My Gospel Story
David Izumi Erhunwunose Ehigiator
I came to Christ through Andrew Tate (who promotes a twisted version of masculinity). After a devastating break up with a liberal atheist girlfriend, I fell into a state of depression and I was searching to fill my heart with something and that’s how I came across hyper masculinity content.
I took a keen interest to Andrew Tate and his brothers and for the most part I tried to model my life after their ways. I remember he used to mock atheists for believing in absurd ideas like evolution; and how the atheistic worldview is bad for society (which I still agree with). But growing up I was around a lot of Christians, so I remember hearing countless testimonies of people at church about how Jesus loved them so much and rescued them when they were at the lowest points in their lives.
So I thought since Andrew talks about God and I’m also at the lowest point in my life, let me see who Jesus is truly all about. And I started reading the Word of God and began praying for the next couple of months.
But I had no conviction over my sins or truly understood the nature of God.
It was then that I stumbled across Pastor Voddie Baucham jr and heard the Gospel for the first time.
In Psalms 51:1-2 it says, “1. Have mercy on me, oh God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquities, and cleanse me from my sins.”
This is the verse that comes to mind when I think about what Christ has accomplished in my life through His righteous life and substitutionary death.
My salvation and sanctification is really dependent on Christ and Christ alone.
As 2 Corinthians 5: 21 says, “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (ESV). I came to understand that Christ left heaven, humbled Himself by taking on sinful flesh, being born to the home of a common carpenter, lived righteously under the law, then laid down His life to be killed in the worst imaginable way possible reserved for the vilest of sinners (like me); staying on the cross even while being mocked, all the while being in the very form of God. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down His life for His friends” as John 15: 13 says.
I believe that Jesus died for all of us even while we were His enemies.
And because we have been joined with Him we have been reconciled with God! So, after I heard the Gospel I was convicted of my sins and understood how much I deserved the wrath of God to be poured out on me. But also with the understanding of what I deserved apart from Christ, I also came to understand what the grace, mercy and love of God truly was! And at that moment I had an assurance of my salvation.
Today, I know that with a new heart comes new desires.
I desired to be part of a local church and worship and serve God’s people. So I was glad to find out that the membership requirement included baptism and I was baptised as a follower of Jesus two weeks ago. It was a really wonderful experience. And I give all the glory to GOD!
David was recently baptized and welcomed into church membership.