My desire to do good
"Sincere" and "jealous" are the words that describe the religious aspects of my life for twenty-nine and a half years as a Roman Catholic. My wish was to do what was right. I went to mass, received the sacraments, loved my neighbors, and basically tried to do good to people, and I always thought it was the way to get to heaven. The desire to do good to all humanity led me to be a member of the religious order the Sisters of Charity, from 1967 to 1971.
My search for the truth
My search for the truth began at the altar approximately six months before leaving the convent in March 1971. I was on my knees at communion time, and the priest raised the host before my face and said, “The body of Christ ”. Before I answered with my automatic and expected "Amen", a question entered my mind for the first time - "Is this true?" Of course I didn't have time to analyze that thought before my answer, but then, daily that question was in my thought, "Is this true?" Finally, I began to pray sincerely, “God, if Jesus is in this host, show me that He is; but if He is not there, teach me the truth ”.
Within six months of that prayer, I was out of the convent, and before the end of two and a half years I was led to the truth of God's Word about these questions. On November 11, 1973, I reached the moment in my life where I realized that I had to trust in the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice and in the blood that He shed for the remission of my sins, and I began to be a daughter of God, by faith! only!
Good works are not enough
The Lord used a medical problem in my life to put me in a sweet confrontation with a converted lady in Pennsylvania who helped me see the lost spiritual condition that I found myself in. I entered the hospital for minor surgery in October 1973. However, I was there for a short time and did not know this lady well, I kept in communication with her for the following week due to her physical condition. She invited me to her home to talk about spiritual issues, and when she learned that I was an ex-nun and with my sensitivity that she needed someone to talk to, I accepted her invitation. Two of her friends were at her home, and for the first time in my life, my faith was tested.
Isaiah 64: 6 says, “And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” and then in Ephesians 2: 8-9 it states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not by works so that no one can boast ”. So what saves you from going to hell is not your good works, but your faith only in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
During our discussion that first night, I was invited to come to his church, Calvary Baptist Church in Landlade, Pennsylvania. I went, and after the second Sunday of having gone to Mass in the Roman Catholic Church and going to his church, I asked to speak to the Pastor, Dr. Robert Jordan, just to talk about my life, and what I was thinking of doing. then. As he talked with me, he gave me his testimony of how he had been saved and what the Lord had done for him. He made a statement to me that left me paralyzed. He told me, "Wilma, I never knew that I was bad enough to go to hell just because I was born into this world, and nothing can take away the punishment of sin but the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ." At that moment the Holy Spirit helped me understand my sinful condition and that I had to be saved. Since she was a child, I was taught that God was a God of love and that I had to be very bad to go to hell, and that if I tried to be good, go to confession when I did something wrong and receive communion as many times as I could. I would go to heaven if I died without any sin in my soul. I came to believe that I was a sinner just because I was born into this world and that even baptism would not take away that sin because "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin." And that I needed to accept Christ as my Lord and Savior. I came to believe that I was a sinner just because I was born into this world and that even baptism would not take that sin away from me because "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin." And that I needed to accept Christ as my Lord and Savior. I came to believe that I was a sinner just because I was born into this world and that even baptism would not take away that sin because "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin." And that I needed to accept Christ as my Lord and Savior.
Can I remain Catholic?
As soon as I accepted Christ as my personal Savior, many questions began to arise within me. The Lord has provided the hospital lady who has been willing and able to answer the questions I have about the Word of God. One of the questions I asked him was the following. Can I be saved and remain Catholic? His answer was a very smart one. "Wilma, I don't think you can, but I'm not going to tell you that you can't." “All I can tell you is how the Bible teaches us to worship God now, and I will tell you if the two agree. Then you decide what you are going to do ”.
A verse from the Bible was given to me on which I would base all my decisions. John 4:24; “God is Spirit; and those who adore him, in spirit and in truth it is necessary that they adore ”. Honestly, I was looking for the truth, I love the Lord so much that I wanted Him to be hearing my prayers. I knew that God couldn't and wouldn't deceive me, but I knew that man can make mistakes. I started to be like the Bereans in Acts 17:11, searching the Scriptures daily to make sure what these people told me about the Scriptures was true or not.
While comparing the Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church - communion, baptism, penance, etc. - with the Bible, I discovered problems. I asked the lady helping me about communion, and she was willing to introduce herself to me. "Is this the truth?" She told me, "Sure, Jesus doesn't have to die at every mass." She taught me that Christ died "once for all" (Hebrews q0: 10-14). On Calvary, on that bloody cross He completed with "It is finished" (John 19:30) to seal the fact. Needless to say, I was in awe that my question had finally been answered.
I continued to examine the sacraments with anxiety and knew that I would find the truth of how to worship God. In relation to "baptism" in the Bible, I found that it says; that baptism is an external expression of the internal repentance that manifests itself in the sinner. (Acts 2:41; 8: 26-39; 16: 25-34). While Catholicism declares, that baptism removes original sin and makes a person a child of God. I also discovered that in the sacraments of penance the priest has the power to forgive people of their sins; meanwhile, this is not scriptural because the Bible states that there is only one God and one mediator between God and men and this is the man Jesus Christ (I Tim. 2: 5) and no one else! I also understood that there is no act of penance (nor in the form of prayer, nor in good works) that I can pay for my sins. Only the sacrifice of Christ, "once for all" can do it.
A difficult decision
These obvious contradictions with the Scriptures (and many others) confronted me with the most important and difficult decision I have ever made, to believe God who does not lie. (Romans 3: 4) either you follow His footsteps in the Bible or you believe the man who makes mistakes. (Proverbs 4:12). On December 16, 1973, I decided to leave Roman Catholicism, I decided to do only what the Bible commands, and simply leave the results to God. Until today, I can honestly say that I have never regretted my decision and I have in His love that constrains me “(grown) in the grace and knowledge of (my) Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”, “Because Christ also suffered only once for sins, the just for the unjust, to elevate us to God, being truly dead in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit (II Peter 3:18).
The truth sets us free
I extend a personal invitation to you who read this testimony to ask the Lord to show you the truth, and that that truth set you free from the traditions of the church. Trust the Lord as your only and sufficient Savior and Lord. He will give you a precious relationship with Him and not a mere religion. I pray that you will believe in Him and receive His truth today.
[Source: https://bereanbeacon.org/es/ex-monja-encuentra-paz-con-dios/]
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