powerful as those may be.

“Just focus on your own testimony, because you can’t get that wrong” – but what if we’re missing something much more powerful?

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The Ice Cream Problem

To illustrate the difference between subjective and objective testimony, I used what might seem like a silly example: my favorite ice cream flavor.

I showed the class a picture of Moose Tracks ice cream and said: “This is my favorite flavor. It’s delicious, and I like it. If I went into the world and said, ‘You know what, Moose Tracks makes me really happy, and I think you should give it a try,’ most people probably wouldn’t care what my favorite flavor is. You have your own subjective experience with ice cream.”

But then I pushed it further: “What if I started saying ‘Moose Tracks ice cream is the BEST ice cream. In fact, it’s the ONLY ice cream worth eating. If you like anything other than Moose Tracks, you’re wrong!’ Now I’m making objective statements about something that’s really subjective—and people would think I’m crazy.”

The point hit home. Too often, the world hears our testimony about Jesus the same way—as just another person’s subjective preference rather than objective truth about reality.

A Dangerous Question

I posed what I knew would be a controversial question to the class: “Is it biblical to ask someone to ‘make Jesus Lord of your life’?”

This is such common evangelistic language that questioning it feels almost heretical.

But I pressed on: “Acts 2:36 says, ‘Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.’ If God has already made Jesus Lord, why would we ask someone to make Him Lord?”

Here’s the issue: When we ask people to “make Jesus Lord,” we’re actually giving them authority over Jesus. They get to decide whether He is their Lord or not. But the biblical declaration is much sharper: “Jesus Christ IS Lord over your life, and He commands you to repent.”

One approach lets people stay in the driver’s seat. The other declares an objective reality whether they like it or not.

“If you don’t think that makes a difference, I encourage you to try out both approaches when you talk to people. You’ll notice the world responds very differently.”

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God’s Testimony vs. Our Testimony

This is where things got exciting. I shared how Scripture speaks about “THE testimony” not just “A testimony”:

1 John 5:9-12: “If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son… The one who believes in the Son of God has THE testimony in himself.”

Notice: THE testimony. Not A testimony. It’s the same for all of us.

When my friend sat speechless after hearing Isaiah 53, it wasn’t because of my personal story. It was because he encountered God’s own testimony about His Son—objective truth that transcends personal experience.

The Treasure Trove: Christ in the Old Testament

I spent a significant portion of our time showing the class just a sampling of the hundreds of prophecies about Christ scattered throughout the Old Testament. We barely scratched the surface, but here were some highlights:

Genesis 3:15 – The First Gospel: God Himself declared that the “seed of the woman” would crush the serpent’s head while being struck on the heel. Victory through suffering in the very first book of the Bible.

Numbers 21 – The Bronze Serpent: Jesus directly connected this to His own crucifixion: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”

Psalm 22 & Isaiah 53: Written 1000 and 700 years before Christ respectively, these passages describe crucifixion in stunning detail—including methods of execution that didn’t even exist when they were written.

As I walked through passage after passage, I could see participants getting the point. This isn’t just “Jesus works for me”—this is “God orchestrated history to prove His Son’s identity.”

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Putting It Into Practice

Near the end of our time, I challenged participants to practice giving a gospel presentation incorporating these objective truths. Three brave souls stepped up:

Brian delivered a clear, bold declaration that included law, gospel, and the command to repent. Eric emphasized the objective facts while maintaining compassion. Elijah wove together the prophetic fulfillment with the personal call to believe.

Each was different in style, but all shared the same content—the objective testimony God has given about His Son.

“We don’t find a repeated method in Scripture, but we do see a clear pattern: using Old Testament passages to emphasize the truths that Christ suffered, died, was buried, rose again, entered His glory, and offers forgiveness through repentance.”

An Encouraging Report

One participant shared an encouraging story from Memorial Day weekend at a music festival with tens of thousands of people. While handing out gospel tracts and preaching, a man on a bike listened for 35 minutes, then asked for tracts so he could hand them out too. Sometimes all it takes is seeing someone else act like a Christian to realize “I can do that too.”

The Assignment

I gave the class clear homework for the week:

1. If you haven’t already: Memorize the key elements Jesus said we’d witness to (His suffering, burial, resurrection, ascension, and the call to repentance)
2. Add some ammunition: Choose 1-2 Old Testament passages that support these truths and begin memorizing them
3. Saturate yourself: Spend time in passages like Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 until these truths flow naturally from your lips

Why This Matters So Much

Here’s what I hope came through in our time together: We don’t have to enter the world saying, “Hey guys, I think Jesus is really neat, and I think you’d like Him too.” That’s how the world hears most Christian testimony—as personal preference.

Instead, we can declare with confidence: “God has testified about His Son through prophecy fulfilled in history. The evidence is overwhelming. This isn’t about my feelings—this is about reality.”

When someone recently commented on one of our videos asking “What if the tooth fairy is true?” I responded: “If the Tooth Fairy is true, then you should put all the teeth you lose under your pillow. But what evidence do you have to believe in the Tooth Fairy, especially considering the overwhelming universal testimony of parents that this is just a game we play with our kids?” This person is accustomed to hearing subjective testimony about Jesus. The evidence for Christ is based on the prophetic testimony of God, recorded in the Scriptures.

That’s the difference between subjective opinion and objective testimony.

Moving Forward

I warned the class that growing faithful in this kind of testimony won’t be easy or quick. Unlike methods that promise “three simple steps,” this requires study, memorization, and genuine saturation in God’s Word. But it’s worth the effort.

As I told them: “This will be worth the effort. God will be pleased to use it for the glory of His name.”

Next week, we’ll dive into prayer and how it relates to evangelism. But the foundation has been laid: We’re not just sharing our opinions or experiences. We’re declaring the testimony that God Himself has given about His Son—testimony backed by prophecy, fulfilled in history, and confirmed by the resurrection.

That’s not just persuasive. That’s powerful.

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Watch the Full Session

Want to experience the complete class, including the practice sessions and Q and A? Here’s the full video from Week 2:

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What’s your experience with subjective vs. objective testimony? Have you ever seen someone’s response change when you moved from personal experience to biblical prophecy? I’d love to hear your stories and continue the conversation below!