How old were you when you were saved?

[Mr. Hall]

Raised in a strict fundamentalist household, I recall getting saved over and over again as a child, just to be sure I got it right.  I lived in abject terror of the second coming and being left behind.  When I was around 15, a couple of circuit preachers began a so-called “series of meetings” at our place of worship.  These gospel meetings took place six nights a week for a period of about six weeks straight.  They included real “hell-fire” sermons which could be quite terrifying.  People I knew began getting saved around me and I began to question my own salvation.  The two preachers took me aside and asked me to describe my salvation experience.  I told them that I had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior.  After I finished the elder of the two announced that he was afraid that I was not saved because he did not think I had been “convicted” of my sin.  How he knew this he did not say, nor was a Scriptural basis for the conviction requirement provided, but of course I took his words to heart.  So I muddled along for a few days feeling tremendous pressure to get saved.  After a time I made a profession of salvation.  The normal course of events was for the newly saved to get baptized by immersion, a prerequisite for joining the “assembly” and participating in the worship service.  But I was still uncertain of my salvation and did not request baptism, much to the surprise of my parents and the other adults in my life.  I continued on agonizing about all this for a couple of years until one day I said to myself in so many words “I’m sick of this and I’m not going to worry about it anymore.”  A sense of peace came over me immediately and stayed.  For many years I thought the Spirit of God had ceased striving with me (Genesis 6:3). 

In time I joined the military and left home for good, still believing the fundamentalist teachings of my youth but somehow unable to come to grips with them or apply them in my own life.  With the passage of time and exposure to other cultures, ideas, and beliefs I began to seriously question many of those teachings and eventually set them aside. 

Having said all this, I don’t question the sincerity of the others who posted up there.  But this is how it played out for me.


$

 

[christundivided]

Raised in a strict fundamentalist household, I recall getting saved over and over again as a child, just to be sure I got it right.  I lived in abject terror of the second coming and being left behind.  When I was around 15, a couple of circuit preachers began a so-called “series of meetings” at our place of worship.  These gospel meetings took place six nights a week for a period of about six weeks straight.  They included real “hell-fire” sermons which could be quite terrifying.  People I knew began getting saved around me and I began to question my own salvation.  The two preachers took me aside and asked me to describe my salvation experience.  I told them that I had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior.  After I finished the elder of the two announced that he was afraid that I was not saved because he did not think I had been “convicted” of my sin.  How he knew this he did not say, nor was a Scriptural basis for the conviction requirement provided, but of course I took his words to heart.  So I muddled along for a few days feeling tremendous pressure to get saved.  After a time I made a profession of salvation.  The normal course of events was for the newly saved to get baptized by immersion, a prerequisite for joining the “assembly” and participating in the worship service.  But I was still uncertain of my salvation and did not request baptism, much to the surprise of my parents and the other adults in my life.  I continued on agonizing about all this for a couple of years until one day I said to myself in so many words “I’m sick of this and I’m not going to worry about it anymore.”  A sense of peace came over me immediately and stayed.  For many years I thought the Spirit of God had ceased striving with me (Genesis 6:3). 

In time I joined the military and left home for good, still believing the fundamentalist teachings of my youth but somehow unable to come to grips with them or apply them in my own life.  With the passage of time and exposure to other cultures, ideas, and beliefs I began to seriously question many of those teachings and eventually set them aside. 

Having said all this, I don’t question the sincerity of the others who posted up there.  But this is how it played out for me.


$

To answer your specific question, I was 17.

I know this going to sound harsh but here goes. Its my humble opinion, that those who don't know they're saved..... probably aren't saved. I can give several reasons why, but I would ask if you're genuinely willing to consider the evidence or are you just looking to convert someone to you're way of thinking?

I will give one reason I believe this.

Joh 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,

Christ's "sheep" know the voice of the "Master" and the "Master" knows His sheep. Such a loving relationship results in assurance of faith. Even if a real sheep doubts. All that sheep has to do is talk to the "Master". Christ comforts His own.

 

[Smellin Coffee]

Jesus said,

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[f] you did it to me.’

Seems to me there might be some who will be surprised by their own entrance into heaven. Not exactly people mentioned here who seem to be looking forward to it, nor working for eternal reward. They lived their lives in benevolence and let Jesus make the final determination.

 

[christundivided]

Jesus said,

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[f] you did it to me.’

Seems to me there might be some who will be surprised by their own entrance into heaven. Not exactly people mentioned here who seem to be looking forward to it, nor working for eternal reward. They lived their lives in benevolence and let Jesus make the final determination.

