The Testimony of Amy (Murphy) Kozeny
By Amy (Murphy) Kozeny
Dear Facebook Friends,
I desire to proclaim to everyone I know that: I HAVE BEEN BORN AGAIN !!! “ Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God ” (John 3:3). I had heard these words since I was a little girl, but I never truly understood what they meant: “ That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit ” (John 3:6). Depending on how well you knew me, you would know that I have professed to be a Christian and have believed that I had been saved since I was a young girl. I was raised in church and the first grade-school I attended was a private Christian school. I remember “asking Jesus to come into my heart” repeatedly, especially when I would attend church services where they would appeal to the audience to “give their life to Christ and ask Him to be their Lord and Savior”. I remember hearing a preacher telling the audience that if they have asked Jesus into their heart once, to stop asking because it is insulting to God who most certainly came the first time that they asked Him to. I remember receiving this for myself and thinking that I just needed to have more faith that God was working in me, though I knew deep in my soul that I was never satisfied with my relationship with God. The older I got, the deeper this feeling of the pit of darkness in my soul became.
When I was 22 years old, I reached a rock bottom in my life where I put everything on hold and attended Mercy Ministries for 6 months due to a severe eating disorder. After graduating from this program, I went on to get my bachelors degree in Biblical theology from Calvary Chapel Bible College, and from there went on to Arizona Christian University to get my bachelors degree in behavioral health. I deeply desired to be a Christian Counselor and open my own private practice or work for an organization like Mercy Ministries, so I completed my master’s degree in direct practice social work and began pursuing my career dreams. After I graduated from Bible College, God began to reveal to me that I was not free from my sins. Though my life seemed to be more stable and I was continuing my education and establishing myself as a productive member of society, internally I was falling apart and felt (what I would call) distant from God. I began falling into sin that I had never struggled with before. As I started my masters’ degree my life seemed to be at its peak. I was setting myself up to be a successful independent woman and felt more self confidence than ever before. During this same time God was confirming to me that I was not a true Christian and I greatly feared the thought that I could die, knowing that I would wake up in hell. For the most part I continued to pursue my career and personal goals with much success, but God would bring me to pivotal moments where I was faced with thoughts about eternity. At one point I needed to get surgery and feared that I may not wake up from the anesthesia. A couple years later I got in a car accident and as everything went into slow motion I could feel how fragile my life was. Around this same time I began to be afflicted with various sicknesses that seemed to come one after another. I had never been sick before in my life and all at once it seemed like a barrage of sicknesses plagued me causing me to think of death and eternity. This is when God most mightily intervened into my life and my plans (Proverbs 16:9) and showed me that I had never even been converted; I was not a Christian and I was under the wrath of God.
For “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36).
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness.” (Romans 1:18).
“Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.” (Ephesians 5:6)
For many years I was sincerely deceived by what I thought was the truth. (Ephesians 5:6). I would judge myself to be less sinful than most people around me and felt in the depths of my soul that I was a good person with good intentions.
“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” (2 Corinthians 10:12).
“And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:3).
To my amazement, I began to have a spiritual opening of eyes: I became an awakened sinner. God began to open my eyes to the absolute necessity to fear Him in truth as I realized that I was not saved and tomorrow is not promised to any man.
“For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” (2 Corinthians 10:12).
“And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:3).
To my amazement, I began to have a spiritual opening of eyes: I became an awakened sinner. God began to open my eyes to the absolute necessity to fear Him in truth as I realized that I was not saved and tomorrow is not promised to any man.
“And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28).
I had been raised to believe that the fear of the Lord was merely a reverence toward God, a respect (and a minor aspect of Christianity in comparison to the love of God); in truth I feared what people thought much more than God.
“Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” (Isaiah 8:13).
God is Holy and He is greatly to be feared. I never used to take sin seriously and I always believed I would become more sanctified later in my life. I was the man that built his house upon the sand; I would listen to God’s word, read it and speak it, but I was not a doer of the word. (Matthew 7:26-27).
“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:” (Isaiah 29:13).
This is when God began to awaken me to see that “The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” (Proverbs 14:27). “The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil.” (Proverbs 19:23). “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the forward mouth, do I hate.” (Proverbs 8:13). I did not have a true biblical fear of the Lord and God says that this is the requirement for the beginning of wisdom: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10).
God began to show me that I did not esteem His Word and so believe for it to mean what it says: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). I had always thought that I had to choose to walk in my freedom and that I could choose to sin or I could choose to live for God (Deuteronomy 30:19, Joshua 24:15). I would often find myself choosing to sin and would believe that I just needed to repent and come back to God. I believed that I would be much happier if I just repented of all my sin and I would go through phases of my life where I believed I would repent of all known sin, but I could not understand why I couldn’t maintain this. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t growing in godliness, but was often backsliding or feeling stagnant. These beliefs kept me from seeing that I had never truly been born again. I was trying to apply biblical truths that were written to Christians…and I could not see that I was not a Christian.
