How did you guys get saved? Who shared the gosple with you? where were you? What was going through your mind? etc.

Mine isnt that amzing but ill share it anyway. Basically I grew up in a Christian home. I was 5 years old in kids church. The preacher had an altar call and I responded. And I was sincere and it stuck easily.

But I do have a tesatimony, my testimony is that I have stayed strong in my faith this long . It doersnt matter that I was saved at such a young age.

Well, as I have discovered.. one has to accept Christ once you reach an age of accountability.. that age is known by God more than any of us.. and it's probably different for everyone.

Because I knew him when I was a child and teenager.. but when I became a man I had to choose him again.

What happened-


A short while of intense conviction.. forcing me to read the Bible again after years of not doing it.

Then literally.. one night.. the conviction was strongly upon me, God knocked me onto the floor of my apartment and I accepted him in adulthood and in truth,. And this will probably sound crazy, but literally.. I beheld the holy spirit descend upon me, through both physical and yet spiritual eyes.. and it was very much so "the dove" described of in Scriptures.


And after all these years.. I often wonder why God saved me .. as I am such a bad Christian.. such a bad follower of Christ. I have been lead up to some very sacred spiritual peaks and wtinessed things that some may not ever witness in this life.. only to drag myself down into the muck.. being ruled over by my flesh.. again and again.

I have also been given a spiritual knowledge and understanding that I am not at all worthy of.. that I wish i was at least a little moer worthy of. but i know that what is God's to give, is God's to give.

Really though, I just know that I must persevere and be honest before the Lord. The rest is trully in his hands.

God knows how to get each one of us. He used the death of my baby
to make me realize that i needed Him in my life. i always had a very
strong faith, but like ash said, the flesh gets in the way.

but yea... when your heart is broken, and your world turned upside
down... that's a good time to turn it over to the Lord and see what
happens. and alot did. amen.

God said to me one day:

Todd, you're coming with me.

so I did

and here I am.

I first attended Chuch at the age of 5. Loved the Bible stories of Jesus.

Accepted Christ as my Savior at the age of 11, cause I knew who he was, and the sacrifice he made to free me from the bonds of my sin, and I did not want to spend eternity in Hell.

But I failed him at the age of 13, and forgot who he was and what he did for me. I fell victim to the world - peer pressure - I was cut from the vine, so to speak.

In 2006, God gave me a second and final chance. It was so obscure, as I was aleeady playing in a suscessful band. There was something about me, the masterpiece he originally created for his purpose, and he chose what I loved the most to get thru to me - Heavy Metal. I auditioned for Faith Factor. God thought I was worthy. I re-committed my life Jesus when he said "Take up your life, and follow me.
I never looked back.

I went home from that audition, and fell in my wife's arms and cried like I have never in my life. Like a vessel, God removed all that he did not like and removed it, the sin, the addictions, and he removed the scales from my heart and eyes. God made it possible, even when I was not wanting to change, it's just that so many people were praying for my return to his Glory, that he answered thier prayers. Honestly, looking back, I never saw him coming. That is the God that I know passionately. Jesus said"I have waited so long for your return, I have so many things planned for you that I prayed as well for your return"

The guys in Faith Factor don't even know this. That is when Jesus lit the wick in my heart.

Today, I have a very blessed relationship with Jesus, my Savior. We talk every morning about how to become stronger. And we talk about each and everyone of you.

Blessings, my friends !

Blaine / FAITH FACTOR

I was 7 years old, and my family had come home from a Sunday evening church service. I don't remember what the pastor said, or just what the message was about specifically, but I do remember having this thought that I needed Jesus in my heart, and that's what my parents had been saying, as well as the pastor & my Sunday school teacher. So I knelt down by my bed & gave my heart to Christ that night.

I've failed Him over & over since then, but I know that He loves me and that He's working through my life. He slowly chips away at me until there'll be none of me left, but Christ reflected instead of flawed little ole me

I'm not really sure if I'm saved or not.

Exhumed wrote:

I'm not really sure if I'm saved or not.

Same here.

