This is my personnel testimony to all relatives, friends, acquaintances and strangers.
But before I start posting the Gospel, words of encouragement, warnings of self-deception, evolution vs. creation, the apostate church and many more awesome God inspired truths, you need to know where I stand, simply because some of you out there know me and would not hesitate to call me a hypocrite, and you would be right.
Fifteen years ago, I gave a profession of faith, I gave my life to Christ to do His will and live for Him. As a professed believer, I would go to church on Sundays, and try to do what Christians are supposed to do, not use profanity, not lie, and not deceive people, no anger, and no malice etc, just generally a good person.
As the years went by I found myself drifting further away from my profession to the point where I was just in the same position as if I had not accepted Christ as my savior. I still believed in God. "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder." James 2:19 (NIV) I was living a double life, I would act one way with my family and people I knew at the church, then act another when I had the opportunity to be away from them. This double life, my sinful ways was taking over my whole being, I loved my sin and did not want to give it up, I would get drunk often with my buddies and even drink on my own, I would lie, deceive and get violently angry to appease my selfish decadent desires. The deeper I got into my sinful lifestyle the more insatiable my desires became. "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." Hebrews 11:26-27 (NIV) As much as I loved my sin, I knew I would appear before God in judgment one day, "Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous." Psalms 1:5 (NIV) I did not like the way things were going, I would dull my senses with alcohol and self-indulgences to suppress the truth I knew of Christ. I was beside myself with the fear of God's wrath, Jesus said, "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after killing of the body, has the power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." Luke 12:4-5 (N.I.V) I was powerless to do anything about it."Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.'" John 8:34 (NIV)
Out of desperation I prayed, I prayed the same prayer that I did the first time I accepted Christ, "That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him for the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with you mouth you confess and are saved." Romans 10:9-10 (NIV) But this time it was different, I meant it! I was truly repentant! By acknowledging my sin, confessing it and turning form it, through the power of Christ, through God's grace. He turned me from the quagmire of my sin to repentance and an understanding of the power of Christ's blood for the forgiveness of sins, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath!" Romans 5:8-9 (NIV) Now, I am one of God's own, I am no longer a slave to sin,"For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-" Romans 6:6 (NIV) I am still a sinner, but a repentant one, Jesus said, "I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent" Luke 15:7 and will always be one till I die, but it is by God's grace through faith "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) my sin has been cleansed by the blood of Christ by witch I now stand justified."Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into His grace in which we now stand" Romans 5:1-2
My whole life can be summed up in this one paragraph from Ephesians:
"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are Gods workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV)
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