My Personal Testimony

September 24, 1977 started off as any Sunday for me, but the events of that day would change my life forever. That was the day that my squirming during the invitation at church caught the attention of my pastor. He noticed that I was hanging on to the back of the pew in front of me for all I was worth, scared to step out into the aisle and go up in front of everyone. After the last chorus was sung, he announced that if anyone needed to speak to him privately they should let him know after church. I waited after church to talk to him because I wanted to know about salvation. I knew that I needed to be saved, but wasn’t sure about how. The pastor and my mom (I was only 8) explained it all to me, then the pastor led me through the “sinner’s prayer” and told me that if I truly believed what I had just “prayed” (repeated) that all my sins were gone and that I would live forever in Heaven. He then told me about baptism and how it has nothing to do with salvation, but is the first command given by God to anyone who is saved. I didn’t want to let God down, so I was baptized a week later. Everyone was very happy for me and shook my hand and told me how I would never regret this decision.

The next three decades were pretty rocky for me. I went to church fairly regularly for the most part, but pretty much just did what I wanted the rest of the week. I hate to think how many people saw the things I did and were turned off of church because they couldn’t tell any difference between me and them. I could easily blend in at church or in the secular world, and could switch from one to the other without batting an eye. I had a vague notion in the back of my mind that something was wrong, but would find diversions to keep me from worrying about it too much. I was chasing after things of the world, but was still empty inside. When my marriage failed, I hit rock bottom. I started drinking pretty heavily and doing a lot of other things I’m ashamed of now, but God wasn’t finished with me yet.

In November of 1999, about a year after my divorce, I met the love of my life. Heather had been saved fairly recently, but hadn’t been in church much since then. We ended up getting married on December 17, 2000 and she joined the church I was a member of. We attended the morning worship services fairly regularly, and occasionally an evening service, but never Sunday school or Wednesday night services. When our pastor retired and a new one came in, the new one made a pretty bad impression on us and we left. We decided to visit around at the other churches in town, but specifically wanted to check out the Independent Baptist ones because of some issues we had with the SBC concerning Bible versions. I remembered as a teenager visiting Washington Street Baptist one time and thought we should give it a try. On March 18, 2007 we visited for the morning service, then again the following Sunday. The next Sunday, April 1, 2007, we joined.

The girls were in junior high at the time, so they were in Bro. Faron Danley’s Sunday School class. It didn’t take long before there was a problem. One Sunday after church, the girls told me that Bro. Faron had said that they were wrong about how to be saved. I was shocked, but wanted to make sure they hadn’t misunderstood something before I confronted him about it. I asked them to tell me everything that was said. They said that he had been talking about salvation and had asked who could tell him how to get saved. My girls answered right up and told him about the A B C’s of salvation: A - Admit you’re a sinner, B - Believe that Jesus died to pay for your sins, and C - Confess your sins to Him and ask Him into your heart. I was proud of them. They said it just like I had taught them. I asked what kind of problem Bro. Faron had with that. They told me how he had pointed out to them that nowhere in the Bible does it say to pray for salvation or ask Jesus into your heart, but simply to believe, or have faith in Him to save you. Jesus said it plainly in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Adding the other steps to it takes away from what He did for us and puts some of the responsibility for our salvation on us. I had to chew on that one for a while. It’s really hard to admit when you’re wrong, but to have been wrong for 30 years or so about such an important subject, and knowing you’ve taught it to your kids, is devastating. It took me more than a year after that to finally come to grips with the reality of the situation. I was trying to rationalize it by thinking that I must have been saved at some point because I did believe in Jesus and that He died to pay for the sins of the world. What kept coming back to me though was the fact that I had believed that I had applied the salvation Jesus bought for me by saying that “sinner’s prayer.”

I had been under a lot of conviction and decided to take a week off to have time to get my spiritual life straightened out. The devil was hitting me hard. My family was in so much turmoil that it seemed like things would never get better. Monday, September 22, 2008, was the first weekday of my vacation. Heather went out of her way to make sure I would have plenty of peace and quiet so that I could pray and read the Bible without interruption. It didn’t take very long on that first day before I was face down on the floor pouring my heart out to God. I repented of my stubbornness and acknowledged that I was hopelessly lost and that there was no way I could ever change that in any way through my own effort. Believing requires no effort on our part. You either believe something or you don’t. When you start to sit down on a chair, you either believe it will hold you up or you don’t. If you do, you just sit down without worrying about it. If you don’t, you will either not sit down, or just put a little of your weight on it to test it and support the rest of your weight yourself and can’t really get comfortable. You will not be able to rest in that chair. It’s the same way with salvation. You either believe in Jesus or you don’t. If you do, you will trust in him without worrying about it. If you don’t, you will either stay away from Him completely, or rely on your own efforts and hope He can take care of whatever you might miss. When I got up off that floor, I knew that I had been saved. I had it all together now, or so I thought.

