1

THE TESTIMONY OF A BELIEVER IN JESUS CHRIST

Note: All Biblical References are from the New International Version [NIV] unless
otherwise stated. KJV = King James Version of the Bible

One of the most difficult parts of the Christian life, for a person who has done very
limited study into the Scriptures is to understand how Christ's dying on the Cross at
Calvary, absolved them from sin and set them free. These people will say, "Set me free
from what? I am not entangled in anything. I haven't done any wrong." When it is
explained to them that all people are born with a sinful nature and are therefore sinners,
and that Christ died so that these sins could be forgiven, they don't understand and will to
put forth opposition.

1 John 1:8-10, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in
us. If we confess our sins, he [Christ] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be
a liar and his word has no place in our lives."

1 Corinthians 15:3-6, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance; that
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on
the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the
Twelve."

I haven't always understood this message as I do now, and many questions continually
plagued me until the Holy Spirit finally guided me to the simple truth.

It is written in John 8:31-32, "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to
my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will
set you free."

Let me explain to you the unmistakable truth and after you have read it, I pray that the
Holy Spirit will lead you to a deeper understanding of the Good News about Jesus Christ.
When God, in His infinite wisdom, created the universe and all there-in, He created an
angel who was exalted high above all others.

Colossians 1:16, "For by him [God] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were
created by him and for him."

Ezekiel 28:12-17 speaks of this angel as follows: "You were the model of perfection, full of
wisdom and perfect in beauty.
 2
You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and
emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and
mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.
You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount
of God; you walked among the fiery stones.
You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found
in you
Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned,
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendour. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before
kings.

Isaiah 14:12 [KJV], refers to this angel as the "son of the morning" and tells us that his
name is "Lucifer".

Ezekiel 28:14, says "you were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You
were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones".

Ezekiel 28:15 says, "You, [Lucifer], were blameless in your ways from the day you were
created till wickedness was found in you.

Now here was an angel of superior intelligence, given great beauty, authority in the
service of God, and a free will with which to make choices and decisions, as have you
and I.
Lucifer became filled with violence and sinned.
Lucifer became filled with pride [arrogance] causing his wisdom to be corrupted..[he
didn't think straight]

Ezekiel 28:16-17 , says, "Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and
you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O
guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your
beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendour. So I threw you to the
earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings."

Just how did Lucifer sin? What did he do? What did he say? What? ,What?, What?
If we take a look at the scriptures, these questions are pretty much answered.

Isaiah 14:13-14 says

"You said in your heart, "I will ascend to the heaven:

I will raise my throne above the stars of God;
 3
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High."

Lucifer made his mistake [sinned] by thinking that the creation could become greater
than the Creator.
This gave rise to a great conflict in heaven in which Michael [an Archangel] and the
angels under his command fought Lucifer and those angels who chose to follow him.
The end result was that Lucifer and a third of the host of heaven were cast down to earth.

Revelation 12:4, 7-9 says, "His [Lucifer] tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and
flung them to the earth."
"And there was a great war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon,
and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he [Lucifer] was not strong enough and they
lost their place in heaven. The great dragon [Lucifer] was hurled down -- that ancient
serpent called the devil or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the
earth and his angels [demons] with him.

Lucifer or Satan as he is called was banished from heaven forever with no hope of ever
gaining reconciliation for this unrighteous deed. Lucifer and his followers were cut off
from the Holy Presence of God foreverforever...think about itFOREVER!

Now, if we turn to the book of Genesis, Chapter 1, we read there that God:

Created the heavens and the earth.

Created all of the creatures that inhabit the earth.
Created all of the plants that grow on the earth.
Created man and woman in His image and gave them dominion [authority] over all that
He [God] had made.
Authority over the earth was given to man only as he subjected himself to the
predominance of God who made him. That is, mans' authority over the earth was
contingent on his obedience to God's authority.
God asked for only one thing from manObedienceby not eating from the tree of
knowledge of good and evil. God told them than on the day they ate of the tree, they
would surely die.
When man and woman were created they were given a free will so that they might be
able to choose between one thing and another.. the same free will that you and I have..
the same free will that He gave to Lucifer and the angels.

