Jason’s Salvation Testimony

My testimony begins in 1983 but 1999 is when my new life began. When I was six years old, a salvation message was preached at the Community Christian Church in Apache Junction, Arizona. I responded at the invitation and I can remember someone leading me in a prayer but I had no idea what it meant. I was baptized and my memory of the entire situation was that my parents and people in the church were pleased.

When I was eight years old, I was attending a vacation bible school at a southern Baptist church also in Apache Junction. At the end of the vacation bible school the young lady that was teaching asked if anybody wanted to be saved. I raised my hand and she ushered me and a few other kids into the back room and had us repeat a prayer after her. Again, I didn’t really understand what was going on, but she told my parents and I was baptized again.

After this, we didn’t go to church very much and I continued through my childhood without thinking about spiritual things very much. I had no desire to do the things of God but I learned what it was to use Christianity for my own means. I became a Vacation Bible School teacher for a time as a teenager and I was even able to get a job working at a grocery store by claiming to be a Christian on my job application.

After graduating high school, I was given a scholarship to a Southern Baptist college, and while here I played baseball and took a great interest in science. I became close with a biology professor who convinced me that there was no proof for the existence of God. In fact, I was encountered with the gospel very infrequently throughout college. The reality was that my only interests were my girlfriend, baseball, and science.

I transferred from this college to a nearby state university to study geology and it was here that I completely lost my belief in God and became a confirmed agnostic.

After getting out of college, Christianity became a thing of the past for me. I was a man of the world. I was making good money and decided it was time to get married. In May 1998, my high school sweetheart became my wife. My job allowed me to work anywhere that had a phone line, so we settled on Strawberry, Arizona, and wow the first few months were wonderful. We did what we wanted when we wanted. We might have attended a church once or twice but generally gave no thought to spiritual things.

 I don’t know when I started thinking about the big things in life, but I knew that I was faking my Christianity. My wife didn’t even know that I had rejected God. I knew all the things to say. I knew how to act the act and walk the walk but I didn’t mean any of it.

The afternoon of March 16, 1999, I finished my work early. As I usually did, I was looking around for something to read and the only book on my desk was a Bible. I had no idea why it was sitting there. My wife had probably laid it there while cleaning, I thought. I grabbed it and flipped it open. I remembered that I had heard on a radio broadcast or in Sunday school class that if you are going to start reading the bible, you should start with either John or Romans. I flipped to the table of contents, found the book of Romans, and started reading. I was riveted by what I read. Here was a book that was telling me that mankind is a sinner. I remember thinking that an argument was being laid out so well for how mankind violated God’s law and is worthy of judgment. I thought “this line of argumentation would win in any court in the land.”

I recognized mankind as sinful, but I was not prepared for what happened next. A still small voice, not audible, but directly to my heart, said “What about you?”

In a moment, I realized I was a sinner before God and worthy of the same justly delivered condemnation that I had already agreed humanity deserved. I condemned myself. The Bible condemned me and I grew very fearful of the judgment of God. It dawned on me in an instant. I had used God to get a job and to fool people. I knew I was under His judgment so I fell to my knees and asked Him not to kill me.

Trembling, I grabbed the Bible, and although I cannot remember the passage I read out of Romans (it was perhaps chapter 5), I remember reading of a Saviour who died for me. He died in my place. I asked God if He would save me. After all, Jesus had died for the sins of the whole world. Would He forgive my sin? At that point, as I shook on my knees, the burden of my sin rolled off my conscience. I was a man with a burden that had suddenly been relieved.

When I realized that God had forgiven me, I jumped to my feet. I had to tell someone and that someone was sitting on the couch just outside my office door. I walked into the living room as casually as I could, and my wife looked up at me. She said “what happened to you?” I said “I think I just got saved.” She said “no you didn’t.” I didn’t realize at the time that she had been struggling with her salvation for years. She would struggle for another year, but would be born again in meetings at Payson First Baptist Church in Payson, Arizona.

I found out it was true. Jesus Saves.