NorthernAsh wrote:

God said to me one day:

Todd, you're coming with me.

so I did

and here I am.

zomfg norther ash returns to the interwebs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yepimonfire wrote:

NorthernAsh wrote:

God said to me one day:

Todd, you're coming with me.

so I did

and here I am.

zomfg norther ash returns to the interwebs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He left?

Street Preches started the ballrolling, i was getting panice attacks about going to hell, then i weant to a Hillsong Convention and felt a wharmth of beam in my heart so i gess thats what got the job done. Seems like it was a group effort getting me saved.

I did not "get" saved... I am in the process of "being" saved.

It all started when I was a couple of months old... Some water was sprinkled on my head, as I was baptised in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. On this day I was reborn of the Spirit and promised (by proxy) to follow Christ, and I was marked with the sign of the Cross to show that I was Christ's.

The next major step occurred after 12 years of growth, when I myself reaffirmed before the Bishop and in front of my church, the promises made on my behalf at my baptism.

The process continues week-by-week at church as I hear the scriptures read, hear the Gospel, pray, ask for forgiveness of my sins, am fed with spiritual food in the Holy Eucharist, and rededicate myself to serve Christ in the world.

Day-by-day I may stumble and fall, but pick myself back up and continue on my journey of salvation through continual growth and maturity.

The process of my salvation will continue until the day my physical life here on earth comes to an end, and will culminate with the Judgement, after which I will truly be able to say "I AM saved".

I reject the "Are you saved?"/"I am saved" question / mentality because it implies there is already perfection, no room for improvement, and this can lead to complacency within one's faith. Secondly, I believe that as humans with free will, we will indeed stray and wander, and return. When we do return, it isn't through being "re-saved" but through repentance.
Once the process of salvation has begun, it doesn't stop until death. It is a journey and lifelong process which will probably have detours, wrong routes taken, and times when people will get back on the right road to complete the journey. The journey may start at different times and in different ways for different people, but I believe salvation is still a process, not an instant in time.

- Necromanicide

Exhumed and LastFirstBorn wrote:
I'm not really sure if I'm saved or not.


Here is how you will know for sure. It's a simple as your A, B, C's

First, Admit that you are a sinner. Romans 10:9,10
(9)That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.(10)For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.



Second, Believe that God sent his only son, to shed his blood and pay for your sins. That God rasied Jesus from death, to secure your eternity in Heaven. John 3:16,17
"(16)For God so loved the world, that he sent his only begotten son, that who ever believes in him will mot perish, but have everlasting life" (17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.


Third, Commit yourselves to God Ezekiel 18;30-32 (30) "Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!

If you do this , as God has instructed, you will never again question that you are saved.

Welcome to the family of Heaven, and the greatest decision you have ever made !
Blessings,
Blaine

Greg Edwards,
It's a constant renewal of today I choose to do "His Will"
What is God's will? God wants you to become a Great Saint
in time and in Eternity. I have Heaven on Earth to do my part.
Good works Brothers! Love your neighbor as your self.
Even suffering and pain does not take you out of the
hands of God.

I've gone to Sunday Church all of my life. It's not a matter
of when I was saved as much as my Heart tells me I don't
commit deadly sins. I walk with Christ in a state of Grace.
Also my feedback from my friends and family lets me know
I'm all right. When I'm tempted, and you will be tempted,
I pray "Jesus, Mary, Joseph, I love you save Souls."
Past sins should not be reflected apon. Worry is useless!
Live in the past, present, and future as a saved man.

Remember the good times.
God said "Their sins and iniquities I will remember no more!"
Forgive yourself in Christ. Go and sin no more.
The new Man of God has arrived!
God knows what you need before you ask.
Thank God ahead of time. God Bless you.

Necromanicide wrote:

I did not "get" saved... I am in the process of "being" saved.

It all started when I was a couple of months old... Some water was sprinkled on my head, as I was baptised in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. On this day I was reborn of the Spirit and promised (by proxy) to follow Christ, and I was marked with the sign of the Cross to show that I was Christ's.

The next major step occurred after 12 years of growth, when I myself reaffirmed before the Bishop and in front of my church, the promises made on my behalf at my baptism.

