What will it take?
What will it take for you to come to Christ? …that is the question I ask you today. The question I asked myself over 15 years ago…why did it take this for me to come to Christ?
I fell victim (and I use that term loosely) to what I call “2nd Generation Christian Syndrome”. Reared in a Christian environment almost 24-7 my whole life, all I knew was the Christian “walk & talk”; so when I prayed the “sinners prayer” (wherever that is in the Bible), I was already in the “groove”.
It took a life event, and many people I cared about being hurt, for me to recognize my sin-sick state. It took this event for me to realize, that though I “prayed a prayer”, I had never repented of my sin (a 180 degree turn of heart and mind from sin toward God). He says in his Word that “except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish.”
September 1, 1994 at 6:15pm I gave my life to Christ, repented and asked Him to become Lord and Master of my life. But the road did not get easier from there…I had 8 years to spend in the “whales belly” while He prepared me for the ministry He had called me to.
So, I ask the question, what will it take for you to realize your need of the Saviour?
What I Believe
- I believe that the Scriptures of both the Old and new Testaments are verbally inspired of God and that they are the supreme and final authority for faith and practice. I accept the Authorized king James Version to be the Word of God, without error.
- I believe in a triune God, (Ephesians 2:18), Who is:
- God The Father, Creator of heaven and earth, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, rich in grace, supreme in love and measureless in power. He hears and answers prayer. He saves from sin and death to all who come to him through Jesus Christ.
- God The Son, Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten son and born of the virgin Mary. He is the only atonement for the sin of the world by the shedding of His blood on the cross. I believe that He arose bodily, ascended into heaven and is seated at the Father’s right hand as our high priest and only mediator.
- God the Holy Spirit, a person Who is co-equal with the Father and Son. He is sent from God to reprove the world of sin and to regenerate all who receive Christ as personal Saviour.
- I believe that man was created in the image of God but because of Adam’s transgression, the whole human race fell, (Romans 5:12). All men everywhere are sinners, both by nature and by choice (Romans 10:13&23).
- I believe in a personal devil who was cast out of Heaven and is now the prince of the air. He is the archenemy of God. He has already been judged and someday will be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented day and night, forever and ever.
- I believe that salvation is by grace, through the merits of the shed blood of the Son of god, which was shed for the sins of of all mankind, not merely for a selected few. When one obtains salvation, he is eternally secure.
- I believe that heaven and hell are literal places, prepared of God as the only eternal abode. All those who have been saved shall live eternally with God. All those without Christ shall abide in the lake of fire forever, eternally separated from God.
- I believe the church consists of regenerated believers who have been scripturally baptized and are banded together for worship, spiritual fellowship and the work of spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the only church ordinances.
- I believe in Bible separation, that is, to be set apart from the world, sin, self, Satan, and to be separated “unto the praise of His glory” and the furtherance of the Gospel.
- I believe that all believers are to be witnesses unto the lost for Christ. I believe that all believers have certain God-given gifts and talents and are stewards for God. Some are called to preach or to other ministries. I also believe that all who have rejected the Gospel or who have never heard the Gospel are lost and that it is every believer’s responsibility to help get the Gospel to everyone.
