In the small town of Conover, North Carolina, I was brought up part of my life in a Methodist Church and partly in a Lutheran Church. My family took me to church regularly, and we prayed and had evening devotions. I also went to a Lutheran school from Kindergarten until the 5th grade. At home, in church, and at school, I learned all about the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
The Triune God created everything from nothing, and it was all good:
Genesis 1:1: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
God made human beings in His image to know, trust, love, and obey Him - all for our good and for His glory:
Genesis 1:27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Matthew 22:36-39: "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
1 Corinthians 10:31: So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
But I and all people have disobeyed God. We are all sinners who deserve God's righteous condemnation in hell forever because of our sin:
Romans 3:23: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Hebrews 9:27: And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment
2 Thessalonians 1:7-10: when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.
But God loves sinners, so He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, the God-Man, into the world to save sinners by living a perfect life, dying on the cross for sinners where He bore the wrath and curse of God, and then He rose up from the dead:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish put have everlasting life. John 3:16
Romans 5:8: God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Galatians 3:13: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"
Matthew 28:6: He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.
In order to by justified (saved) and reconciled to God, everyone, everywhere must repent of their sins (turn away from their sins) and trust (believe) in the LORD Jesus Christ by grace alone through faith alone:
Acts 3:19: Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out
Romans 4:5: And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness
Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Acts 16:31: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved
I was taught these glorious truths! I believed I was a Christian for the first 18 years of my life, but Jesus Christ was neither my greatest treasure nor Savior. I had no real, vital, living relationship with Him. I worshiped Him, sometimes, with my lips, but my heart was far from Him. I was a very good, self-righteous Pharisee type. During my high school years (14-18 years old) I didn't party, drink, do drugs, mess around with women or anything like that. I studied hard, made good grades, worked hard playing sports (football and wrestling), and strove for excellence in everything I did. I even thought it was very important to be in church every Sunday. But alas, I did not know God, and He did not know me . . . yet. In all of this striving for excellence, I attained a great measure of success, but I began to realize all that success was finally empty and could not satisfy the longings of my heart. I was also a slave to the sins of lust, envy, jealousy, pride, and selfishness.
During my senior year (last year) of high school, I took a class about world cultures that God used to change my life. In the class we studied world religions. We watched movies like The Seventh Sign, Malcolm X, and Ghandi. These movies challenged my belief in the Gospel because I saw people who believed in other religions just as strongly as I thought I believed in what my parents had taught me about the Christian faith. I began to wonder if what I was taught growing up really was the truth. How did I know Islam was a false religion? How did I know Hinduism was the wrong way to God? Furthermore, I thought that if what I had learned in the Bible was true, all these billions and billions of people all over the world who don’t believe in Christ are going to hell for eternity. I wondered if this was fair?
One day in this world cultures class, a guest teacher was teaching that all the different world religions were simply different roads to the same God. From my upbringing, I knew this was not what the Bible taught. The Bible taught Jesus is the only way to God. At that point, I had no answer for this teacher because I began to wonder if the Bible actually was the truth for all people. God blessed me with a friend, Sam Cho, who actually spoke up during that class and said that all religions don’t lead to the same God, but that Jesus is the only way to God. I knew I could not say this with all my heart and with conviction like my friend Sam.
For the next three or four months I went through an intense period of great fear, struggle, and turmoil. Even though I was questioning the truth of the Bible itself, its judgments put fear into my heart. I knew what John 3:16 said - if I believed in Jesus I would have everlasting life. If I didn’t believe in Jesus, I knew I would go to hell forever when I died because of my sin against a holy God. I thought for sure I was going to hell because I was questioning what I had been taught my whole life from the Bible. How could I know if the Gospel of Jesus Christ was the only true way to God and all other religions were false? I didn’t have much confidence that I believed what I had grown up learning. I began to read a little bit about other religions. I talked with my friends - God had put another Christian brother, Stephen Boyd, in my life as well as Sam, who spoke up in my world cultures class. I read a book that answered critical questions about the Christian faith and explained the uniqueness of Jesus Christ and Christianity in comparison to other religions.
