I should like to bring out the fact that many people have religion, without Christ. This was my experience, and I will try to relate, in my own words, how I was brought to Christ.
I was reared up in the Roman Catholic faith and taught that it was the only true and saving faith. I lived thus until I married, which took me to a different creed, as my husband was a Lutheran. After my marriage I began to get troubled about my soul, as I knew that I did not have peace with God and I was afraid that I had left the only true church. My husband was a faithful Lutheran, and as I was thirsty and hungry for righteousness, I joined his church in the hope that I might find peace. This also proved to be in vain, as I had no peace. Religion evidently did not satisfy me.
Prayer seemed to be my only recourse, so I prayed without ceasing and begged God to have mercy on me. I did not want to be lost for all eternity, and for several years I prayed that God would show me by the work of the Holy Spirit whether I was wandering on the broad road that leadeth to destruction, or on the narrow road that leadeth to life. I wanted to be certain, for I was troubled about my soul and wanted to be sure where I would spend eternity.
Thank God, he answered my prayers, as He always does when they come from the heart.
"The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." Psa. 34:18.
Being hungry and thirsty for righteousness, I attended some gospel meetings held in our town, and I came to the conclusion that I was spiritually blind as regards God's way of salvation. The scripture that awoke me was: "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." Isa. 64:6.
When I let go of self-righteousness, I found that I did not have Christ, that I had not given Christ His proper place in my heart. I was not trusting in the precious blood of Christ, which alone can save. As I was very anxious to have peace, I humbled myself before God, and when I pleaded guilty and took the lost sinner's place, God in his mercy revealed to me His only begotten Son, Who bore my sins on the cross of Calvary, and paid my debt with His own precious blood, that I might go free. I turned away from self, and by faith looked to the finished work on the Cross of Calvary which was done for me; and when I accepted Christ as my own personal Savior, and claimed His righteousness as my own, I came into possession of the peace that passeth all understanding. The darkness that I had been groping around in all these years had passed away, and the true light now shines, as Jesus is the Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
My greatest desire now is to bring others to Christ, as it brings such perfect peace to know that you have eternal life, that you have passed from death unto life, and that you shall not come into condemnation, as we read in John 5:24. Now I pray that many may be brought to Christ, and that so-called Christians may ask themselves if they have the assurance of eternal life, as all true believers have, according to 1 John 5:13.
I find that self-righteousness is the hope of many so-called Christians today. Ask them about the way of salvation and the answer will be generally something like this: "Do the best you can, go to church, lead a good moral life, do good works," and so on. These are the things I also used to trust in, but though these things are right in themselves, God says, that without Christ, they are only filthy rags.
In order to obtain eternal life, you will have to accept it as a gift, because God says distinctly in Eph. 2:8:
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”
Make sure that you possess this gift and do not merely profess to have it.
Lord, while our souls in faith repose,
Upon Thy precious blood,
Peace like an even river flows,
And mercy like a flood.