Testimony
By the Rev. Lou Tiscione, Pastor, Weatherford Presbyterian Church (PCA)
Jesus said, “Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). Testifying to God’s salvation is an act of praise. Sharing one’s conversion story is not the gospel, but it is the effect of receiving Jesus as He is offered in the gospel. So to give all praise to God, I offer my testimony of His saving grace in my life.
God snatched me from the pit of hell on January 29, 1986. On my way to my office at the Nuclear Power Plant in Crystal River Florida, I was broad-sided by a semi-truck. It occurred about 7:30 AM. I was told that the paramedics had to cut me out of my car. I awoke four days later in a hospital in Gainesville, FL with one desire and many broken bones. My one desire was for Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible. The God of truth and grace opened my eyes to the Kingdom and to His beauty. My desire was to run to Him. There was no struggle on my part. I didn’t have the C.S. Lewis experience of being dragged into the kingdom. No. I ran to the King!
Jesus’ words in John’s gospel entered my mind and pierced my heart. “UNLESS one is born again he CANNOT see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3 ESV, emphasis mine).
Before that day in 1986, I had no desire for Jesus. Oh, I thought that I was a good person, most people do. I thought that as long as I was better than most, the god of my making would welcome me. After all, doesn’t the Bible say that God is love? Surely it does! (See 1 John 4:8.) But the Bible also says that God is holy, holy, holy (Isaiah 6:3). I never thought about the justice of God. He never sets aside His justice. He extends mercy only because of the sacrifice of Jesus which alone satisfies God’s justice.
Before my “accident,” I didn’t know the one true God, the God of the Bible. I was dead, blind to the Kingdom, and an enemy of God. I used to think that all this “born again” stuff was for the weak minded. But the reality, the truth of what I lived was that dead men don’t do anything. I was unconscious. I couldn’t have saved myself. I couldn’t even get out of my hospital bed. On my best days, I didn’t know that I was lost and headed to hell. God had to act. He did, and I look back in amazement that He chose me! Yes, I responded to Him, but I only responded to His action. I often hear that if one believes, he will be born again. How foolish! Worse, it is the height of manipulation to tell people that we are made new creations by our own wisdom and ability. How can a dead person believe? The truth is “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7) in order to believe! The Bible says, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Every person is born spiritually dead. We are unable to reach out to God and live (Genesis 3:22-24). God had to act to save me, and He did!
As I looked back on what God did in saving me through the lens of His word, I saw every aspect of my life as part of God’s sovereign plan. Even when I didn’t know God, He was directing my path in accordance with His will. I thought that I was making choices. And I was, but my choices had already been planned by the Sovereign God. Think about this when you are wondering how you got to where you are: “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9 ESV). The words of Jesus recorded in John 6:44 made perfect sense as I looked at my life in Christ. “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”
Here is a principle for life that brings me comfort and assurance. I have been saved by God from God for God.
This brief testimony is a declaration of my constant reliance upon God. I believe the God who saved me also spoke and continues to speak in His word. I believe His word is without error, reliable, clear, and sufficient. Scripture informs all experiences enabling us to see rightly.
