Before I was truly born again, I fit the criterion that Paul the Apostle spoke of in 2 Timothy 3:5, as “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.” I had a quote unquote, RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE. Many times, a false conversion can look almost identical with a true one. It’s the different between wheat and tares that Jesus spoke of in the parables. As they begin to sprout, until they’re full grown, you can barely tell the difference between the two. The major difference is one is useless and has to be burned; the other is gathered for the harvest and stored to provide food. My experience before salvation was that I looked the part, and everyone thought I was such a spiritual person. When in reality, it was all about what I could do to make ME look good. But I did it in the name of God.I was religious, and basically passed judgment on every else who didn’t believe like me. It was my church that had the corner on the truth. I was baptized, sang gospel music, preached and taught at church, and even helped with VBS and other occasions for the church. I knew a lot about the Bible. I even modified my behavior that made me look even more spiritual. The truth is, I was twice dead and plucked up by the roots, and didn’t even know it. I was baptized, dressed for church, went to nursing homes and hospitals, but was absolutely devoid of a relationship with Jesus Christ. There was a part of me that hungered for God, and knew there was more than what I’d known and/or experienced.I was as narrow minded as they came. I had little tolerance for things I didn’t believe in. I wasn’t as rigid in my belief as some in the church I attended, but you couldn’t reason with me on the Bible very easily. I had all the answers because I attended the “RIGHT” church. It wasn’t until age 34 that I realized there was more the Christianity than just looking the part. First of all, God had to show me that there is nothing I could do to earn my salvation. It is a gift of God, given to us freely by His divine, unmerited favor. We obtain it as an act of our faith in what Jesus did on the cross, and His glorious resurrection after His death. How did I know that I was born again, and Jesus entered my heart? It was because my life changed, and I knew I was a different person after I prayed a prayer of repentance and submission to the will of God. On my knees, before a holy God, is where I surrendered my heart to Jesus.I learned some things about the difference between a religious experience and a true conversion. A religious experience is an outward change; a true conversion is a transformation of the inward heart of a man. True conversion doesn’t automatically make someone perfect the day they give their heart to Jesus. It deals first of all, with the guilt of their sin, and washes them clean. God doesn’t begin the cleanup job until AFTER a true conversion. In a religious experience, one has to clean up BEFORE he/she can say they’re saved. Everything done out of merely a religious experience is nothing more than BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. Usually such conversions don’t last, and drives a person further into secret bondages, that at one time, they may have had a hope of overcoming. A religious experience puts a person in the mode of having to impress others to show they are truly changed. And there is a certain amount of gratification in a religious experience, but at the end of the day, it leaves a person totally devoid of any lasting peace. In a religious experience, if others think well of them, then they must be ok. If not, then they need converted all over again. It weighs a person down with a con

When I was a child, I loved to go to church. My parents made sure us kids were there every time the doors were open. I mean, we were about as much “churchy” as Noah was “arky”. At an early age, I developed a real love for music, particularly hymns. When I got old enough I was put on the roster as a church song leader. I got into, and well as put together several gospel groups, quartets, and choirs. I mean I loved to bless others with good singing. But there was one BIG problem with all these things; I was 34 before I realized I wasn’t even saved. I was water baptized a teenager, took communion every week, and attended worship services regularly. If there was a poster child for religious duty, I could have easily been chosen. All the things I’d accomplished, even in my adult life were good, but they are meaningless without a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ. I had a form of godliness and holiness, but denied the very power that could truly transform my life. In May of 1997, I married a very special, and godly lady from Knoxville, Tennessee. Jo Ann, when she met me, knew that we were destined to spend our life together. But Jo Ann Knew there was something lacking in my life, as did many of her friends, and even some of her family. She had her doubts as to whether I was really saved, but she didn’t tell me this, she just began to pray, as did many of her friends she went to church with. It worked, because the Lord began to bring a great deal of conviction in my life. I began to question, “Is what I possess in Christ real? What about my religious upbringing, was I taught the right things to lead me to a saving knowledge of Christ?” I knew these kinds of questions could draw a lot of criticism from my immediate family. The church I was raised in were an exclusive religious group, and believed their doctrine is the only doctrine that matters. To go outside their belief system could mean eternal damnation. But I knew there had to be more. Jo Ann and her friends were right, there is more, and God was about to open my eyes to the more that I lacked. Jo Ann has since gone home to be with the Lord, and I am remarried to another very special lady, whose name is Rena. Jo Ann’s illness and death are a trial and testimony that will have to wait for another time. Anyway, at the time, we were traveling with a gospel group and they began praying for me because they sensed the same thing about me that Jo Ann did. To make a long story short, we were singing at a church in Hickory, North Carolina. The Lord had been dealing with me about a week prior to this singing engagement. I remember like it was yesterday; October 19, 1997; the day my life was changed forever. On that night as we were singing, Dale, the manager of the group began to testify about the time he had found true salvation. Something in his testimony brought the conviction I was feeling to a head, and I knew something in my life had to give. Dale said, like me, that he was doing all the right things, involved in this, and involved in that, but there was something missing. He said no one could tell him what it was. He said he received a visit from a man that gave him the answers he need, and also the answers I needed that night in Hickory. He said Jesus says in His Word, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father except through me.” I knew I had been trusting in my religious duty, and following the right religious formula, so I thought. The man then quoted from Ephesians chapter two, verses eight and nine. The verses just simply state that you can’t earn your salvation. You don’t deserve salvation, but God offers it to you freely. A person receives it by releasing their faith in God’s Word. God’s Word says that salvation is available for whosoever will, may come.