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Meet a Christian: Toluwa

Toluwa was recently baptised on Saturday 4th June and this is the testimony he gave:

Born into a Christian family, I had the privilege of being taught the Christian faith during my early years.  I accepted and believed all of what I thought to be the major truths of the Bible, i.e. sin, God’s holiness and sovereignty, that Jesus was God.  However, it never really had a personal effect.  I lived mostly for myself and hardly showed any interest in living as a Christian.  I struggled personally with rebellion.  When I read my Bible and went to Church it was more out of duty than anything else, and I was often bored during the preaching: for the most part the sermons were of no value to me as I was bored.  I personally didn’t know what else to do.  As previously stated I believed in the Biblle, so I didn’t know what else I needed to do.  I prayed God would show me if there was anything else that needed doing, but those prayers seemed unanswered.

toluwa

When I was 15, I went to Christian youth camp.  On the first night the speaker pre

ached on John 6:37-45, on drowining in the sea of sin.  I was shaken by the message and later that week I told a leader that I wanted to speak to him.  I told him of my personal struggles and how I knew I was a sinner and believed Jesus was God but still realised there was something missing.  He then read with me Romans 10:9-13

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

He then told me how Jesus clothes those who have believed in Him in His righteousness and how it was more than just believing that Jesus was God: it was about believing in Him personally as your Saviour.  For the first time I understood it.  Afterwards I prayed with Him, and trusted in Jesus then.

As a Christian I still struggle with sin.  However, I hate it, and in God’s strength seek to avoid it as much as possible.  I look forward to spending eternity with my Lord in Heaven.  If you were to name one hymn that I identify with and that sums up my conversion experience it would be 420: “And can it be, that I should gain an interest in the Saviour’s blood”.