God began to show me that I did not esteem His Word and so believe for it to mean what it says: “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). I had always thought that I had to choose to walk in my freedom and that I could choose to sin or I could choose to live for God (Deuteronomy 30:19, Joshua 24:15). I would often find myself choosing to sin and would believe that I just needed to repent and come back to God. I believed that I would be much happier if I just repented of all my sin and I would go through phases of my life where I believed I would repent of all known sin, but I could not understand why I couldn’t maintain this. I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t growing in godliness, but was often backsliding or feeling stagnant. These beliefs kept me from seeing that I had never truly been born again. I was trying to apply biblical truths that were written to Christians…and I could not see that I was not a Christian.
“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14).
Though I had heard biblical truths for most of my life, I was blind to the fact that they were not true for me. While sin was having dominion over me, I was trying to comfort myself by believing that I was under grace instead of realizing that the scripture was condemning me and God was trying to warn me that I did not have His grace. I was not under grace because sin was having dominion over me. I had always interpreted this to mean that I was backslidden and this deceived me and blinded me from seeing that I had never truly had the biblical fruits of salvation. I had heard of the scriptures that talk about God giving His people a new heart of flesh and removing their heart of stone(Ezekiel 36:26-28). I had heard about God giving His people the heart and the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), but I would always reckon these things to be true for me, even though I was not becoming more like Christ. I was blind to my own hypocrisy and blessing myself in my heart believing that, when I died, God would freely receive me.
“Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 22:13-14).
I remember when my (now) husband told me his testimony, and he explained how when he was born again all things were made new, and he no longer had his previous desires and affections toward sin, but he actually hated his sin and he loved the things that God loves because God had given him a new nature, a “divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). I remember saying, “That just sounds too good to be true,” and he said, “That’s the gospel”. I remembered how I had heard this concept many times before, but for the first time I could see that I did not actually possess this new nature myself. I could see how I had been reckoning these biblical doctrines to be true while I clearly lacked the power.
“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” (2 Timothy 3:5).
I had been trying to clean up the same nature that I was born with by quoting and speaking all of the promises of God that were for saved people. I would have many different phases of change in my life and times of “feeling sick of sin” and “rededicating my life to Christ” but I never had a new nature.
“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16).
It was as if I was seeing for the first time that God actually means what He says in His Word. “For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.” (1 Corinthians 4:20). It was from this point on that I began to see my desperate need to seek the Lord for salvation!
Much to my astonishment, the more that I sought the Lord, the more I began to see that I did not truly desire the Lord. Truly, my friends, it was horrifying for me to see how vile I am. As I tried to draw near to the Lord, He showed me my heart and I could feel and see inside myself that what God said was true: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:” (Matthew 15:19). I began to see that Romans 3:10-18 was who I am at my core:
Much to my astonishment, the more that I sought the Lord, the more I began to see that I did not truly desire the Lord. Truly, my friends, it was horrifying for me to see how vile I am. As I tried to draw near to the Lord, He showed me my heart and I could feel and see inside myself that what God said was true: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:” (Matthew 15:19). I began to see that Romans 3:10-18 was who I am at my core:
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Romans 3:10-18).
In the depths of my soul, I began to see that I was hopeless and helpless, that I did not desire God, and that I would not come to Him on my own. I truly was seeing that my soul is eternal - after I die, my eternal, never-dying spirit will spend eternity either in heaven or hell. I began to think how one million years could pass by…and they wouldn’t even be a drop in the bucket in comparison to eternity. I began to truly see that all that matters in this life is making absolutely certain that I am right with God, and that all of eternity rested on this.
“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” (James 4:14).
“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:” (1Peter 1:24).
“And the world passeth away, and the lust therof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” (1 John 2:17).
I began to see how I had been lied to by the “sinners’ prayer” telling me that I could just pray a prayer and choose to be saved. In truth I hated God. God showed me that I loved sin and had pleasure in unrighteousness; all of the thoughts and intents of my heart were evil continually (Genesis 6:5).
“How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?” (Job 15:16).
“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” (Mark 7:21-23).