Genesis 2:16-17, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
 4
NOW LET'S RECAP THE SITUATION AT HAND:

Lucifer [Satan], who aspired to take over God and heaven, is now on the earth with his
followers [demons].
His existence is a spiritual existencei.e. He doesn't have a body as do humans, nor do
his followers.
Lucifer is extremely intelligent.

Ephesians 6:12, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces
of evil in the heavenly realms."

Man was created a free willed agent [able to make choices] and given complete authority
over the earth.

Genesis 1:28, "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill
the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every
living creature that moves on the ground."

God's only requirement of Adam and Eve was that they should not eat from the tree of
knowledge of good and evil and if they did they would die.

Genesis 2:16-17, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

THE STAGE IS SET:

Enter on stage Satan and Eve.

Satan tells Eve that to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge means that she will become as
God and know the difference between good and evil.

Genesis 3:5, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will
be like God, knowing good and evil."

He also indicates to her that she will not really die.

Genesis 3:4, "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.

Eve then eats of the tree and gives a portion to Adam.

Genesis 3:6, "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing
to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave
some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."
 5

Now if you remember, I mentioned earlier that God gave complete authority over the
earth to Adam and Eve.. i.e. it was His gift to them.

Genesis 1:28, "God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill
the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every
living creature that moves on the ground."

However, when Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree who were they obeying?
Right! Satan.. the serpent.. the dragon.. Lucifer, the fallen angel.. the devil himself.
If Satan is telling man and woman what to do, and they are free willed agents having a
choice of obeying or rejecting, and decide to obey Satan instead of God, then who is
man's new master?

Romans 6:16-18, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him
as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which
leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?"

Right again! .. Satan

Then if Satan is man's new master [supervisor], can you guess who now has authority
over this world and all in it?
Exactly! Satan.

II Corinthians 4:4, "The god of this age [Satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so
that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

"Well", you say, "Why couldn't man change his mind and turn away from Satan and back
to God again? After all he is a free willed agent and can simply make a new choice."
You can make a new choice, but there is a little more to it than a simple a change of
mind.

READ ON!

Do you recall what happened to Satan and his followers when they sinned against God?
Right! They were cut off from the presence of God FOREVER. They couldn't get back
into heaven.
Now, who else has sinned against God?
Right again! all of mankind, through the act of Adam.

Romans 5:16-19, "Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The
judgement followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many
trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man,[Adam] death
reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant
 6
provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus
Christ.
Consequently, just as the result of one trespass [Adam's sin] was condemnation for all men,
so also the result of one act of righteousness [Christ's sacrifice] was justification that brings
life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made
sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous."

Can you guess what fate awaits man?

Right again. He, just like Satan is cut off from the presence of God FOREVER.
You can imagine the excitement that Satan had when he thought they had defeated God
and taken man away from him. When man sinned against God.. through simple
disobedience.. he incurred a debt to God that he could never repay. Not even Satan, who
is more able than any human being presently living, could pay the debt to God caused by
his sinning and get back in His good standing. However, God in his infinite wisdom,
mercy and love provided a way to have man's debt repaid, thus allowing him [any human
being], once again, if he so chooses to come into the fellowship of God.
Did you notice the free will component in this solution?
How was this debt paid? Very simply.. God paid the debt Himself. Kind of like the little
child who broke the window having the debt paid for by his father, thus absolving him
from the penalty . The father paid the penalty for the broken window on behalf of his son
thus setting his child free from the consequences.

1 John 4:9-10, "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son
into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that
he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

How did He pay this debt?

He sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to be sacrificed upon the cross for the sins of "all
mankind".
The God of the universe came to earth to reconcile man to Himself.

Hebrews 2:9, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned
with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste
death for everyone."

He took our sins and gave to us His purity and righteousness.

II Corinthians 5:21, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God."

Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God purchased man's salvation. Christ paid the
penalty for man's sin so that man would no longer have to suffer the consequences.
 7
John 3:17, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save
the world through him."

Who is man? You ,me, others, everyone... Can you imagine how much God must love
you to have sent His Son to pay a debt which if you lived for a million years, could never
repay? He saved you from the hands of Satan and opened the gates back to heaven and
God which would have been closed FOREVER to you and to me had it not been for
Jesus Christ.