I remember walking down the halls of my high school (Newton-Conover High School) repeating over and over again, “I believe Jesus died for my sins. I believe Jesus died for my sins.” I was desperately trying to convince myself that I truly believed! After months of struggle like this, at some point, God came to me and gave me a new heart and granted me faith and repentance. I don’t know the exact time, but I began to realize that Jesus Christ is the only Savior from sin. I became assured that He is the only way to be reconciled to a holy God for all people all over the world. John 14:6 was crucial for me:
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
I felt like Peter after Jesus asked the disciples if they would turn away from following Him like others. He said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. . .” (John 6:68). God had impressed upon me that Jesus Christ was my only hope, and He gave me a trust in and a love for Jesus I had never had before. I realized I was a sinner who had broken God's commandments and that Jesus Christ, the God-Man, was the only One Who could take away my sins by His death on that cross where He bore the wrath of God and then rose up from the dead. This is the Gospel - the good news of Jesus Christ! Other books helped me see more clearly the absolute uniqueness of Jesus Christ, and I, by His grace, began to follow Him as a true Christian and disciple.
From high school, God led me to the United States Naval Academy where I encountered more of His lavish grace. I am so thankful for God's great work in my life in various ways. He continues to chase me down with mercy all the days of my life!
God And The Gospel
To learn more about the great and true Triune God, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, and His glorious Gospel message and everlasting Kingship, please watch American Gospel: Christ Alone. You can watch the full documentary here with a free, 3 day trial.
Help For Writing Out Your Christian Testimony
1. Describe what your life was like before Christ.
2. Tell the story of how you realized you were a sinner and offended a holy God and came under the conviction of sin.
3. Tell the story of how you heard of Jesus and His life, death, and resurrection for sinners - how did you hear and come to believe the Gospel?
4. How has your life changed since you've trusted in Jesus?
5. I encourage people to actually cover the basic points of the Gospel in their testimony and use Scripture for each point: For example: God is the creator and holy; all have sinned and deserve death and hell; Jesus lived a perfect life and died for sinners and rose up from the dead; I repented of my sins and trusted in Him, etc. Use Scripture too! Actually include the Gospel!
6. I think including other Bible verses that were central to your conversion is also helpful. John 14:6 was crucial for me.
Below are two articles that give more helpful instructions on how to write out your Christian testimony:
How To Write A Testimony (From Grace Baptist Church)
Here are some leading questions to help you write out your testimony. This is a generic overview, so there's no need to copy this exactly or answer all of these questions. Rather, they're intended to target your thinking. A testimony may be just a paragraph or two, or it may be a couple of pages long. There is no magic formula. The most important thing is to be yourself and speak clearly to the work God has done in your life.
1. What I was like:
My family, friends, and interests were...I found my hope and security in...My religious background & attitude about Christ was...
2. What God used to begin to open my eyes:
I was awakened to my need for Christ by (people, books, meeting, circumstances, etc)...What I understood and noticed (about myself, God, others) at this point was...
3. What it was I saw and understood:
Those aspects of the gospel that touched me were...I came to understand that Christ...A particular Scripture that the Lord used to draw me to Him was...I saw my need was....
4. How Christ is affecting my life:
My relationships with...My attitude toward...My desires now are...A difficult area of obedience is...
5. Why I want to be a member of Grace Baptist Church:
I obeyed the Lord and was baptized on...I hope to serve in this church by...What I value about this church is...What I value about church membership is...
Guidelines for Writing a Testimony (From Trinity Reformed Baptist Church)
First, confess your faith in Jesus Christ.
1. What do you believe about Jesus Christ? Whom do you say that Jesus Christ is?2. What has Jesus Christ done? What do you receive through him or in him?3. How did you come to know the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ?
Second, describe the change that you have experienced.
1. Speak about conviction of sin, i.e., the realization that you are a sinner in the sight of a holy God and are in need of a Savior. (It is not necessary to identify a precise moment or day in which you were converted. Not everyone’s experience is like that.)2. Briefly, describe what “things are passed away.” What thoughts and behaviors had ruled over you? How was your life marked by wickedness, before?3. Also, briefly describe what “things are become new.” What changes show that you are being led by a new Master and a new life? What has changed in your thoughts, behaviors, and relationships?
Advice:
1. Write in your own words. This is Christ’s work, but Christ’s work in you. Use your words and your understanding to tell others what has happened to you and why you want to join the church.2. Write specifically, but be prudent about the details of what you share (regarding your sin) so as not to cause unnecessary temptation.3. Be brief. Write a plain and simple testimony of your faith in Christ and conversion to him, not a condensed biography.
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