If I told you about
my past you might be shocked, at least those of you who have only known me as a
preacher of God's word. But the reality is that it was in my late twenties that
Christ saved me and changed me. Prior to Christ you probably would not have
wanted to know me and if you did know me you might not have admitted it.
There have been plenty of times when
someone will find out that I'm a preacher and think that I've never heard a swear
word before or that I have never sinned, at least in any really bad way. I
always tell them that I am not sinless even today and I have not always been a
Christian. 
The Apostle Paul talks about Christians
and their lives prior to Christ and he says "...do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the
kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor
the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom
of God. And such were some of you.[1]
Did you notice that last part "AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU". Well, that
list certainly isn't exhaustive in any way, but it illustrates the truth that
prior to being born again we were all ungodly sinners and I was no exception.
Let me confess that I lied
and stole. I remember stealing things that I did not need and in fact had the money
to buy. Why did I steal these things? Because I could. I was an abuser of alcohol
and on occasion did drugs (does that shock you). For me alcohol was awesome! I
drank most nights and would drink till I passed out. There were even times I
drank so much I don't remember most of the night. Not only did I drink, but I
was an angry drunk, not the kind of person you would want to be around. I was
sexually immoral, perverse and had a mouth on me worse than a trucker. I held grudges
and gossiped about people (And other things that I can't remember right now). 
Someone might say
"Don't say those things about yourself. You need to have a positive
attitude. You were not that bad. Hey, you are just human". The truth is
the truth and sometimes the truth hurts.
Finally, in my late
twenties I was confronted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank God almighty
that someone was brave enough and bold enough to tell me, this loser, this
miserable drunk, nobody about Jesus. The dark world of guilt and shame,
ungodliness and fear was about to be parted. The Gospel brings with it clarity.
You get a good long look at yourself and let me tell you it is not pretty to
look at. But the good news, no, the great news is that in Jesus that old man
dies and is recreated. WOW! Or to use a religious sounding word
"Hallelujah". 
I'm not who I used to be;
Jamie (nickname growing up), the thug, immoral, unhappy, confused, bitter, hate
filled man is dead. He died around 2001and in his place a child of God was
born.
But you were washed, you were sanctified, you
were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our
God. [2]
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from
God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself... [3]
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized
into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with
him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the
dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. [4]
So I was not born a
Christian, I know what it is like to live a life devoted to sin and ungodliness
and I am no better than anyone else. I am not great, Jesus is. The difference
between a Christian and a non-Christian (Over simplification coming) is that
the Christian has been forgiven while the non-Christian is still in their sins.
I am not sinless today
(shocker), I fail at times and I still sin, but my life has been devoted to
Jesus. He makes me new, he cleanses me and is still changing me. If you see
anything in me that is good, I can assure you it does not come from me, it is
Jesus who gets the credit. And if you see anything ungodly in me, well, I am
ashamed of it but Jesus is working on it. Remember left to myself, I was that
old man of sin and suffering.
Here is the good news for
you; if you are not in Christ, you too can be changed. If you turn in
repentance and put on Christ in baptism you too will be forgiven and made a new
creation in Christ.
If you are a Christian, do
not forget that you needed saving as well. Sometimes the Christian can get an attitude
of superiority, become prideful or arrogant. That's not Christ-like. No one ever saved themselves.
[1] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Co
6:9–11.
[2] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 1 Co
6:11.
[3] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), 2 Co
5:17–18.
[4] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ro 6:3–4.
