And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. Acts 4:14
As an atheist travelled about the country spreading his message of denial and rejection, he came to a coal mining town, and, as usual, hired a hall in which to hold a public meeting. During the meeting, he spoke eloquently and passionately about his doctrine, making many effective arguments. At one point during his talk, he declared that it was impossible to prove that God exists, so there must be no God. At this point, a huge, powerful miner who was seated at the back of the hall stood and lumbered forward, stopping in front of the atheist orator. ‘Then how to you explain about me?’ he asked. He turned and faced the audience, all of whom knew him very well. He reminded them of how, for many years, he had been a evil tempered drunk, cruel and nasty to his own family and violent toward his neighbours. But the Gospel came his way a couple of years earlier, and he was reached and saved. Since then, he was the kindest and most gentle of husbands and fathers, a model citizen of the town, and a caring and gracious neighbour. He turned to the atheist and declared, ‘There is a God, and He has saved me’. As the audience stood and applauded, the atheist closed the meeting and left town.
Our testimonies might not be as dramatic as that miner, but you and are living proof of God and His power to save. The world has no answer to the change that salvation brings into a soul. Denials and arguments and excuses mean nothing when placed beside the transforming power of the Gospel. Although the Jewish leaders refused to accept the proof of the healing of the lame man, they could say nothing against it. The healed man was standing in front of them. Nothing they could say or do could alter that. And there is nothing that those around us can say or do that will change what God has accomplished. Even if those around us deny and reject, we can look at ourselves and be convinced that God has transformed us into that which we could never have done ourselves.
The proof that a testimony provides is no proof if nobody knows about it. The atheist might have stayed and continued his hopeless and loveless campaign if the saved miner had not confronted him. You and I know many who do not believe the Gospel but who we have never told about the change that salvation has made. Of course, if there has been no change in our lives, there is nothing to tell; maybe we need to re-examine our foundation. But if God has saved us, He has changed us, and He can change others. Our testimony can convince them. -Jim MacIntosh