When I saw this was true of myself, all I could do was cry out to God for mercy, knowing that there was nothing I could do of myself to be saved. I wanted to plead my cause and show God how I would surrender anything and everything for Him, but God laid open before my eyes my self-righteous heart. God showed me that I would not receive His free unmerited grace, but that I wanted to bring Him a sacrifice. The more I tried to please God and offer Him my life, the more I felt like God was making manifest my inability to offer a sacrifice that was acceptable to Him. For God says that “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Psalm 51:17) and He says “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:16). There was nothing that I could do or say or offer to give up for God that was pleasing to Him. The mercy of God became so precious to me - it is all that I desired. I had heard about the cross of Jesus Christ as far back as I can remember. I had heard how Jesus Christ had died for my sins, but I had never seen how desperately I was in need of Him to take my place, how I could not bear the wrath of God for my sins, nor fulfill the righteousness he commands. I had never truly seen that I was - by nature - a child of wrath (Ephesians 2:3), and that I desperately needed to be born again. By the mercy of God, the Lord Jesus Christ saved this child of wrath! Is it not written that He was found of them that sought him not (Romans 10:20)? Truly, in seeking after God in my own strength I came to the greatest realization of my depravity, that I didn’t want God and would never choose Him if I had the chance; I was the enemy of God (Romans 5:10). God, in his sovereignty, brought me to the end of myself by showing me that if He didn’t come to me, draw me, choose me, and save me, I would never be saved. In all my years of “pursuing God” no one had ever asked me to examine myself to see if I really be in the faith, if Jesus Christ was in me (2 Corinthians 13:5). No one had ever had the spiritual power to make manifest my utter depravity and my utter need to not merely “accept Christ in my heart”, or pray this prayer, but that I must be Born Again! My entire life, I truly believed that my deepest heart’s desire was to live for and serve God and I did not believe I would ever be truly satisfied in my soul unless I was “sold out for Jesus”. Scripture states, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). I remember my sister asking me one day, “If all you want is God, then why don’t you just go after Him?” I was perplexed and I could not explain why I would always follow sin when all I believed that I truly desired was God. God, in His mercy, revealed to me that what I had been perceiving as my desire for God, was actually the drawing power of God on my life.
“The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” (Jeremiah 31:3).
Even though I am vile and only desired sin, God was drawing me and pursing after my soul. Jesus Christ said, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him; and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:44). The drawing power of God on my life caused me to feel desire for this King of glory, though I knew Him not. The drawing power of God on my life caused me to seek after Him and in all my seeking I found Him seeking after me.
“I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I lad meat unto them.” (Hosea 11:4).
O, how loving and how infinitely condescending is my God to make me personally feel His drawing power and desire for me, so intimately, that I felt it was my own desire. About 2 years ago in the midst of all my sin God brought to such a critical place in my life to see my own sin in a way I had never seen it in my whole life. This is the drawing power of God. Jesus said I came not to seek that which is found, but that which is lost! (He was preaching the Gospel!) It wasn’t until after God drew me and joined His Spirit with mine, that I could rightly run after Him!
“Draw me, we will run after thee: the king hath brought me into his chambers: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, we will remember thy love more than wine: the upright love thee.” (Song of Solomon 1:4).
When God began to open my eyes, I found that all the ways I sought to please God were actually displeasing to Him, and as I would strive to be a better person…..a “more devout Christian”, I felt a lack of satisfaction in my soul, a lack of something I desperately needed.
“And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.” (Romans 7:10-11).
Truly, this was the mercy of God to show me my lost estate and not allow me to go on under a strong delusion! God began to show me how scarce salvation truly is and that if I did not love the truth of His Word, if I did not agree with God, I would be damned for all eternity.
“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:” (2 Thessalonians 2:11).
I began to see how God is not a respecter of persons and how desperate my estate before God really was!
“And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:” (1 Peter 1:17).
“Who in the days of His flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared;” (Hebrews 5:7).
“Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.” (Psalm 103:13).
As I look back now, I can clearly see that there were multiple occasions that the Lord sought to show me that I was not genuinely converted. I believe that I was unable to properly interpret what was happening in my soul and in my circumstances due to my own sin and what the Bible refers to as “false prophets”.
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, by try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1).
The scriptures say that a true prophet of the Lord will show God’s people their sins and cause them to repent (Jeremiah 23:22). Yet see what God says of false prophets:
“Thy prophets have seen vain and foolish things for thee: and they have not discovered thine iniquity, to turn away thy captivity; but have seen for thee false burdens and causes of banishment.” (Lamentations 2:14).
“Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in My name: I sent them NOT, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.” (Jeremiah 14:14).
“But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.” (Jeremiah 23:22).
“Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:” (Ezekiel13:22).
The apostle Paul was a true prophet of God! He said, “Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” (Acts 20:26-27), and that his goal was, “To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: But shewed first unto them of Damascus and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. ” (Acts 26:18-20). I was astonished to see that a true prophet of God is not someone that merely assures people of the love of God for them, or tells them that they can just pray a prayer and they are saved, but a true prophet causes people to see their sin and to repent! Indeed describing the fruit of Paul’s ministry the Scripture speaks of the saints of Thessalonica: “...and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9). In every “christian” ministry I have taken part in, I have been assured of the love of God toward me and was encouraged to live a godly life in accordance with the Bible, but the true estate of my soul had never been examined. I was taught to live as a Christian without ever having been born again or given a new nature by which it would be possible to please God. I was promised the peace and love of God, but there was no true peace.
