Should Some Testimonies Stay Private?

A post on X went insanely viral this week, and everyone has something to say about it. A man named Trevor Sheatz shared a wedding picture and wrote up a short testimony to accompany it. The testimony was sweet and pointed to the transforming work of Jesus Christ in our lives. Some Many people were heavily triggered by the content of the testimony, and the reaction is alarming. Among the many hot takes and accusations that emerged in response to Sheatz’s post, a shocking number of professing Christians are saying it’s important that some testimonies stay private. I vehemently disagree.

Conservatives Want This Testimony To Remain Private

My wife was formerly promiscuous. I was a virgin.

She was then radically born-again. Committed to church, evangelized constantly, Puritan books in her bedroom, prayer journals, grief over past sexual sin, etc.

We got to know each other well for over a year, dated for four… https://t.co/HX4otAQ8fh pic.twitter.com/7F5ARW5WaG

— Trevor Sheatz (@TrevorSheatz) March 23, 2026

“My wife was formerly promiscuous. I was a virgin.

She was then radically born-again. Committed to church, evangelized constantly, Puritan books in her bedroom, prayer journals, grief over past sexual sin, etc.

We got to know each other well for over a year, dated for four months, engaged for two and a half, and didn’t sin sexually with one another. Our first kiss with each other was at the altar on our wedding day (reaction pic attached!).

We’ve been married for over five years now, and she’s been the most wonderful and godly wife, mother to our three children, and homemaker you could imagine.

She’s more pure than most virgins, as biblical purity has less to with past sins (though they certainly matter) and more to do with one’s current posture of the heart and daily decisions to honor the Lord (Matt. 5:8).”

Trevor Sheatz, X

What’s The Problem?

I saw absolutely nothing wrong with this social media post when I first read it. Apparently, I’m either in the minority or the silent majority. Either way, the reaction is consistent on every online platform.

1. Critics claim the husband publicly shamed his wife by sharing her business.

Nope. Ashley Sheatz, Trevor Sheatz’s wife, has been publicly sharing her testimony for the last six years or so. She was a drug addict and New Ager who became a born-again Christian.

2. Many men (and women) laughed at her, calling her a sl*t and wh*re.

The Sheatzes’ critics are dragging Ashley through the mud because she and her husband openly share the nature of the sins from which Jesus saved her. When you don’t have a real argument, all you have are personal attacks.

3. Ashley Sheatz’s past devalues her in some people’s eyes.

Today, I read a comment that was written to Trevor Sheatz in response to his post. This commenter told Sheatz that his wife was like a piece of junk car that might have a pleasurable ride but there are problems with its soul…

It’s interesting that a woman with a past who later follows the Lord is used up and looked down upon. However, I don’t think anyone would have one comment to share if the roles had been reversed. Conservative “Christian” men, your misogyny is showing.

4. There is concern about her children finding out about her past sins.

Did you know that there are people who don’t think children should know about your past because kids will interpret that as permission or an excuse to do the same? I sure didn’t know that.

Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire goes as far as to say that parents who share their sinful pasts lose their moral authority.

How about we develop healthy relationships with our children that don’t involve gaslighting them about our “righteous” pasts and also practice discernment about what to share and when?

5. Sharing sins from your past is bragging.

The main point from this criticism is that the only reason you might discuss past sins is if you’re reliving the good ol’ days. I’ve never met a believer who talked about their sin as anything other than something from which they’re thankful to be free.

6. Sheatz’s comment on purity has triggered a lot of Christians.

Trevor Sheatz was simply challenging the idea that virginity is what makes someone pure. Yes, a virgin is sexually pure. Although, I’ve known of believers who lived by the “everything but the real thing” rule, and I’d argue those Christians weren’t exactly sexually pure.

I believe his point was that someone who has a past littered with deep sin can still be pure given a life lived for Christ. In addition, acting the part and following the rules doesn’t innately make you spiritually pure. I promise you that a virgin can have a wicked heart.

7. Christians shouldn’t share their testimonies beyond a small, intimate circle.

This statement is the one that knocked me to the floor. People who confess Christ are honestly discouraging others from sharing their testimony! This is where I want to spend the rest of our time together.

Should Some Testimonies Stay Private? No!

We need to consider why someone would suggest testimonies are private elements of our faith. I also wonder what they think a testimony accomplishes.

From the conversation this week on social media, I have come to the conclusion that those who want people to keep testimonies to themselves think testimonies are reengagement with sin, stealing God’s glory, forms of oversharing, and unrealistic for people.

Reengagement With Sin

Telling one’s testimony isn’t the same thing as reliving the sins from the past. After salvation, our appetites change. Believers don’t love sin; they hate it. Guilt, disappointment, and shame accompany sinful acts. They want to be free from it like we see Paul describe below.

“So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.”

