Results of Von's Search for the Truth
WELCOME!...
In my original homepage site: "Appreciating God's Natural Creation", (see link below), I had mentioned that several years ago I had prayed to the only God that I was ever really able to believe in - the personal God whom (I believed) had created nature. At that time, I had prayed to Him asking the question: "What is the truth?"
Just before I had prayed this prayer to God I had been actively investigating various types of religion, philosophy, ect... Feeling curious, I had also begun to read from the Bible. In the Bible, I began to read the Gospel of John and Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Some of the things which I read there seemed interesting, so I had tucked them away in the back of my mind for future analysis and consideration. Then some time later, certain events came into my life which caused me to seek God in earnest - in order to try to find the answer to one of mankind's oldest questions: "What is the truth?" (And I can't really explain why, but at that point in time I was seeking to know the answer to this question with all of my heart - rather than simply with my intellect.)
I knelt by my bed and prayed: "God, (whoever you are!), please tell me - what is the truth?!!" And then, all of a sudden I heard God's response. Whether or not it was an actual spoken voice (or else words which I somehow only heard in my heart) I can't say for sure. But God's answer went right to the very depths of my being. The answer which God gave to me was simply this: "The truth is Jesus Christ." I was amazed! I had heard this statement (or belief) before, but I was never really able to personally accept it or to believe it.
For the first time in my life I knew in my heart that I had really found the truth. (Or rather, that God Himself had revealed the truth to me.) And now I know in my heart and am convinced that Jesus Christ really IS the truth - just as the Bible says that He is.
(The Lord Jesus - speaking to Thomas, the disciple):
"...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6 -KJV)
So therefore, I can now tell you with complete assurance that Jesus Christ is the truth, and it is through HIM that God has given mankind a far greater and more lasting hope.
Upon hearing and believing this truth, I suddenly became aware of the personal love which the Lord Jesus had for me and also of how much I truly needed His forgiveness. I also realized that for a long time I had just "put Him off" and had ignored and disdained Him. But Jesus Christ IS real; He actually IS God; and it is HE who is the Savior of all mankind. The "stories" which I had heard as a child - about how God Himself actually came to earth in the form and in the person of God's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ - were actually true after all!
The sinless man Jesus of Nazareth, who had died on the cross, had been buried, but who was then resurrected from the dead by the power of God, was not only "just a good man" (as I had once thought). He actually was (and still is) God Himself - one and the same with God: come to save a lost humanity from the guilt of all their sins by coming to earth to become a man and by taking the guilt of all those sins upon His own self at the cross.
I therefore prayed directly to the Lord Jesus Christ, asking Him to forgive me of all my sins and (especially in my case) for not having taken Him seriously all those years. And I placed my personal faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ - receiving Him into my heart and into my life as my Lord and Savior.
From the Bible, the Apostle Paul sharing the Gospel (i.e., the "good news") of God's free gift of Grace, forgiveness, and salvation to mankind through the Lord Jesus Christ spoke these words:
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
(Then, in the Bible's "Epistle to the Romans" Paul also stated):
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:" (Romans 3:23-24)
"But God commendeth [demonstrates] his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
So how is this free gift of God's salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life through Jesus Christ received? Once again, the Bible helps to provide answers for this question:
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
"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 3:16)
"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 10:9)
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)
You don't have to be an "accomplished theologian" in order to be saved (and to find a real and certain hope that will last forever for you). God is really not so concerned with your words or even with your Biblical insights as He is with the attitude and the desire of your heart. Just a simple prayer to the Lord Jesus, asking Him to forgive you of all your sins, give you eternal life, and come into your heart and into your life as your personal Lord and Savior is really all that is needed.
And you don't need to personally experience God's revealing of His truth to you in exactly the same way or manner as I (or anyone else) has personally experienced it. God deals with each of us as individuals and He knows our hearts and our needs. Also, you don't need a special "man-made formula" in order to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Lord and Savior. (Nor do you have to do ANY kind of "good works" in order to "earn" your salvation from God.)
Then, having received the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you will be able to continue the rest of your life as a new person - a new creation in Jesus Christ. (see: 2 Corinthians 5:17) You will be able to have the assurance of having received complete forgiveness from God, of having received the gift of eternal life, and also of having a personal day by day relationship with the true and living God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
You will also have the opportunity to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ in a more full and personal way - as you learn to practice your Christian faith by following the Word of God's Grace as found in the Bible. (see: John 8:31-32; James 1:21-25; Titus 2:11-13; 2 Peter 3:18)
(And please do read at least one of the four Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, and also the epistle to the Romans in order to help you get started...)
After having received the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior you will also have the opportunity of sharing with other born-again Christians such as you will have then become: who have received the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior - just as you will have done! So therefore, look for a loving and spiritually supportive Christian Church where the Lord Jesus Christ and the Word of God's Grace are honored, taught and practiced.
And by the way, please also check out my "An Explanation of Christian Grace" webpage (see link below)
Some final thoughts: The things which I have presented here are offered with the hope that what I have shared will encourage you to personally seek to know the true and living God of the Bible, and to come to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Lord and Savior. But before you take the word of any person, (whether mine or anyone elses), please check these things out for yourself from the Bible. (The scripture references which I have presented here are from the King James version [translation] of the Bible.)
If this page is helpful to you, then please "bookmark" it and share it with a friend... Thank you! The URL is:
http://www.webspawner.com/users/vonstruth/
Thanks for stopping by!
...A BIBLE VERSE FOR THE DAY - [updated 07/15/00]
(Featuring a specially chosen Bible verse to simply edify and/or to point the way to Jesus Christ)
*presented as a regular feature of: "A Born-Again Christian's Personal Testimony"
(The Lord Jesus Christ speaking): "... I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) KJV
Send E-Mail to: vontl@ccpc.net
This page created using the webpage creation facilities of Webspawner.
Copyright © 2000 . All Rights Reserved
WebSpawner Page Machine