MY TESTIMONY: A CONFESSION OF GRACE, FAITH AND REDEMPTION
Learn about how Stu Sneen came to saving faith in Jesus Christ alone, and how you too can receive God's free gift of salvation.
This post is a departure from my typical content. But it’s my calling and my duty to share this message.
The night of January 5, 2022 changed my life forever.
But this story isn’t about me. Truly, it’s a story about God. It’s about who God is, what He did for me, and what He can do for you too. It’s a story of amazing grace and redemption. Now, I believe The Lord is calling me to share this story with everyone and shout it from the rooftops!
Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
“Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
My purpose (and prayer) for this message is:
- To honor and glorify God alone, and
- To reach people who need to hear about God’s love, grace, and free gift of salvation so that they may be drawn to Jesus Christ.
MY LIFE BEFORE JESUS
All throughout my life, I thought success was about getting educated, making money, and climbing the corporate career ladder. This is the world’s definition of success, and I bought the big lie. I chased after fancy job titles, status, and higher education. I earned money, acquired material items, achieved prestigious financial industry designations, and earned a master’s degree in December 2021. My life looked great externally. What else could I need? But none of this truly filled my soul. It was all vanity and chasing after the wind.
So I considered all my activities which my hands had done and the labor which I had exerted, and behold, all was futility and striving after wind, and there was no benefit under the sun.
Also, I was raised in Catholicism and attended the Catholic Church well into my 40s. I served as an usher, regularly donated money, and participated in all kinds of religious activities and sacraments. I thought I had to earn and keep God’s favor. But it was exhausting and deep inside I never felt good enough. And, while I was doing all the religious stuff, I never had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As a Catholic, I didn’t even know what that meant. The reality is I wasn’t living the Christian life. I didn’t give much time or thought to God outside of church service. I rarely opened the Bible. I wasn’t following Jesus. The focus was on myself, not others.
I was the ruler of my life…so I thought.
And I do recall having a lot of questions about Catholicism. Certain teachings and dogmas didn’t seem to add up. Why am I praying to Mary and other Saints? How could a Priest forgive and absolve my sins? Where did purgatory come from? Why is Jesus being sacrificed on an altar every Sunday? And I had even more questions.
Then one Sunday morning back in 2013, I ran across Pastor Charles Stanley preaching on TV. He was sharing a much different message than I had ever heard before. He proclaimed that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. He said that we can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ if we put our faith and trust in Him alone (apart from our works/deeds) for our salvation. I thought, “Wait…what? Say that again.” (This is the point where the music came to a screeching halt)!
I continued to watch Charles Stanley’s sermons. He read from the Bible, and it was so new and refreshing. I had never heard many of the Bible verses that he was reading. I wanted to hear more. But, many of the Bible verses directly opposed what I was taught as a Catholic. I wasn’t sure what to make of that, what to do, or who to ask. I felt deceived over all those years in Catholicism. But the truth is that I just believed what I had been taught growing up. I never asked questions, and I certainly never tested Catholicism against the Bible, as the Bereans had done (Acts 17:11). It was out of my own ignorance and naiveness. I also started to wonder how my family might respond if I pointed out that the Bible opposed many of the Catholic doctrines. Would that create a rift? How would all my extended Catholic family members respond? Would they be upset?
My questions only grew louder over several years. Eventually, it created a faith crisis and this led me to a crossroads.
HOW I MET JESUS
On the night of January 5, 2022, God intervened. I had a cardiac event at 3 AM. I suddenly awoke to sharp chest pains, uncontrollable shaking, chills, a dangerously high heart rate, and rising blood pressure. These were very abnormal symptoms because I was otherwise a healthy person. I thought I was having a heart attack. Shortly thereafter I found myself on a hospital bed in the emergency room. The doctors and nurses hooked me up to all kinds of wires and there were lots of beeping sounds. I was alone and afraid for my life. I couldn’t believe this was really happening to me. All I could do was cry out to God to save and heal me. As I lay in the ER bed, a Bible verse suddenly came to mind and I kept repeating it aloud:
These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
I knew that I was a helpless sinner and I couldn’t save myself. In fact, I was in a state of total depravity. In that moment I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone as my Savior. I surrendered my life to Jesus. My urgent prayer came from my heart, and right then and there on that bed I confessed with my mouth Jesus as Lord of my life. I believe that by God’s grace He saved me.
That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
I’m grateful to God that my health event turned out not to be a heart attack. However, I did have some complications that resulted in a 5-inch long blood clot in my left arm. Honestly, it was scary. I was put on blood thinner. The clot eventually diminished and I’m mostly healthy now, with a few lingering issues. Praise God! But my health isn’t the point of the story. God is the whole story.
