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Simon Wallis - Toronto, Ontario Print E-mail

Simon WallaceSimon Wallis - Toronto, Ontario

My name is Simon Wallis and I was born on December 6, 1974 in Toronto, Canada. This is the story of how I came to know Jesus Christ as my own personal Saviour. Because He has saved me and forgiven my sins, I know that I will be in heaven when I die. It is not because of any good in me or anything that I have done, but only because His love and grace lead Him to die and suffer for me on the cross.

The Bible declares that each one of us is going to meet God when we die, so after reading this ask yourself the question that I did: Am I ready?

About two hundred years ago, my family on my mother's side had founded an Anglican church in England, so we were always brought up with somewhat of a religious background. My parents came to Canada in 1972, and as children, my brother and I were required to go to church almost every week with my mom.

When I grew older, I went through Confirmation classes to "confirm my faith in God" and become a member of the church. I don't remember the Bible being opened during these classes to have God's way of salvation explained. I had been baptised as a child and after these sessions was now a member of the church, and yet I remained ignorant as to the very reason for which Christ came into the world: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," (1Tim 1:15). I was ignorant of the fact that I was a sinner, and that I needed saving from the consequences of my sins (Acts 4:12).

Like most young people it wasn't long before I lost interest in attending church, and eventually I stopped going. It was not until grade 11 in 1990 that I heard the Gospel preached, and discovered the truth about what the Bible says. A friend from school asked me to go to Gospel meetings being held at Seneca college by preachers named David Oliver and Eugene Higgins. When my friend handed me the invitation, going back to a "church" was just about the last thing that I wanted to do. I wanted to enjoy life, and I really wondered why on earth someone would be interested in such meetings. I said maybe I'd come but knew I had no intentions of going.

Each night my friend asked me to come and each night I made an excuse. But eventually I ran out of excuses and agreed to go. The meeting was pretty different from the church sermons I'd sat under. Although I don't remember exactly what they talked about, the preachers spoke as if they really were urgent about their message and that they meant what they were saying.

While reading the Bible with my friend, I gained a head knowledge of the facts: each one of us has sinned (Rom 3:23); our sins cannot enter into heaven (Rom 6:23, John 8:21); God will punish sins (Heb 9:27), but the Lord Jesus died in our place upon the cross of Calvary(1Pet 2:24, 3:18), and through faith in that work our sins can be forgiven (John 3:16). I knew all these things in my head, but not in my heart.

It wasn't until a few months later that I truly accepted Christ as my Saviour. I knew for sure that I was going to hell for my sins and if I died or the Lord returned before I got the matter settled, I would be lost forever. I opened up my Bible in earnest and read Romans chapter five. Verse eight says this, "God shows His love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." I knew I was a sinner deserving to be in hell, but I felt such relief to see right there in the Word of God that that was the very reason for which Christ died! He died for sinners and took the penalty for their sins so that they wouldn't have to be in hell, and because I was a sinner, I knew that included me!

Many times I have thought that I'm like the Samaritan woman by the well in John 8 because I can honestly say that there was no desire in me to know God or to seek after Him, but by His grace He sought out me. Whether you realize it or not, friend, He is seeking you too. "For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

The Bible says that each one of us has sinned and that our sins have made a great separation between us and God. Because God is holy, we can never enter heaven with our sins. Because God is just, we must be punished for our sins eternally. But because God is love, He sent His Son the Lord Jesus to die instead of us and take the punishment for our sins, providing a way of escape from His wrath.

Salvation is a free gift from God, not something you gain by doing good works, getting baptized, being a good neighbour or becoming religious. God offers you the forgiveness of sins today, and you are not guaranteed to be here tomorrow. Tell me, could there be anything better than knowing you're going to heaven? Are you ready to meet God?

 


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