Romans 7:21-25

Believers don’t revel in their sinful pasts. Instead, they strive to sin less and less, but that doesn’t preclude them from remembering those sins and using them to demonstrate how much the Lord has changed them. Don’t forget that born-again Christians are new creations.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

2 Corinthians 5:17

I hate my past sins, and given the option, I would go back in time and make different decisions. But alas, that’s not my reality, and I have the opportunity to use my salvation testimony as a way to glorify God.

Stealing God’s Glory

The credit for the change a believer experiences has been a big conversation online this week. It’s essential our testimonies stay private because we are stealing God’s glory when we make them public. Well, that’s the claim.

Let’s acknowledge that some people do make testimonies about themselves. That’s a reality, and there isn’t any point in denying it. I have a difficult time, however, making the leap from “some people diminish God in their testimonies” to “we shouldn’t share our testimonies publicly.”

A true testimony is one in which those listening are pointed back to the Lord. If we hear someone pointing to themselves, then we can just point to Him instead. Wow, Linda! It sounds like God did a huge work in your life. Praise God! He’s so faithful, isn’t He? Done. It’s fixed.

Even The Bible Wants Your Testimony Public

Keep it secret. Keep it safe.

That advice might work for the One Ring, but it’s not at all how Christians should approach their testimonies.

“As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, ‘Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.’”

Mark 5:18-19

Did Jesus tell the man to keep this business to himself? Of course not! Tell other people what the Lord has done for you!

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

Believers are supposed to share the gospel with the world. Is your testimony the gospel? No. On the other hand, it is a wonderful tool with which to share the gospel. Here are the facts, friend. If you don’t have a testimony that can easily lead to the gospel, then you need to check your spiritual health. Your salvation testimony should point directly to God’s love for us and His saving power. Yeah, the story might sound pretty ugly at first, but that’s sin. And that sin is the beginning of our lived-out gospel experience. Where’s the good news without the bad news?

Forms Of Oversharing

How much is too much? And should some testimonies stay private because they share more information than is appropriate? I suppose there are people who overshare. If, for example, Trevor Sheatz had gone into graphic detail about his wife’s past, then I would join the chorus of voices telling him he has said too much. However, he wasn’t graphic. In fact, he didn’t even give any description at all. He shared one sentence on the topic. My wife was formerly promiscuous. That one sentence has sent people into a tizzy, and I’m left scratching my head. Are Christians so prude that even the suggestion of sexual activity is enough to send them into a meltdown?

Have Christians forgotten Rahab? The woman caught in adultery? The woman at the well? Their sexual sin plays a significant role in their stories, and the Bible records it. These women received grace. Rahab and the woman at the well ultimately believed in the One True God. Their sexual sin didn’t prevent God from redeeming them, and their stories are all the more meaningful and richer to us because we know their pasts.

It’s not oversharing because you’re uncomfortable with the content. Mind you, it could be, but sinners sin… Our stories are messy and unpleasant. You aren’t supposed to like hearing about sin, but what a glorious picture of how merciful our God is when we understand where someone comes from and see where she is today! These stories deserve praise, not self-righteous side-eye.

Unrealistic For People

Finally, a common criticism I came across in response to the Sheatzes’ testimony was that it wasn’t realistic. Many people doubted the validity of Ashley Sheatz’s story. Some went as far as to claim that she was still living her old lifestyle and just putting on a show for her husband. Others suggested that women with undesirable histories eventually tire of their lifestyle or become less desirable, therefore, they change their behavior to find a conservative husband. It’s a trap. There are men accusing her of setting up an elaborate trap.

It appears that it is more believable that Ashley Sheatz is a manipulative liar and her husband, Trevor, a complete rube than that she could be transformed by the gospel. This tells me that men like Matt Walsh don’t know what salvation is because they don’t recognize it when they see it.

Testimonies like the one the Sheatzes’ share are not false narratives. They are reminders of God’s power. Jesus can and will radically change someone who is born again. No one can pull himself up by his own bootstraps and successfully transform his own heart. One the other hand, Christ can change anyone, and we need to share these stories with everyone. We all need to be ready and willing to share our testimonies. Maybe we’ll share how we came to Christ, but we also have stories about how the Lord has worked in our lives since becoming Christians. Share what God has done in your life even if it doesn’t leave you looking squeaky clean.

Final Thought

Christians have spent all week asking each other, “Should some testimonies stay private?” Unfortunately, a loud representation of professing believers is pushing us all to keep quiet. They can have that opinion, but God’s Word doesn’t back it up. Neither does common sense.

Ladies, if you truly know Jesus as your Savior, no one can stop you from telling others what He did and is doing in your life. Join me in drowning out those who would quiet the stories of Jesus’ work in our lives.

Do you think we should openly share our testimonies, or should some testimonies stay private?

Image courtesy of Kristina Flour via Unsplash.