This frightening event resulted in a spiritual awakening. I believe that God allowed me to chase money, career, status, and education for a time, and He laughed all the way. By God’s grace, He was patient with me. But, within 30 days of completing the master’s degree, He said to me “Enough, now you’re mine!” I believe God put me in that hospital bed on purpose to get my full attention. It worked!
MY LIFE SINCE I TRUSTED JESUS
After my health scare, it was time to get serious and find answers. I opened the Bible and started listening to sound Bible teaching. I learned even more that God’s Word truly teaches something much different than what I was taught growing up in the Catholic Church and Catechism. By the way, this is not a message intended to disparage Catholicism. I deeply love my Catholic family and friends. But I truthfully and honestly started to evaluate Catholicism against the Holy Scriptures. Now I encourage all professing Catholics to do the same. God opened my eyes. When I was confronted with the truth, I realized that I had to make a choice - Catholicism or the Bible. I chose the Bible over my religion because I trusted that God’s Word is the supreme authority for truth (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
God transformed me and led our family out of Catholicism and to a new Bible Church. I’ve turned around and now walk the narrow path. I have new interests and loves. I read the Bible every morning. I delight in knowing God and understanding what He requires of me. I love it and can’t get enough. I want more of the Lord every day. I’m also telling people about Jesus and His Gospel. I’m praying, talking with my family and friends about God’s Word, and I’m seeking to follow Jesus, my personal Savior and Lord. Now I ask this question for all aspects of my life, “What will glorify God the most?” Everything is now assessed through a biblical worldview lens.
This doesn’t imply that I’m suddenly perfect! Not even close. I still battle sin and stumble every day. But, now I’m more aware and I have a heightened sense of sin in my life. So, I’m confessing it to God and repenting of sin. I desire to be obedient to God, not to earn His favor, but out of pure gratitude for His saving grace and for what He has done for me.
MY APPEAL TO YOU
We are all searching for something. We all have a hole in our heart, and we desperately attempt to fill it up with worldly things - money, work, social media, alcohol, drugs, material items, etc. Those may provide temporary pleasure, but no amount of money or material items or relationships will provide eternal joy. It’s pure foolishness to chase the world because the world is passing away, yet the hole is still there.
The world is passing away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.
The pain runs deep. You know exactly what I’m talking about. We keep longing for something. Most of us don’t even tell anyone else that our soul feels empty. Friend, please understand that only God can fill your heart and soul. Only He can provide the eternal joy that we are desperately seeking.
God is Light. God is Holy and perfect in every way. God created man in His image and likeness so we would love and worship Him.
But, sin entered the world through Adam. As a result, we are all physically born as sinners and children of the devil. That is, we are spiritually dead. The penalty for our sin is death - eternal separation from God in hell. We are totally depraved and in desperate need of a savior. It doesn’t matter how much money we give or how many good deeds we do, we cannot save ourselves (Romans 3:28; Galatians 2:16).
That’s why we need to be born again, that is, born spiritually to become children of God (John 3:3). The Good News is that God loves us and provided us with the perfect Savior - Jesus Christ. He took on human form and came in the flesh. He lived a sinless life on earth. But Jesus was rejected by His people, and He was sentenced to die on a cross by crucifixion. His death was a sacrificial, atoning death because God accepted Jesus’ death as a perfect and sufficient sacrifice to cover all of our sin - past, present, and future. We broke the law, and we deserved death on the cross. But Jesus willingly took our place on the cross. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin debt in-full and freed us from the penalty of sin. His righteousness was imputed to us, while our sin was imputed to Him. A great exchange took place on the cross. That’s how much God loves us. And right before Jesus died, He said, “It is finished’ (John 19:30). There is no more sacrifice required.
On the third day, God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. He ascended into Heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. Jesus is the Sovereign Lord over all things (Matthew 28:18). The only way to Heaven is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone (John 14:6; Ephesians 2:8-9). You must confess your sins, repent, and have faith in the person and work of Jesus. You must believe this, accept it as true, and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. It’s not about religion. It’s about a relationship with God.
I publicly confess Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, the Lord and Savior of my life. What do you confess?
My prayer is that if you have never put your faith and trust in Jesus that you would not delay. It’s an urgent matter because you don’t know when your appointed death will come. It could be this very night. I urge you to strongly consider this invitation to come to Christ.
Glory to God and may the peace of Jesus Christ be with you.
Stuart J. Sneen
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