The text you referenced doesn't' show anyone "surprised" about their "own entrance". They had already been divided and separated. They were surprised how Christ Himself saw their benevolent actions toward "his brothers" as applying to Him.

What is your take on John 10:27? Seems pretty clear to me. I don't see any exceptions mentioned in the verse.... nor any preceding or proceeding from the discourse.

 

[Smellin Coffee]

Jesus said,

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[f] you did it to me.’

Seems to me there might be some who will be surprised by their own entrance into heaven. Not exactly people mentioned here who seem to be looking forward to it, nor working for eternal reward. They lived their lives in benevolence and let Jesus make the final determination.

The text you referenced doesn't' show anyone "surprised" about their "own entrance". They had already been divided and separated. They were surprised how Christ Himself saw their benevolent actions toward "his brothers" as applying to Him.

What is your take on John 10:27? Seems pretty clear to me. I don't see any exceptions mentioned in the verse.... nor any preceding or proceeding from the discourse.

In Matthew 25, the separation occured because of their deeds. He concludes by saying, "And these (goats) will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” The "righteous" are those "sheep" who act in benevolence.

John 10:27 does not say exactly when the sheep will hear and be gathered. Perhaps it is at the judgement.

I believe the context Jesus is talking in John 10 about is assurance, not necessarily identification in being "saved". The verb tenses show continuation. Those that "keep listening" and "keep following" won't be snatched from the Father's hand. Contrast would be that those who don't "keep listening" and "keep following" run that risk, even if they "believe" and have "faith alone". They may be at eternal risk.

 

[christundivided]

Jesus said,

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,[f] you did it to me.’

Seems to me there might be some who will be surprised by their own entrance into heaven. Not exactly people mentioned here who seem to be looking forward to it, nor working for eternal reward. They lived their lives in benevolence and let Jesus make the final determination.

The text you referenced doesn't' show anyone "surprised" about their "own entrance". They had already been divided and separated. They were surprised how Christ Himself saw their benevolent actions toward "his brothers" as applying to Him.

What is your take on John 10:27? Seems pretty clear to me. I don't see any exceptions mentioned in the verse.... nor any preceding or proceeding from the discourse.

John 10:27 does not say exactly when the sheep will hear and be gathered. Perhaps it is at the judgement.

Verse 26 is pretty clear.

Joh 10:26  But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

There is no need to look into the future to find out "whom" Christ is speaking.

I believe the context Jesus is talking in John 10 about is assurance, not necessarily identification in being "saved". The verb tenses show continuation. Those that "keep listening" and "keep following" won't be snatched from the Father's hand. Contrast would be that those who don't "keep listening" and "keep following" run that risk, even if they "believe" and have "faith alone". They may be at eternal risk.

Jesus is rather clear why "these" shall not be snatched from the Father's hand.

Joh 10:29  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all;

thus....

no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

Whatever you believe about a "verb tense" doesn't change the plain "speech" presented.

 

[Mr. Hall]

To answer your specific question, I was 17.

I know this going to sound harsh but here goes. Its my humble opinion, that those who don't know they're saved..... probably aren't saved. I can give several reasons why, but I would ask if you're genuinely willing to consider the evidence or are you just looking to convert someone to you're way of thinking?

I will give one reason I believe this.

Joh 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,

Christ's "sheep" know the voice of the "Master" and the "Master" knows His sheep. Such a loving relationship results in assurance of faith. Even if a real sheep doubts. All that sheep has to do is talk to the "Master". Christ comforts His own.

I'm not trying to convert anyone to my way of thinking, just trying to be honest, and I am certainly willing to consider any evidence.  I spent many years well into my adulthood agonizing about these matters.  All of my siblings and most of my close relatives are Christian fundamentalists or evangelicals.  They are fine, upstanding people and I'm grateful to have them, but there isn't the closeness between us that there should be.  There is an undefined wall between us which we don't talk about but that we know is there.  And this is an indication of my main problem with the teachings of my youth, i.e., the notion that people who have not had a proscribed conversion experience are not true Christians no matter what they profess to believe about Jesus of Nazareth.  Not that there's anything wrong with a conversion experience, but maybe there are different paths to being or becoming a Christian.

$

 

[Mr. Hall]

and then there are others who it seems can never be convinced no matter how much they learn or what they are shown from Scripture... . and others still, who seem only interested in asking questions for the purpose of trying to trip or confuse those of us who do believe or destroy our faith...... and they use every trick in the book in their attempts to do that... from open attack and ridicule to feigned friendship and flattery.... whatever they think will work... . ..  .. sometimes they even come pretending to be a lost and troubled soul seeking answers.. only to turn their knives on us once they have gained our confidence.....  like mr hall, they usually don;t question our sincerity... . but they frequently assault our intelligence or declare our testimony to be nonsense asserting we couldn;t have possibly been able to understand what we say we did at the age we say we did it......

it;s like they say.... to those without faith no explanation will ever be sufficient... . and for those with faith no explanation is needed... ..  sometimes all we can do for those without faith is pray that God will open their eyes.. ... as He did ours....