The process continues week-by-week at church as I hear the scriptures read, hear the Gospel, pray, ask for forgiveness of my sins, am fed with spiritual food in the Holy Eucharist, and rededicate myself to serve Christ in the world.

Day-by-day I may stumble and fall, but pick myself back up and continue on my journey of salvation through continual growth and maturity.

The process of my salvation will continue until the day my physical life here on earth comes to an end, and will culminate with the Judgement, after which I will truly be able to say "I AM saved".

I reject the "Are you saved?"/"I am saved" question / mentality because it implies there is already perfection, no room for improvement, and this can lead to complacency within one's faith. Secondly, I believe that as humans with free will, we will indeed stray and wander, and return. When we do return, it isn't through being "re-saved" but through repentance.
Once the process of salvation has begun, it doesn't stop until death. It is a journey and lifelong process which will probably have detours, wrong routes taken, and times when people will get back on the right road to complete the journey. The journey may start at different times and in different ways for different people, but I believe salvation is still a process, not an instant in time.

- Necromanicide

This post sends chills up my spine in a bad way. Nowhere in here did I see any mention of Christ's sacrifice on our behalf. All I see in this post is what either you did or someone else did (referring to infant baptism).

If this is the way we are saved, by doing good little works and hoping that God loves them enough to say "dude you're a good guy, so I'll let you in", then Christ's sacrifice was pointless. There was no point in Him dying if we could do anything to merit God's favor. So congrats to all who believe this. Nice way to deny the finality of Christ's atonement. This also denies God's omnipotence (meaning His almighty and all-powerful nature), because why would God need help saving you? I'm pretty sure that God is powerful enough to atone for man's sin without help.

I'm not trying to make a cheap shot here. I really believe that this is a serious error, and anyone who has sat down and studied Scripture thoroughly (without throwing out Paul's CLEAR declaration that we are justified by faith APART from works) would not come to the conclusion that because their parents had them baptized as a baby and then do all kinds of trite little religious works that they are in a process of being saved.


Anyway, with that out of the way, I'll go ahead with mine.

How did I get saved? Well, not because of anything I have done, but strictly because of Christ.

By no work of my own. I was born in sin, and in sin did my mother conceive me. I've broken every single law God has ever created, and I deserve nothing except the full extent of His wrath.

How was I saved? Not by praying a prayer. Not by being baptized. It's because I let go of my sin and believed. How am I able to do that, given that I still, TO THIS VERY SECOND, deserve to be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone?

Christ, when He was crucified, took the sins of every man that has, or ever will, lived on this Planet, and bore them on His shoulders. He became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13).

Now, God, being just, didn't walk away from His Son, or look away from Him because He couldn't stand the sight of Him being crucified as those modern day evangelists will tell you. That is not biblical, and those who tell you otherwise are throwing out the ONLY reason you can still be saved.

You know what the Father did when Christ took our sins? He crushed Him under the full force of His wrath (Isaiah 53:10).

That's why I'm saved. I do not trust in the merits and virtues of myself, but in another. Jesus Christ my LORD! Nothing in my hands I bring. Simply to the cross I cling.

No work of mine will achieve salvation, and I'm not foolish enough to try. Preachers have gotten so humanistic it's sickening. What happened to the preaching we had 50, 60, 70, even hundreds of years ago? You know what happened? One simple quite became a staple in a lot of ministries: "We don't want to offend."

Personally, I find that task impossible to achieve considering that the Gospel is offensive to this world.

eternalmystery wrote:

This post sends chills up my spine in a bad way. Nowhere in here did I see any mention of Christ's sacrifice on our behalf. All I see in this post is what either you did or someone else did

All I can say is "WOW! you apparently have ZERO understanding of what the Eucharist is and what it represents and means to people.

No mention of Christ's sacrifice??? I summed it up in one word... Eucharist.
Every week we remember Christ's sacrifice, and what it means to us, through the Holy Eucharist.

