“My God-Story” by Cky John Carrigan, Ph.D. (October 2007)

When I was a child, my family was not very religious, but I had some religious training. So, from a very early age I believed in the existence of God and I knew about Jesus Christ, but I was not always a follower of Christ. I can remember the time when I discovered that I was separated from God because of my own sin. I can remember the time when I realized that mere belief in the existence of God was not the same as being a follower of God. I knew I needed to be forgiven by God in order to escape Hell, go to Heaven,and live a life full of joy on earth.

When I was a child, one of my school teachers showed the entire class a special booklet called The Wordless Book. It was so called because there were no words in the book, only five pages of different colors, each color representing an important aspect of the story of salvation. She told us that we were sinners and our sin had caused a spiritual darkness in our hearts (Black Page). She also told us that the sacrificial death of Jesus on a cross about 2000 years ago was a form of payment to God for our sins (Red Page). We could be clean and forgiven of our sins if we would ask God to forgive us and place our faith in Christ alone (White Page). She said that we could be sure of our salvation if we were growing to be more like Jesus Christ (Green Page). She also said that one day we would live in Heaven if we repented of our sins and believed in Jesus Christ (Gold Page).

I remember that I was deeply moved by my teacher's words and her Wordless Book. That evening, before going to sleep, I decided to become a follower of Jesus Christ. I prayed that Jesus would forgive my sins and make my heart clean and pure so that I could go to Heaven. I became a follower of Christ right then and there. I was baptized several years after becoming Christ’s follower, but I do not trust in my baptism to save me. I trust in Christ alone!

Who is this Jesus Christ in whom I have placed my faith? The Bible says that He is the eternal Son of God--human and divine. He was born of a virgin, lived a perfectly sinless life, performed many miracles, died on a cross to pay for our sins, rose from the dead on the third day, lived and walked among men as the resurrected Christ, and ascended to heaven to be seated at the right hand of God.

Jesus Christ is returning to earth someday, perhaps today, to complete the salvation of everyone who follows Him and to bring judgment upon everyone who does not. I did nothing to earn or work for my salvation. My salvation is by grace through faith alone in Christ alone.

Since becoming a follower of Christ, God has been leading me, as a loving Father, to conform more and more to the image of Christ. I am not perfect in my own flesh, but I am declared to be perfect by God because of the sacrifice of Christ on my behalf and on account of His righteousness. By grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone, I am a friend of God forever.

You too, can be a friend of God forever if you make the same decision I made. You can be forgiven and you can have eternal life with God if you turn away from your sins and turn toward God, if you have faith alone in Christ alone. Please make this decision for yourself today, for today is the day of your salvation.

Five Minutes to Eternal Life