This is my testimony. Although I am a very flawed person, I am a follower of Christ. My identity is intertwined with Christ. The few achievements which I have been able to accomplish in this life have been achieved through Christ. When I became a Christian many years ago, Christ took my weaknesses and allowed me to become a part of the family of God. He gave me a future instead of defeat, despair and hopelessness. Through Christ, God demonstrated to me his love. Now that I am old, I testify to the faithfulness and love of Christ. My testimony is like that of Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna when he was in the Coliseum and they asked him to adjure Christ. Polycarp responded: “86 years have I served him and he has done me no wrong. How can I blaspheme my King and Savior?”
How does one become a Christian? I believe that becoming a Christian means coming into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
I have enclosed a link to the Four Spiritual Laws which sets forth a formulaic way to become a Christian. But becoming a Christian is more than just this. The “Plan of Salvation” is a road map that can lead you meeting Jesus Christ. However, a road map should not be confused with the journey. As you ask Christ to save you, you begin an actual journey. Looking at a map, or at a globe, is far different than taking a trip.
God has not only given us Christ both to save us and show us the nature of our Father God, but he has also given us a map to help lead us to God and to help us live our life here on the earth. That map is the Bible. So we have the living word, Jesus Christ, to help us and we have the written word, the Bible, to help give us a map to find our destination. If that were not enough God has even given us a personal guide, the Holy Spirit, to lead us in our quest to our goal.
In my testimony I am giving you an introduction to Jesus. I am somewhat like the flawed woman at the well who had five husbands and after meeting Jesus returned to the town and said to the people there “He (Jesus) told me everything I ever did.” But after the people of the town had met Jesus they said: “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” The purpose of this testimony is to set you on the path to meet Jesus for yourself.
Before I share the 4 Spiritual Laws, I want to share with you John 3:16-18 which says it all: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Here is a link to The Four Spiritual Laws.
https://campusministry.org/docs/tools/FourSpiritualLaws.pdf
When my wife and I were children we both were raised knowing the Bible and memorizing what was called the Roman Road to salvation. Here it is.
All Have Sinned. Romans 3:23. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God….”
The Wages of Sin. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death….”
God’s Love for Us. Romans 5:8. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Salvation is Free to Us. Romans 6:23. “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Accepting God’s Gift. Romans 10:9 & 10. “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with our mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Based upon the Roman Road, many people, including myself, began by saying a simple prayer which is called The Sinner’s Prayer, I remember saying it many years ago when I was a small child at a Billy Graham Crusade in Houston, Texas where my father was working as a counselor. That prayer went as follows: “Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I know that my sin deserves to be punished. I believe that Christ died for me and rose from the grave. I trust Jesus alone as my Savior. Thank you for the forgives and the everlasting life I now have. In Jesus name. Amen.”
This was all very simple. So simple that even a child could do it. However, keep in mind, that this is for most of us just a beginning of a long and wondrous journey full of adventure and risks. It is a beginning of our trip or pilgrimage to a place that is much better than even Texas.
Many of the members of my family have accepted God’s offer to follow the Way of Christ and to become a member of the family of God. Below is a Testimony I wrote a number of years ago regarding some of these individuals. There are many others of our family who have chosen to follow Christ who are not listed in this document. However, this is a brief family Testimony to Christ based upon a few of the people in my family. Here is the link to the Family Testimony.