Tripping, confusing, destruction of faith, trickery, ridicule, feigned friendship, flattery, knife wielding, assaults on intelligence, assertions of nonsense:  None of these things were intended.  Just an attempt at an honest post regarding a subject which was and still is a significant part of my life experience.

$

 

[Al]

Raised in a strict fundamentalist household, I recall getting saved over and over again as a child, just to be sure I got it right.  I lived in abject terror of the second coming and being left behind.  When I was around 15, a couple of circuit preachers began a so-called “series of meetings” at our place of worship.  These gospel meetings took place six nights a week for a period of about six weeks straight.  They included real “hell-fire” sermons which could be quite terrifying.  People I knew began getting saved around me and I began to question my own salvation.  The two preachers took me aside and asked me to describe my salvation experience.  I told them that I had accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior.  After I finished the elder of the two announced that he was afraid that I was not saved because he did not think I had been “convicted” of my sin.  How he knew this he did not say, nor was a Scriptural basis for the conviction requirement provided, but of course I took his words to heart.  So I muddled along for a few days feeling tremendous pressure to get saved.  After a time I made a profession of salvation.  The normal course of events was for the newly saved to get baptized by immersion, a prerequisite for joining the “assembly” and participating in the worship service.  But I was still uncertain of my salvation and did not request baptism, much to the surprise of my parents and the other adults in my life.  I continued on agonizing about all this for a couple of years until one day I said to myself in so many words “I’m sick of this and I’m not going to worry about it anymore.”  A sense of peace came over me immediately and stayed.  For many years I thought the Spirit of God had ceased striving with me (Genesis 6:3). 

In time I joined the military and left home for good, still believing the fundamentalist teachings of my youth but somehow unable to come to grips with them or apply them in my own life.  With the passage of time and exposure to other cultures, ideas, and beliefs I began to seriously question many of those teachings and eventually set them aside. 

Having said all this, I don’t question the sincerity of the others who posted up there.  But this is how it played out for me.


$

Mr Hall,


Do you believe, today, that there is such a thing as needing to be saved from something?
I also "got saved" as a result of the rapture story.

Just so you know me, Al is my real name. You once knew me as Gringo. (Gringo has been put into the sock drawer where he is wound up in another sock and can't get out)

I had dreamed that the rapture occurred and I was left behind. For two weeks, I was "under conviction" until such time that I asked Christ to save me.

At one time in my life, those things were real to me just as they were to you.

 

[Mr. Hall]

Good morning Al:

Interesting question.  No, I don't feel the need to be saved from anything.  If I was a drug addict, alcoholic, or compulsive gambler I guess I might feel differently.  Even in my youth when I was immersed in fundamentalist beliefs, I didn't really understand why I had to be "saved."  From what?    I hadn't done anything other than show up on the planet unannounced and through no initiative on my part.  Did a Creator create us knowing full well ahead of time that we had to be saved from ourselves or else would suffer eternal torment?    This notion is and was incomprehensible to me.  Yet, I know some really smart and successful adults who are still caught up in this thing.  Who knows?  Maybe they're right.

$

 

[Al]

Welcome back, Al!

Thank you. I hope you FIL is doing better.

 

[penhobby]

Fear is the primary selling point of Christianity. And faith is the hook that imprisons and enslaves the mind, because the first function of faith is to discourage the questioning mind. This is not supposition on my part.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." -Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

Seems rather convenient doesn't it?

To answer the OP. I had many conversion moments, too many to count, but the last time was when I was sixteen.

 

[prophet]

Fear is the primary selling point of Christianity. And faith is the hook that imprisons and enslaves the mind, because the first function of faith is to discourage the questioning mind. This is not supposition on my part.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." -Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

Seems rather convenient doesn't it?

To answer the OP. I had many conversion moments, too many to count, but the last time was when I was sixteen.

No, it doesn't seem convenient, and it has alienated me from nearly all of my family and youthful acquaintances.
Fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in Hell.  Tell that to a complete stranger, and you are in for a wild ride.  Win lose or draw, the reactions cover the whole spectrum. 
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of learning, understanding, and good decision making. 
The fear of man brings a snare.
Many people raised in fundamentalism feared the disapproval or anger of some 'leader' in their life, so they 'got saved' over and over again.
Just thoughts in reaction to the thread.

