Testimony of Barry K
Hello my name is Barry K I was born in 1986 and born-again in the year
2003. After I was born-again I became a member of the
Background -
My life began like most Irish people, being christened as a few month old baby into the Catholic Church in 1986.
Despite being at quite a few Mass ceremonies, Church Festivals, and religious classes, I found very little information about anything spiritual. The information I did learn seemed to me to have no relevance to my life at all.
Growing up, my spiritual life was limited to saying the Catholic “night prayer” every night and “enduring” Mass once a week. Jesus, God, the Bible and anything spiritual were utterly “un-cool” and they were to be avoided being talked about around friends at all costs!
Those were my feelings until I was a young teenager. I couldn’t handle the pressures of being a teenager on my own so I tried turning to God a bit more, the only way I knew how. I started paying attention in Mass and saying more repetitious prayers. If I never had any troubles I would never have thought twice about God, so I thank Him for them too.
My Religion -
My admiration for Jesus grew through my teenage years as I began to realise the wickedness of the world. People hadn’t changed since they crucified Christ. But I thought I was one of the good ones because I attended Mass! I thought I was going straight to heaven when I died.
However, the more I went to Mass the more I realised that God was NOT there. I could barely make out what the Priest was mumbling through the microphone (it didn’t sound like he cared too much anyway). The people repeated prayers without paying the slightest attention to what they were saying. We were taught to venerate plastic images, pictures, relics, water, beads, crucifixes and handkerchiefs. We were instructed to turn to our pope, our priest, our lady, dead saints, dead grandmothers, to seek redemption from sin but hardly ever to GOD HIMSELF! (1Peter 1:8)
I was later to find that God clearly expresses His
grief at people turning to those things in the Bible (part of the Ten
Commandments).
After a brief look into Islam I prayed earnestly for God to just show me the truth so I wouldn’t end up in hell. I actually talked with Him in my own words this time!
Being Born-Again -
It was at this time I met a born-again Christian for the first time. He told me that I was NOT going to heaven - without being born again (John 3:3). I shrugged it off completely until I started studying the Bible more seriously and closely. I saw for the first time the undeniable doctrine of the new birth. It was all over the New Testament but I had missed it every time! I found that the Bible says that one cannot go to heaven based on anything he’s done or hasn’t done. He can only be saved by admitting his sinfulness and unworthiness, repenting of his trust in useless good deeds, and trusting ONLY on Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for his entry into heaven. I was amazed at how simple it was.
I prayed for Jesus to forgive my sin and trusted Him as my PERSONAL Saviour when I was 17 years old.
After I was saved from hell I had great peace to know that I was finally following God’s rules (the Bible) instead of man’s rules. I am now following Jesus above the pope, priests, nuns, archbishops, cardinals, or any other mortal leader. And most importantly, I have followed God’s way to heaven instead of man’s way (which would have led to everlasting fire and despair).
I don’t want to make it sound like it was easy leaving
the Catholic Church in which I was raised. In fact it was very
difficult. It was hard getting used to a Bible believing
Barry K