Editor's Note: This was a testimony sent in to us that addresses an issue seldom dealt with in the church.
Unsaved Church Members
I'm just an ol' country boy born in an old farmhouse when everyone still farmed with horses. The only way we had to go anywhere was by wagon. So you can guess there was very little traveling. We just worked, slept, ate and went to church on Sunday, which was about the only time people got together, the highlight being a mid-summer revival.
For some unknown reason, people believed 12 years was the age of accountability. So my twelfth year, after some coaching and pushing by the pastor and evangelist, I joined the church and was baptized in a nearby creek.
Back then, all I ever heard preached was "Hell fire and brimstone," never the love and compassion the Lord has for mankind. I thought God was sitting up in Heaven with a big hammer, and if I got out of line, He was going to smack me in the ground.
Nevertheless, I grew up, married and raised three sons. I was always a decent, honest man who treated my fellow men with respect, worked hard, took my family to church, took part, sang a lot, served on committees and etc.
After my boys were already grown and away from home, the Holy Spirit started dealing with me about my salvation, and I realized that I had never been saved and if I died I was going straight to Hell. I started reading my Bible earnestly and praying to God, and He in his mercy saved my soul - Praise His Holy Name.
I did not realize that He had a plan for my life and had been looking out for me for years. I thank Him every day. He can see into the future and guide our lives, even when we are sinners and living outside His will. The Lord has a specific plan for our lives, and I was no exception.
When a man is truly saved, God fills his heart with love for all his fellow men and gives him a hunger for lost souls. I was no different. But the hunger He installed within me is a hunger to witness to lost church members, the hardest people in the world to reach. I know there are thousands of people just like me, mired in false tradition and security, believing they are "alright."
When asked the question, "If you died today, do you think you would go to Heaven?" and the answer is, "I think I'm alright," something is terribly wrong. If you think you're "alright," then you are not. If you are truly saved, then you KNOW you are "alright."
A well known evangelist (name omitted) of our time said once "less than 30% of regular "church goers" are saved."
During our ministry, I've seen two preachers, pastors' wives, Sunday School teachers, choir members and etc., come to know the Lord who thought they had been saved for years, but realized just as I, that they had never truly repented of their sins and committed their lives completely to Christ.
When you completely commit your life to the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart. That means you will have different desires in your life. You can party, drink, steal, commit fornication and do all the worldly things you want. The difference is you will not want to do these things again. You will have different desires in your heart. You will want to be around the people of God, talk about Him, tell others what He has done for you and do your best to show people by the words of your tongue and the way you live what a wonderful God we serve.
You ask what He has done for me. He has filled a hardened heart with love for everyone I meet. He has met every need in our ministry and personal life whether it is financial or otherwise.
I recently lost my wife, who went home to be with Him. I questioned why she was taken and I was left. But since her passing, I have had the privilege of witnessing to some people that I would have never come into contact with had it not been for her death.
He has a reason for everything that happens in our life, and sometimes we can't understand. But He told me once in my spirit, "If you could see the future, you could understand."
Now I asked you a question, "Are you in the same situation as I?" I asked you to examine your soul. Have you ever truly repented of your sins, asked Him into your life and committed yourself completely to Him? Do not hesitate; take care of that problem NOW! For the first time, you will experience true happiness and fulfillment. You will see problems melt away and experience the grace and success the Lord has for you. He is a very generous God! Then and only then when asked the question, "Are you ready to meet God today?" you can answer without a doubt or hesitation, "Yes, praise His Holy Name. I know that I know that I know." God bless you.