THINK ABOUT IT!

You ask, "Well if Christ paid the penalty and man is back in fellowship with God, then
why the great concern about being a Christian or a follower of Jesus Christ?" Seems like
a generous act of God and a nice favour from Christso I'll get on board, go for the ride
and be good from now on, after all, I am a free willed agent and can make a new choice.
Remember earlier we stated that you can make a new choice, but there is a little more to
it than a change of mind.
In order to receive this gift of love you must:

(a) Believe that Christ died on the cross for your sins
(b) Believe that he was raised on the third day
(c) Choose to place your faith in Him
(d) Choose to exercise your free will and acknowledge that you are a sinner
(e) Choose to repent or turn away from your sins
(f) Choose to acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Saviour
(g) Choose to ask Jesus to come into your life

You have to become involved in the decision making process from a mind and heart
perspective. You can't lay back and go along for the ride. Christ did His part and paid
the debt. Now you must do your part and receive it.
Not only is it a change of mind, but it is also a change of heart. A humbling of one's self
in the presence of God and simply asking to receive this wonderful gift.
Pretty simple eh! so simple that millions have found the truth and yet so simple that
millions have missed it because it was so simple.

Acts 2:38-39, "Peter replied "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off -- for all whom the Lord
our God will call."

John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever
 8
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned
already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.."

We stand condemned alreadybecause of the original sin of Adamwe are sinful

because we come from a sinful human genealogy or family tree. Adam did it to us and
Christ is willing to correct the mess if we will only exercise our free will and choose. He
will not choose for usHe simply provides the way.

Romans 5:12,"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through
sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned."

YOU MUST CHOOSE!

To do nothing is to make a choice for remaining in original sin.

To do something is to make a choice for moving away from original sin.

Again, you must choose. If you do this, [remember you have a free will], you will no
longer belong to Satan, but will become a follower of Christ a Christian. It is a prepaid
ticket to the courts of the Most High God. All you have to do is come and take itit's a
gift.

Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord."

"Well", you say, "I'm not a follower of Satan, I am a good person, I am a spiritual person,
I help people, I go to church, I do this and I do that and I, I, I.
Remember that Adam turned from God and gave his allegiance to Satan while in the
Garden of Eden.
When Adam made this fateful choice, sin entered into the whole of the human race.
(Kind of like one drop of poison ruins the whole bucket of water for drinking.)
Therefore, because of Adam, all mankind is tainted with this original sin. We are born
into ityou, me, everybody.
To choose Christ is to choose forgiveness of sin.
To make no choice is to choose Satansince you belong to him already you choose no
forgiveness of sin.
The scriptures tell us if you are not a follower of Christ, then your are a follower of
Satanyou are one or the other. There ain't no shades of greyit's black or white

Romans 6:16-18, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him
as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey--whether you are slaves to sin, which
leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks to God that,
though you use to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which
 9
you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to
righteousness."

You may not be an evil person, nor a Satan worshipper, nor indeed do anything above
that which is honourable, good, decent and completely above board. However, it is this
stain or original sin from Adam and how it is viewed by Godthat needs to be attended
to. You simply cannot will it away, forget about it, turn your back on it, ignore it, say
that God wouldn't treat you or humans like this, and what about.etc. etc. etc. Well you
can go on and on and on and onhowever, when the dust all settles, the rain stops
falling, the sun comes out and the birds begin to sing again know thisSin will still be
there, it ain't goin' away and something has to be done about it. The neat part about this
is you can use your free will and CHOOSE or NOT CHOOSE to do something about
it. IT'S YOUR CHOICE.

Do you remember who is in control of the world? Who is it that is helping you put up
your arguments against Christ? Who is it that doesn't want you to find out the truth?
Who is it that wants you in his kingdom and not in that of Christ's?
Right.. Lucifer, Satan, the Dragon, the Deviletc. etc.