“For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace.”
“We looked for peace, but no good came, and for a time of health, and behold trouble!” (Jeremiah 8:11, 15).
“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
I want to be clear: I had very real experiences with God. I experienced miraculous freedom from a debilitating and life-controlling eating disorder when treatment centers could not help me. I experienced what I perceived to be great joy and fulfillment in “seeking the Lord” and “doing His will”. At times I would feel great misery in sin and believe that I was “backslidden” and would only “experience fulfillment” when I repented. During one of these times, I remember reading a letter someone had wrote me reminding me of “The Amy that used to weep for souls”, and I genuinely remember feeling burdened that people were going to hell and desiring to pray for them. I remember times of recommitting my life to Christ and desiring to really serve Him with all my heart. I went on mission trips to Honduras, dedicated years of my life to Bible study, attended Christian University to ensure a more Biblically based education as I pursued a lifelong career goal of being a Christian counselor. I was miraculously healed of narcolepsy and a very demonic infirmity called Morgellons. As I look back, I see a constant thread of the drawing power and mercy of God towards my soul; however I was still a once born sinner. My soul was lost and I was dead in my sins and trespasses, having no hope and without God, though I knew it not. I had never been delivered from the power of darkness or translated into the kingdom of God.
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13).
I sincerely believed that my experiences meant that I was saved - even though the scriptures say that MANY will be deceived by this same belief: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:22-23). These people are telling God about all their experiences. Telling God about how they personally experienced God’s power in and through their lives. This was me, truly; I would feel “unction” to share my testimony with other people and I would believe that I could feel power to help them. I had been told by other people in authority over me that I had a gift to help people and I believed it sincerely. I tell you now that I was never even set free from my own sin. Not just the outward acts, but the power and dominion of sin in my soul. The Holy Ghost signifies this in the book of Romans that the true grace of God delivers you from the power of sin. “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14). “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that , denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” (Titus 2:11-12). Dear friends, have you heard this gospel? That the grace of God is not merely to cover our sins, but the true grace of God has a transformative power to teach men to live soberly and righteously and to deny worldly lusts! This is not merely reading what is written in the Bible and applying this to your actions, NO. God shames this as a vain show of “will worship”. The Pharisees used the same idolatry of their own will in an attempt to ‘please God’ without having the Spirit of God.
“Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; no in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.” (Colossians 2:20-23).
“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Galatians 6:14).
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20).
In my heart, I used to believe that, if I sinned, God would just forgive me because His grace was so great, but the Bible teaches that the true grace of God is not in word, but in mighty power propelling people to be holy as God is Holy. This is a real, wonder-working power that transforms a soul from death to life because of the Holy Spirit that God puts in true Christians.
“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude 1:4).
This is terrifying! God is warning us in His Word, that if the grace you have leads you to loose living, or to living after your own desires that are not the will of God, then you do not have the grace that is found in the Lord Jesus Christ of the Bible! The true grace of God conforms you to the Word of God. The “grace of God” that makes you ‘feel’ it is okay to sin because “God’s grace” will cover it is actually a deception. This false grace is a smoke screen leading souls to hell!
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:1-2).
I hope that this is making sense. These are scriptures written to Christians and though I tried to reckon these to be true for me, I was not a Christian and could not find the power contained only in the living God of the Bible. I was still very much alive to sin and dead to God.
“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).
I heard a preacher give an analogy of false Christianity being likened to a person showing up late for work and telling their boss that they are sorry that they were late, but on the way to work they were hit by a semi-truck. It would be impossible for that person to come into contact with something that massive, that forceful, and to walk away unchanged. It is the same with God: when God truly transforms a soul, they will be changed and you will not be able to hide it. The true grace of God saves wretched, depraved souls from their own sinful nature and makes them a child of God instead of a child of the devil.
“In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” (1 John 3:10).
“Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.” (Psalm 103:13).
“Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12: 28-29).
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
That which I thought was good left me without hope and peace! This was when I found out, in my sinfulness, while I was attempting and failing to find Christ, He was seeking after me and he found me! My eyes were opened, and for the first time, I believed on Jesus Christ to the saving of my soul! He is my righteousness! For the first time, I loved God, and for the first time, I feared God…in truth! The Lord saved me from myself and set me free from my sins! The Lord’s ways are unsearchable and past finding out! Truly friends! For the first time in 30 years my sinful soul is counted free!
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not because it knew Him not.” (1 John 3:1).
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” (Revelation 12:11).
Thank you my LORD and Savior Jesus Christ!
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