I was born again in December 1995. I had grown up in a Baptist
church. My parents were saved when I was two years old. I went to
Sunday School, Children's Church, and even AWANA Club
on Wednesday nights. But none of that guaranteed that I was saved.
At the age of six years old, I went to my Sunday School
teacher after class one morning. I told her I wanted to be saved so I
didn't go to hell for eternity. She took me and led me in a prayer.
I repeated everything she said as sincerely as I could. But that did not
guarantee that I was saved.
As I grew up, it became more and more apparent that I was not saved by the
way I lived and acted. This continued all the way through high school and
into college. If you had asked me if I was a Christian, I would have told
you yes.
One day, while in college, my grandmother invited me to go to church with
her. At this point, I had not been to church in years. I decided to
go, just to spend some time with my Grandma. The pastor preached that
Sunday on Hell and what the Bible said about it. I began to get scared
that maybe if I died, I would not go to heaven. I had always thought I
was saved because I prayed the sinner's prayer when I was six. But the
thought that I might die and go to hell scared me.
After the service, I could not wait to talk the pastor about it. He
took me and showed me some verses on salvation and knowing that I was saved
(John
The next Sunday I went back to church with my Grandma. The pastor
continued his previous sermon on hell. To be honest, I do not remember
anything he said in his message; I was too busy looking over those verses he
gave me the week before. As I was reading the verses, I realized that it
was not just praying a prayer sincerely, but it was placing my faith in the
finished work of Christ on the cross of
Ever since then, I have had no doubt that I would go to heaven the moment I
died.