Reasons I Believe — Part 3: Changed Lives

April 24, 2011

Buon giorno. There are too many testimonies to count of people who where involved in crime, porn, drugs, sexual affairs and every other evil under the sun who had their lives were turned around because they surrendered to Jesus. I have put occasional videos on this Weblog (like this one and this sequel) of people giving their stories.

There are also testimonies that are less dramatic. Like mine. I was raised in a "religious" home, but the theology was liberal. When I went to a Christian school, I realized that I had to examine what I believed, how it was different from what they believed (it was much more theologically conservative than I had experienced). I became a "chapter and verse" kind of guy, wanting to know, "Where did you get that?" when some doctrine was put forward.

Later, I needed to know about the Bible itself. OK, these people are showing me where they find their beliefs in the Bible, but can I trust it in the first place? This led to further investigation, and I realized that Christians do not need to put their intellects on "hold" to become believers. (In fact, some of the greatest minds of all time were followers of Jesus.) Committing my life to Christ satisfied me intellectually as well as spiritually.

Being a foolish, fallible moral, I chose my own desires and to have sin in my life instead of following what was God's best for me. That, and other fallible mortals in churches managed to hurt me as well. Putting my self in charge and seeking my own desires, I left the Christian life and put God on the back burner, so to speak. While I never actively renounced Christ or became really awful, I was definitely not living the way I should be.

Nobody is good enough to please God in his own power (Rom. 3.23). We have sinned against a holy, righteous God and deserve the death penalty (Rom. 6.23). By surrendering our pride and our selves to Jesus, his death on the cross takes our sin; he is our sin bearer (Isaiah 53.4, 6), not Satan, not us, not anyone else. That's the only way it can happen.

I recommitted my life to Christ on Resurrection Sunday, 2010. In the past year, I have been regaining lost ground and also learning about things I did wrong before. It's a process. Two things are true, although they seem trite. First, "Please be patient, God is not finished with me yet". Also, "I am a piece of work in progress". Becoming a Christian does not make anyone perfect (despite the outrageous demands of disbelievers); it's a process. It's interesting, the more someone knows and the closer they get to the Lord, the more they realize that they have further growing to do.

"But Cowboy Bob, all that you and those others did was make a choice to straighten up. God had nothing to do with it!"

Get real, willya? I can't count the number of times I have heard or read about people trying in their own strength to turn their lives around. If it was simply a matter of their own wills and choices, they would do it already, capice?

What do you think changed Peter's life? After Jesus was arrested, Peter denied him (Luke 22.60-62). In the book of Acts, this coward preached to a crowd of those who approved of the crucifixion (Acts 2.23,41). Something happened.

In Evidence that Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell said:

"On the day of the crucifixion they were filled with sadness; on the first day of the week with gladness. At the crucifixion they were hopeless; on the first day of the week their hearts glowed with certainty and hope. When the message of the resurrection first came they were incredulous and hard to be convinced, but once they became assured they never doubted again.

"What could account for the astonishing change in these men in so short a time? The mere removal of the body from the grave could never have transformed their spirits, and characters. … Think of the psychological absurdity of picturing a little band of defeated cowards cowering in an upper room one day and a few days later transformed into a company that no persecution could silence. …"

God forgave me for my own denials of Christ, and my sinful life. He can do the same for you. You see, when Christians present the gospel message, it's not just parlor room discussion or "winning an argument" for us. We are presenting a life-changing message, and we care about your eternal destination.