A good testimony

Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true. – 3 John 1v12

Yesterday we looked at imitating the evil and the good. We have already seen how not to behave. Now we get to see an example of the kind of Christian we can imitate.

Demetrius had a couple of things going for him. His testimony was right in two areas. He had a good testimony from everyone who knew him and he had a good testimony according to the truth. He had that unique ability to balance his testimony so that it pleased God and pleased others.

It is easy to say something like, ‘I don’t care what anyone thinks as long as my life lines up with the word of God.’ That’s all well and good, but it is not ‘all we have to worry about.’ Demetrius’ testimony was good according to the truth. He knew the importance of ‘this saith the Lord’ and lived according to it.

But he was also careful to live a life that gave him a good testimony before others. That is just as important. We do need to be concerned, not only with our testimony according to Bible standards, but also according to how we look before men.

That means that sometimes I need to sacrifice my Biblical liberty for the sake of others who don’t understand the situation or have their own personal feelings. While others cannot dictate every aspect of my life, I do need to be aware of them to keep my testimony pure and right even if we disagree.