Anishinabe

 

[PappaBear]

To answer your specific question, I was 17.

I know this going to sound harsh but here goes. Its my humble opinion, that those who don't know they're saved..... probably aren't saved. I can give several reasons why, but I would ask if you're genuinely willing to consider the evidence or are you just looking to convert someone to you're way of thinking?

I will give one reason I believe this.

Joh 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them,

Christ's "sheep" know the voice of the "Master" and the "Master" knows His sheep. Such a loving relationship results in assurance of faith. Even if a real sheep doubts. All that sheep has to do is talk to the "Master". Christ comforts His own.

I was 8.  But I went through a long period of doubt myself, until I was about 15 or 16.  It is late for me at the moment, and I am very tired.  I have more I want to contribute on this subject, but it will have to wait awhile.  I want to make a short post as a marker here to bring me back to this thread later.

cud, I am surprised.  Your answer reveals a depth of understanding and spirituality which I frankly did not expect from you.  It is a great post.  Please allow me to bring up one illustration for you to consider and I would enjoy your comment on it.  What about John the Baptist?  After proclaiming Christ as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, he seems to have suffered some misgivings.  Recorded in Matt. 11 and Luke 7, while in prison awaiting his soon martyrdom, in what appears to be a discouraged mindset, he calls his disciples to send them to Christ with the question, "Art thou he, or do we look for another?"  How do you resolve that period of obvious doubt with your answer?

 

[wtyson]

11.

 

[Timothy]

I professed faith in Jesus when I was just a boy. But, since then, I have come to know I truly believe in my heart the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My faith grows each day!

 

[Timothy]

Fear is the primary selling point of Christianity. And faith is the hook that imprisons and enslaves the mind, because the first function of faith is to discourage the questioning mind. This is not supposition on my part.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." -Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)

Seems rather convenient doesn't it?

To answer the OP. I had many conversion moments, too many to count, but the last time was when I was sixteen.

Just finished watching Now You See Me. Not sure you watched that yet. But, for some reason I thought about the abusers of Christianity after watching that movie. The men and women who trick the mind, get what they want, and in the end hurt people.

Jesus Christ wasn't a trickster, but the Son of God. His word is real and honest and cuts to the heart of the matter. Even he said we would have tribulation here on earth - but the peace would be on the inside.

Faith isn't a cheap trick. It doesn't enslave the mind. Only men do that - and they do it in "Jesus" name.

 

[JrChurch]

Faith isn't a cheap trick. It doesn't enslave the mind. Only men do that - and they do it in "Jesus" name.

Great point.

 

[Pastork]

The Lord graciously saved me when I was twenty years old and serving in the U.S. Navy. Although I had been going to church most of my life and wanted to know the Lord Jesus as my Savior, I believed that salvation was based upon my own efforts to live righteously and thus to prove my faith to God. This false belief was easy for me to accept, especially given several factors in my childhood. For example, I came from a broken home and experienced much isolation and loneliness. I just could not bring myself to believe that anyone could love me just as I was. This led me to frequent bouts with deep depression throughout my childhood and into my adult years.

However, through the witness of believers in my life, and through His Holy Word, the Lord opened my eyes to the truth that He loved me even though I did not and never could deserve it. He showed me that I could never earn His love and forgiveness, and that I didn't have to try. I praise God for His saving grace, by which He enabled me to trust in Him alone for salvation! Through his work in my heart, I came to understand that the Lord Jesus has done all that needs to be done for my salvation through His sinless life, atoning death, and resurrection from the dead.

 

[Izdaari]

I was 12, in a GARBC Sunday School. I was going on my own, my parents weren't especially religious.  When I came home afterwards, I was all gushy and happy about it, and they were like "That's nice, dear. What would you like for lunch?"

That GARBC church is my sole claim to ever having been fundamental Baptist. It wasn't long before I began to have doubts about some things my church taught, such as literal 7-day creation, KJVO, etc., and by 14 or so, I wqs out of the Christian fold and into open-minded seeker mode. 

I was a geeky bookworm kind of kid, and I hit the library (we didn't have computers) and researched all the world religions, secular philosophies, New Age paths and parapsychology. By 18, I still hadn't found much I could believe in, and was an agnostic pondering atheism.  But with the help of Alan Watts, who introduced me to Zen, Taoism and Vedanta, and C.S. Lewis who showed me that Christianity could make sense, I found my way back to following Christ by 21, when I was in college. Though I've been though a number of denominations since then, I have always been Anglican at heart, no doubt due to Lewis.  And so I've finally arrived at the right church for me, The Episcopal Church. And I still don't have any use for literal 7-day Creationism or KJVO.