"Salvation, Part 1---My Testimony"

Today is 43 years since the Lord saved me from my sins, in this Newark, NJ apartment building!! Here is my Testimony of His Grace.

I grew up in a very godless, broken home but always believed there was a God.  This (believing there was a God) was not due to my Dad, Step-father or MOM'S influence, but due more to the influence of my grandparents who were "religious" but not truly saved, themselves. Consequently, I believed God EXISTED but hated Him in my earlier years (because of the alcoholism in my home and its destructive influence.)  Note: in those days, broken homes and alcoholics were far less common than today, and there was quite a stigma attached to them.  I wrongly blamed GOD for the shame I had to endure. I saw him as a Sadist in the Sky, mean like my step-dad.

My Uncle died suddenly, of complications arising from his alcoholism, at the young age of 29 and a friend from high school was killed by a drunk driver in 1971.  I then began to transfer my hatred away from GOD and onto BOOZE (I never drank to that point, but now I actually began HATING drink and drugs! I saw that they, not the LORD, were responsible for the way my dad and step-dad acted.) 

And, the sudden deaths of Uncle Steve and my friend David made me think I needed to make "Peace With God" (the title of a Billy Graham book that someone from high school gave me) as I had seen, first hand, how death can come SUDDENLY, even to "young" people. I did believe in Heaven and Hell, you see, and knew I wasn't ready for Heaven.

I began to attend a Catholic church where I learned that (supposedly) the way to get peace with God was to do good works and be a good person.

From '71-'74, I puttered around in this false system, which ALLEGES that it gets you right with God.  I became very proud and arrogant that I was not like my parents or Step-father, that I was NOT like the other guys in my impoverished neighborhood who drank, did drugs and slept with girls to try to fill the fatherless emptiness they had inside.  See, I filled MY "hole" with Religiosity and secretly thought God accepted me because I was better than most others...a good Catholic who often went to Mass twice a day.

On March 13th, 1975, 43 years ago today, my building Superintendent, Bob Wade, led me to trust in Christ ALONE for my eternal salvation. This was after about 2 months of intense Bible Study and many internal struggles, for even AFTER I saw that the Church's alleged way of salvation, doing good and being good, was false I wanted to stay. Some of my Catholic friends there, "good" people like myself, were like the real "family" I never had, you see.

God helped me realize that even though I never drank or did drugs or womanized, I was a worse sinner than any of the men in my life because I was PROUD of what I didn't do....I arrogantly thought that I could go to Heaven based on what *I* did or did not do. The Lord Jesus Christ gave me grace to leave my own "merit," the Church, the Pope, Mary, priests, nuns and Catholic friends behind to follow Him, the ONLY hope for my soul's salvation.


Yes, on March 13th, 1975, the Lord helped me to renounce my good works as being the basis of my hope of salvation and to rest ONLY in the finished work of Christ.  He made me willing to leave the Catholic church AND my dear friends, for the sake of following HIM.  And these past 43 years have been simply AMAZING! I still do good works, but they are not the BASIS of my salvation, they are the OUTGROWTH of it...done in gratitude to my Savior for His Grace to this sinner. I have sought to be the instrument of deliverance to each of my family members I mentioned...(they have all gone into eternity now, some appeared to be saved, some did not.)  He helped me get married for 38 years to a wonderful woman who died a year ago, and we had three kids who each know and love THE LORD. And, He has given me "replacement" family members (Bob Wade is one, "Mother," from my LAST post, was another.  There are many more.)  In short, He has "reversed the curse" that seemed to be on my family tree and BLESSED me and my family immensely.

My present Pastor preached on "The Sovereignty of God in Salvation" this past Sunday night as he is beginning a new series on that topic.  This is very timely as I've been reflecting on God's amazing Grace on the week of "the anniversary." I can only praise God for His Sovereign, undeserved, matchless grace to a once-proud, Hell-deserving sinner who now knows that he's going to Heaven one day based ONLY on what He has done for me! Amen!!


           Part 2 on Friday, Lord Willing










The building depicted is 69 No. 9th St., in Newark...corner of 6th Ave. and No. 9th Street. It's like a sacred spot to me.  Again, it's the location where I got SAVED and really came to know the LORD for the first time!!