Over the next few months, God was working on me. The subject of baptism seemed to keep coming up, but I thought that since I had already been baptized that it was settled for me. Sometime in late December or early January, my pastor, Bro. Earl Baugh, Jr.,  was preaching about baptism. He explained that baptism has nothing to do with salvation, but according to Acts 2:41 is how believers are added to the Church, the Bride of Christ. It was the first time I ever remember really giving much thought to the passage in Revelation 19:6-9 about the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Revelation 19:6-9

6  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

7  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

9  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

In this passage we see that there is the Groom (Jesus), and the bride (the Church), but there are also the guests, or “they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.” These people must be saved or they wouldn’t be in Heaven, but they are not a part of the Church. Bro. Earl also talked about Acts 8:35-38 and explained that baptism can only be administered after salvation.

Act 8:35-38

35  Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

36  And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?

37  And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

38  And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

I really had to chew on this one for a while. I couldn’t be baptized again, because then everyone would know that I had been wrong all those years. I tried to convince myself that since I was now saved and going to Heaven, it didn’t matter what my role would be there as long as I was there. Admitting to God that I had been wrong was hard enough, even though I knew that He already knew it all along. It wasn’t until a few months later that I was finally able to swallow my pride and admit it to everyone. Finally, on April 26, 2009 I was baptized as a true believer. Now, not only do I know where I’m going when my time in this world is over, I know what position I’ll have. I'm so glad that God was patient with me and protected me through several times when I probably should have died so that I could live long enough to learn the truth.

Believe

Believe

Act 16:25-34

25  And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

26  And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

27  And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

28  But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.

29  Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

30  And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

32  And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

33  And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

34  And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

Verse 30 is the only place in the New Testament where the question of how to be saved is asked so plainly. Paul and Silas did not tell the jailor to confess his sins, as some do based on I John 1:9. They didn’t tell him to pray, as some do based on Romans 10:13. They didn’t tell him to be baptized, as some do based on Mark 16:16. They didn’t even tell him to invite Jesus into his heart, but simply said, "believe."

I John 1:9 – 2:2

1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1:10  If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

The confession of sins mentioned in this passage is not intended to acquire salvation for a lost person. John is clearly writing to people who are already saved. Remember, when John wrote this, he didn’t divide it into chapters and verses. He goes on to state that Jesus “is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” It would not have been worded this way if he had been addressing the lost.

Romans 10:13-14

13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Verse 13 is often used to justify praying to acquire salvation, but in verse 14 we see that they cannot call on Him if they have not already believed in Him.

Mark 16:16

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

This verse is often used to teach that baptism is necessary for salvation. The first part of the verse mentions baptism after belief, but the second part of the verse states that “he that believeth not shall be damned,” with no mention of baptism. Salvation is acquired by believing, and baptism is commanded for believers, therefore baptism does no good for those who are not saved already.

Matthew 11:28

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Jesus invites us to come to Him. How many times have you read a tract or heard a presentation instructing a lost person to invite Jesus into their heart? How many people have been misled by this backward thinking? He doesn’t want a place in your life. He wants to give you a place in His life.

I spent over thirty years of my life thinking I was saved because I said a little prayer and asked Jesus into my heart. If I had died during that time, I would have ended up in Hell. It wasn’t until I started going to Washington Street Baptist Church that I heard the truth proclaimed about salvation. Most of the other things I was taught were right, but the one most important thing was wrong. How many churches are out there teaching and preaching the truth about everything else, only to lead the people right into Hell with these false teachings about salvation? 

Believe in Him

Mark 1:15  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark 16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Luke 8:12  Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.

John 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

John 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

John 5:24  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
John 6:35  And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

John 6:40  And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:47  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

John 7:38  He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

John 7:39  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

John 8:24  I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

John 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

John 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

John 11:40  Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

John 12:46  I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.

John 12:47  And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

John 16:27  For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.

John 20:29  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed arethey that have not seen, and yet have believed.

John 20:31  But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and thatbelieving ye might have life through his name.

Acts 10:43  To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

Acts 13:39  And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Acts 15:11  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Acts 16:31  And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

Romans 1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Romans 3:22  Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Romans 3:26  To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Romans 4:3  For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Romans 4:5  But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Romans 4:24  But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

Romans 10:4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

Romans 10:9  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:10  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

1Corinthians 1:21  For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

Galatians 2:16  Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Galatians 3:6  Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

Galatians 3:22  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

Ephesians 1:13  In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

1Timothy 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

1Timothy 4:10  For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.

2Timothy 1:12  For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Hebrews 3:18  And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believednot?

Hebrews 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Hebrews 10:39  But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

James 2:23  And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.

1Peter 2:6  Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

1John 3:23  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

1John 5:1  Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

1John 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

1John 5:13  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.