Romans 6:12, 14 says, Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,… For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
I was reared by godly parents in a Christian home. We rarely missed church, and if we did miss church, we had to be deathly ill. Both of my parents served in the church and were faithful. My parents were able to provide my sister and me with a Christian school education from elementary all the way through high school. There was stability in our home, and I knew my parents loved me. I knew the truths found in God’s Word, and I knew how I was expected to act. When I was near the age of 23, I was not living as I should have been living. I was content with living like the world. I had no problem listening to the world’s music, participating in worldly activities, or even talking like the world. I felt no conviction at all. I was fine with my sin. Hence, I was living a life of rebellion. I had everyone who was around me fooled. I was even sitting on a church pew every time the church doors were opened.
At that time, our church started a discipleship program which met every Wednesday night. A more seasoned Christian would sit down one-on-one with a less seasoned Christian and would slowly and deliberately go through a Bible-based course to expound on what we believe and why we believe it. It enabled all Christians involved to grow in Christ and to strengthen their own walk with God. The main purpose was for all participants to be able to share the Gospel with someone else by the end of the program. Having my background, I quickly learned and memorized all of the verses and answered all of the questions as expected. The assignments during the final were to memorize the “Romans Road” verses and to be able to tell someone how to be saved.
As I began to think on my salvation, I fell under deep conviction. I recalled a time when I was near the age of 7 when I knelt down on the floor and listened to my dad pray. The part that bothered me was that I did not remember saying a prayer or doing anything. Either I forgot or nothing happened. This bothered me.
I remember asking myself, “How can I tell someone how to get saved if I am not saved?” I was scared to fall asleep at night, or anytime for that matter, fearing that I would take my last breath and wake up in that horrible place called Hell. I was afraid and was gravely concerned about my lost condition. When I stood before God, what would I say?
“I thought I was saved.”
“My parents told me I was saved.”
“I go to church.”
Sure, I was faithful to church. I had been reared in a Christian home. I was actively participating in a discipleship program. Here I was memorizing Scripture! Despite all of this, I was headed straight to Hell.
The Bible says in Titus 3:5, Not by works of righteousness which we have done,… Ephesians 2:9 talks about how salvation is Not of works,… I even sent this text to my friend who was discipling me: “If someone is not sure they are saved but thinks they are saved, what do they need to do?” I did not fool her! She replied, “Is that someone you?” I told her that the someone was indeed me. The very next day, I spoke with my Sunday school teacher. I asked Jesus to come into my heart, and He saved me!
The first thing I did after I accepted Jesus into my heart was go home and throw my worldly music in the trash. I began asking the Lord to help me talk right. I was ready to let the Lord work in my life and change me. He could not change me until I was saved. This was not an overnight change—He is still working on me; but I am still saved, and I am SURE. I no longer think, “I think I am saved.” I now can say, “I know I am saved!” Now that I know I am saved, I do not want to live in sin, and sin does not need to rule in my heart. The Bible says in Romans 6:14, For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Certainly, we all have different testimonies and have been reared in different ways. Regardless, we all are saved by only one way—through Jesus Christ! It is nothing that we have done, but it is all in what the Lord did for us.
I am so grateful the Lord was patient with me and loved me enough to die for me and to save me after 23 years of living for myself. As the song says, “He had to reach way down for me.” I hope we all can remember a time when we trusted Jesus as our Saviour. We must never let a day go by in which we do not stop to thank our Saviour for saving us and for allowing us to be able to say, “I KNOW!”
by Mandy Harper