As for "works" as you call them. They are not things I do to get a "He's a good guy, let's let him in" response. They are outward signs and expressions of worship for what has already been done. The physical act of baptism (for one example) doesn't do a thing to "save" anyone. It is an outward physical sign of what has been achieved spiritually. Likewise, simply physically receiving the Eucharist doesn't "save" anyone, it is a physical sign of the grace of God, and what was accomplished for us approximately 2000 years ago. To claim these are just "good works" in order to get into Heaven shows an ignorance and/or complete disregard of the spiritual aspect of these sacraments.

Some years ago I wrote a piece on the liturgy of the church, and in it I compared the liturgy to a window. To adapt it to this situation.

"If all you see is some physical deeds, it is like looking at a window and seeing only a pane of glass, and being blind to the magnificent view beyond. The beauty of the sacraments and the liturgy of the church isn't the physical acts, but the glory of God, and his saving grace that is beyond the physical act, and remembered, acted out, and lived through our worship."

As St. Paul also said "It is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me".

You may say you have faith in what Christ done for you... I LIVE my faith.


- Necromanicide

Bryan and Broc, I didsnt literally mean "HOW" did you get saved. I meant how as like, where were you, what was going on, how old were you, what you were doing at the time

And I answered all those questions in my first post.

Then I come back to find I have been told I gave the "wrong" answer, Just because the way I remember what was done for me and continue my salvation isn't the same as someone else's.

- Necromanicide

Yeah guys let's keep this discussion about salvation not what's the right and wrong way(if you guys want to discuss this civilly then create new thread)

MetLHed4GZus wrote:

Bryan and Broc, I didsnt literally mean "HOW" did you get saved. I meant how as like, where were you, what was going on, how old were you, what you were doing at the time

Oh ok I see.

I'm a convert. Abandoned LaVeyan Satanism and became a Christian when I was 15. Wasn't into that stuff for very long though.

Necromanicide wrote:

And I answered all those questions in my first post.

Then I come back to find I have been told I gave the "wrong" answer, Just because the way I remember what was done for me and continue my salvation isn't the same as someone else's.

- Necromanicide

Ok I see, I might have gotten a little mixed up since you are an Anglican, and I don't really know what the Anglican church's official position on salvation is. I do admit that I could have worded what I posted better though, so I apologize if I might have come across a little too hard or anything.

As for living out your faith - I agree that this is what is needed to be done. Any good evangelical will tell you that there must be a change in one's lifestyle, that there needs to be a growing in holiness, repentance, etc. But here is where I'm confused - do you believe that it is by faith alone that we are justified and that God purifies us through sanctification, or do you believe (let me borrow catholic doctrine here, since this is the only thing that is close to what I'm trying to say) that the good works you do in the grace of God (which is pointless to even try to clarify that because no works salvation system ever denies that God has a part in any of it) somehow contribute to your salvation? In other words, do you believe we are saved by Christ alone apart from any works of our own, or do you believe that we must add our works to the cross and work in cooperation with God to finish what God apparently did not complete (since this is the logical conclusion of this position on salvation)?

However, I know that you are an Anglican, and not Catholic. So anyway, if you could post the Anglican position on this so I could learn a little bit, that would be great and would help me out a lot because I don't want to be guilty of misrepresenting someone's beliefs.

First a big "OOPS" on my part... I actually thought it was ata who first responded, and I worded parts of my responses as if I was responding to him.

eternalmystery wrote:

But here is where I'm confused - In other words, do you believe we are saved by Christ alone apart from any works of our own, or do you believe that we must add our works to the cross and work in cooperation with God to finish what God apparently did not complete (since this is the logical conclusion of this position on salvation)?

Short answer: Yes to the first part.

But... I still see Salvation as a life long process (Many Anglicans use the metaphor of a long journey), otherwise you are denying there is room for further spiritual growth and maturity.
The things we do aren't what gives Salvation, but are part of the growth and maturity of us as Christians.