II Corinthians 4:3-4, "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are
perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see
the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

Who is it that will lead you down the garden path to Hell? Right.. Satan.
Think about it again the choice is yours.
As a Christian you will no longer be under Satan's banner, a member of his kingdom, or
under his headship.
He will no longer be the master of the kingdom in which you are a member.
You know, when Christ died on the Cross, Satan thought he had won another victory
over God. Remember his first victory was taking man away from God through the
INCIDENT IN EDEN. Here he thought he had so much control over the earth and man
that he [Satan] caused the Son of God to be crucified. I'll bet Satan and his demons had a
party on that occasion. HOWEVER, can you imagine the anguish that swept over Satan
and the boys when three days after His crucifixion, Christ came back to life again? Satan
who had formerly had complete control over death, no longer controlled this aspect over
man.

Hebrews 2:14-18, "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity
so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death -- that is, the devil --
and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is
not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his
brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in
 10
service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he
himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

Satan is defeated, thanks to Christ, and he knows it. He knows his fate is one of
everlasting punishment as will be the case for all who follow him. Satan, as I have
already stated is defeated, but he doesn't want you to know that and consequently is
trying harder than ever to keep you from finding out the truth about God.
As you know, Satan and his angels [demons] will never get back in good standing with
God, for you see no one paid the penalty for the sin they committed.

Hebrews 2:16, seems to make this pretty clear when it states, "For surely it is not angels he
helps, but Abraham's descendants [meaning us]. For this reason he had to be made like his
brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in
service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he
himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

Where do you stand in relation to Jesus Christ? Where would you like to stand in
relation to Him?

In I Corinthians 3: 18-20, Paul says, "Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks
he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become
wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He
catches the wise in their craftiness", and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the
wise are futile."

Remember, man in the Garden of Eden was told he would die if he were to eat of the tree
of knowledge of good and evil. Well, physically his body did die and so will ours
because of this original sin.

Romans 5:12, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through
sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned."

However, because of Jesus Christ, we who are His followers and accept him as our
Saviour will overcome death as He did and will receive new bodies when Christ comes to
earth for a second time.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18, "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall
asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and
rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in
him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left
till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the
Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that,
 11
we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord
in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with
these words."

The followers of Satan do not have this promise to look forward to. Not even Satan has a
body so how can his followers expect to gain such. The death that was spoken of in the
Garden of Eden is a two-fold death.

(a) The physical death in which our human body dies.

(b) The spiritual death in which we are cut off from God FOREVER. Because of Adam,
Satan can claim your soul after death.

When Christ died on the Cross, He overcame this two-fold death and turned it into
victory.
Although we will die physically because of sin, we have His promise of a new body and a
home with God in heaven.

I Corinthians 15: 35-44, "But some may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of
body will they come?" How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of
something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he
gives its own body. All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have
another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly
bodies; but the splendour of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendour of the earthly
bodies is another. The sun has one kind of splendour, the moon another and the stars
another; and star differs from star in splendour.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is
raised imperishable, it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is
raised in power, it is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam
became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first,
but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the
second man from heaven. As was the earthly man , so are those who are of the earth; and as
is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the
likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does
the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep,
but we will all be changed --in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the
trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the
perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When
 12
the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then
the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." Where,
O death is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore my dear brothers, stand firm. Let
nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know
that your labour in the Lord is not in vain."

We are no longer cut off from the presence of God, but Christ opened the portals of
heaven for all who choose to accept Him as their personal Saviour. Because of Christ,
God will claim your soul after death.
Well, there you have it, the simple truth and essential facts surrounding the Good News
about Jesus Christ.
Has this truth spoken to your heart? Do you really want what Christ offers? If not, then
simply discard this outline and write it off as foolishness. However, just before you do,
would you please take time to read the next paragraph.

In I Corinthians 3: 18-20, Paul says, "Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks
he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become
wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He
catches the wise in their craftiness", and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the
wise are futile."

If you have been moved by what the Good News has to offer you, perhaps you would
want to investigate it more deeply. To this end, I would suggest that you find yourself a
good Bible Preaching Church and become involved in a further and deeper search into
the truths about Jesus Christ.
If you would like to turn your life over to Christ, you can, right now, in the privacy of
your own home or wherever you might be. Simply ask Him to forgive you of your sins
and cause your life to be changed in such a manner that you will live only for Christ for
the rest of your life.

RememberTHE CHOICE IS YOURS.

In his Love and Service

Bill