Ann Hasseltine Judson (1789-1826)

Its always fascinating to me to hear different individuals articulate what it is to be a Christian—what its like, what it makes them think of, how their countenance changes when they speak of it, what pictures they envision, what convictions their heart stirs with, etc.

Here’s a description that stole my attention immediately when I read it for the first time.  I came across it a few weeks back while reading Adoniram Judson’s biography, To the Golden Shore.  Judson didn’t say it, though.  His wife did.

In describing the fellowship of salvation, she explains it as sharing in,

“Joys as exalted as heaven, durable as eternity!”  —Ann Hasseltine Judson, p. 166

What a beautiful expression.  No need to add anything to it.  I’ll just leave you with it and hope that it soaks into your soul like it did mine.

Have you come across any similarly striking expressions or descriptions regarding the Christian faith?  Your comments are welcomed.

Ananias restoring the sight of Saint Paul, by Pietro da Cortona

(Note: this is a follow-up post to “Learning from the Apostle Paul: Sharing Your Testimony”)

I’m continuing to preach my way verse-by-verse through Paul’s 1st Letter to Timothy with my church.  Lord willing, we should wrap up the first chapter this Lord’s Day.

A couple of weeks ago I preached a sermon on “Paul’s Personal Testimony” out of I Tim. 1:12-17.  I’ve already posted some thoughts from that sermon.  This post seeks to draw seven practical conclusions from Paul’s salvation story.

Our testimonies should make Jesus look good.

• Notice how in I Tim. 1:12 it’s all about Jesus—Paul says he’s thankful to Christ, strengthened by Christ, counted faithful by Christ, and placed in ministry by Christ.  There’s a whole lot of Christ there…and that’s definitely to be a lesson for us.

Our testimonies should stir our hearts with affection and praise toward God.

• After Paul has finished sharing the details of his testimony its as if he just can’t help it but to burst forth into praise.  See in I Tim. 1:17 how he all of a sudden jumps into a word or adoration to his God.

God’s grace is enough.

• It didn’t matter that Paul was said to be the “foremost” of all sinners (I Tim. 1:15), when God’s grace “overflowed” in his life it was more than enough to to save and transform him forever (I Tim. 1:14).

The message of Christ is not simply about getting better, it’s about getting saved.

• I love how in these verses Paul gives a sort of Jesus-statement-manifesto (I Tim. 1:15).  He says unapologetically that the reason Jesus came into the world was to save sinners.  It wasn’t merely to help us become better people.  It wasn’t to help us figure out who we are.  Those things are good and do come with it, but the reason Jesus came was to save us.

It is possible to be very religious and yet not be saved at all.

• We know from another passage of Scripture (Phil. 3:4-6) that the ‘pre-Christian’ Paul was a super-religious guy.  And yet here we learn that he was the worst sinner of them all.  It just goes to show you that being a good person and playing by all the religious rules won’t get you anywhere with God.  He’s got to save you.  Apart from that we’re without hope.

No one is good enough to be saved.

• This is very similar to the point above.  Simply put: no one can earn there way into a right relationship with God.  I don’t care what good deeds you do or how long you’ve been doing them, God’s Word says that even if we only break one of God’s rules, its as if we’re guilty of them all (James 2:10)

No one is bad enough that they can’t be saved.

• Paul was the worst—he said so himself (I Tim. 1:15).  And yet God saved him.  That gives hope to even those who think themselves the most lost of all causes.  God can save you.

What else can we learn from Paul’s testimony?  I know there’s more.  Help me out.

Paul and Timothy

The Apostle Paul shares his testimony in I Tim. 1:12-17.  I preached out of this passage last Sunday morning (sermon available here | series available here).

What I noted was a sort of structure to what Paul shared, a structure that I believe should prove helpful to us as we consider how to best share our testimonies.

Paul share six different things with Timothy:

I. Who I am Now (I Tim. 1:12)

→Paul was a man thankful to Christ, strengthened by Christ, counted faithful by Christ, and placed in ministry by Christ.

II. Where I Used to Be (I Tim. 1:13)

→Before his conversion Paul was a blasphemer, persecutor, and an injurious man.

III. What Happened to Me (I Tim. 1:14)

→God’s grace super-abounded in his life with faith and love.

IV. How It Happened (I Tim. 1:15)

→Jesus did it—Jesus saved him.

V. Why It Happened (I Tim. 1:16)

→So that through Paul’s salvation God’s patience could be set on display in the most illustrious of ways.  Paul’s testimony is an example to us all of how God can truly save a man.

VI. When I Think About It (I Tim. 1:17)

→ Paul ends this passage by bursting forth into praise.  It’s as if by sharing his testimony he cannot help but to be be stirred up with affection for his Lord.

This same outline should benefit our understanding of salvation.  If Christ has saved us then we should be able to fill in each of these six points with our own details: who we are, where we’ve come from, what happened to us, how it happened, why it happened, and when we think about it…

If you’re a believer I encourage you to use these points to rehearse your own testimony right now.  Look for someone you can share it with today.

On the same day they were married, young Adoniram and Ann (”Nancy”) Judson, future missionaries to the peoples of Burma (modern-day Myanmar), attended a commissioning service for themselves and a handful of other young men and women.

The service took place at the church where Nancy had grown up.  Her minister, Parson Allen, composed a special hymn for the occasion.  It was delivered at the end of the service.  It is said that, “People wept unashamedly as the sang.”

Here’s the first verse:

Go, ye heralds of salvation; Go, and preach in heathen lands;
Publish loud to every nation, What the Lord of life commands,
Go, ye sisters, their companions, Soothe their cares, and wipe their tears,
Angels shall in bright battalions Guard your steps and guard your fears.

—From Courtney Anderson’s, To the Golden Shore (pp. 108-109)

I was deeply moved when I read this account and pictured family and friends sending off the young missionaries to fulfill the Great Commission, most likely to never see them again.

Related Post:

—A Word of Conviction from Adoniram Judson

The great Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson was but a young student when he wrote the following words in a ‘conservatives’ religious magazine’ in the year 1810.

“How do Christians discharge the trust committed to them? … They let three fourths of the world sleep the sleep of death, ignorant of the simple truth that a Savior had died for them.  Content if they can be useful in the little circle of their acquaintances, they quietly sit and see whole nations perish for lack of knowledge.”  —(From Courtney Anderson’s, To the Golden Shore)

His feet had never touched foreign soil.  They would, but that time had not yet come.  He and his fellow mission-minded friends were ever seeking new and better ways to promote their project while they went through the long and tedious process of securing support for their gospel journey to Asia.

His words sink deep into my life.  We are all called, as believers, to share in his passion and urgency to get the truth of God’s message of redemption to the world.

Related links:

• Wikipedia’s entry on Judson
• Wholesome Words’ bio-database on Judson
• John Piper’s conference message on Judson