One person may regard Salvation as "responding to an Altar call" at some church event... Is that any different to me "responding to the call to be Confirmed when I was old enough to make for myself the promises made on my behalf at my baptism"?
Another person may regard Salvation as "Realising they are a sinner and need God's forgiveness"... Is that any different to me "Realising I am a sinner and asking for God's forgiveness" each week at church?
Yet another person may regard their Salvation as being "The day I accepted Christ into my life"... Is that any different to me at the Eucharist, performing a physical act with the spiritual significance of "Out with self... In with Christ"?
And the list can go on... Hopefully this gives an idea as to why I see it as a process / journey of many events and experiences throughout life, no one single moment in time results in perfection here in this life. There is another saying often used by Anglicans.
"I am saved (By the events of 2000 Years ago)... I am being saved (The process in this life)... I will be saved (At the final judgement)"

There is a prayer attributed to an African-American slave woman which sums up the whole thing very nicely:

Quote :

Lord, I know that I’m not all that I ought to be;
And I know that I am not yet all that I’m going to be;
But, Lord, I sure thank you that I’m not what I used to be.

eternalmystery wrote:

However, I know that you are an Anglican, and not Catholic. So anyway, if you could post the Anglican position on this so I could learn a little bit, that would be great and would help me out a lot because I don't want to be guilty of misrepresenting someone's beliefs.

Largely speaking, because of the structure of the Anglican Church, you won't find an all-encompassing "Anglican position" on a lot of things. The closest you will find will be "The Articles of Religion" AKA "The 39 Articles" which were "Agreed upon by the Archbishops, Bishops, and the whole clergy of the Provinces of Canterbury, and York, London, 1562". The Articles spell out what could be regarded as the Anglican position on the core beliefs of the faith (And a bit of political stuff at the end). And, you are in luck, this area is covered by them.

Quote :

Article XI: Of the Justification of Man.
We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings: ... "

Article XII: Of Good Works.
Albeit that Good Works, which are the fruits of Faith, and follow after Justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's Judgement; yet they are pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring from out necessarily of a true and lively faith; insomuch that by them a lively Faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit.

Article XI is a bit longer, but not relevant here.

Article XII paraphrased: God likes it when we do good things, but Good Works can not atone for sins ("save"). Good Works are done because of our Justification, not to gain it.

Article XIII is somewhat related, and basically says that Works done before Justification come from the nature of man, not from faith in Christ, and cannot make men worthy to receive Grace.

- Necromanicide

I gave my life to Christ when I was about 6-7. I remember asking my mother some pretty sincere questions about salvation, and that's when I accepted Jesus as my savior.

I believed in Him, but that was about it.

Over the years, the God concept began to move farther and farther back in the shelves in my mind, collecting dust.

It wasn't until living life on MY terms, slowly, then quickly going to hell, that I was re-introduced to Christ. Ironically, from a bunch of people with the same "problem" as me. Turns out, we all have the same solution too.

Believing in Him wasn't enough, there was a source of POWER to tap into. Action is an important part of this lifestyle as well. (James 2) ....but that's a little off topic from salvation.
_____________________

Saved vs Saving, Recovered verses Recovering...
It doesn't really matter what you call it, if you've got it.

Gentleman. I believe debating doctrine-ese is a waste of time, and could in fact be detrimental to what's really important.

....but those not interested in my two cents can just ignore me. That's ok! ^_^

I grew up without any church or religous instruction.
By the age of 13, I started reading parts of the bible, becoming interested because of songs by Iron Maiden and Bob Marley. Since I can remember I believed that there must be a God, but did'nt understand much at all about Christ and the bible.

By the time I was 17, I was deeply into Rastafari and had started reading a chapter a day of the bible.
I used to meet Christians on the street and get into discussions about God and the bible with them fairly often, sometimes I would get quite annoyed with them and sometimes things shared would deeply speak to me.

When I would read the bible, I would get convicted of my sins and get the fear of God quite strong. This would get paranoid crazy sometimes when I was stoned on gunja, and I even called out to Jesus on a couple of ocassions.
There became a massive battle in my mind as to wether Rastafari was really Jesus come the second time.
One night I was walking past an old abandoned church and this guy came up to me and said "what would you do with it if you won this church" and that started a massive conversation that eventually lead me to give my life to Christ within a couple of weeks.

I have just recently made contact with my birth father (never meet him in 40 years) and found out that his mother, was a prayer warrior who had been praying for me for years.