Jarrod’s Story

“For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” -Titus 3:3-7

Those verses from Paul’s letter to Titus basically reflect my own testimony. The only difference is that I, unlike Paul, have had the privilege of knowing Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior for my entire life. I believe God saved me when I was baptized into His name as a baby. I know I was in need of God’s grace even then as I came into this world as an adorable little sinner, just like King David confessed in Psalm 51:5, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

The faith that the Holy Spirit produced in me when I was baptized was nurtured and fed by my parents and church family. I grew up in a family that spent time together regularly in Bible-reading and in prayer. My best friends were the boys and girls in my Sunday school class, specifically a few good friends. However, I went to school in a different town than them, and many of my school friends had very different values. By the time I was a freshman in high school, it mattered more to me what my high school peers thought of me than living my life according to God’s will. I never got drunk at the parties or slept around (these are the obvious sinful things people think of), but my life was no less sinful than those who were engaging in those activities. I found out that I could be just as popular by being funny and entertaining. Many times I made people laugh by making fun of others. I was part of the majority group which made school life awful for a small minority. I didn’t come to their defense or reach out to them in love. I also entered into a dating relationship with a nice Christian girl. It soon became my goal in that relationship to physically go as far as possible before engaging in sin. Well, my judgment was obscured by lustful passions and it is clear to me now that what we were doing was sinful, even if no one took their clothes off. I also began to look at internet pornography. As the verse above said, I was becoming a slave to passions and pleasures.

But God, who always looks out for me and wants what’s best for me, continually convicted me of my sinful ways in high school. However, I didn’t know how to overcome temptation. Many times I lacked the desire to overcome temptation, but many times I did desire to, but I wouldn’t succeed. Thank God for my parents who prayed for me constantly, and for my pastor and youth pastor, who together fed me the Word of God and helped me see what the abundant life, which Christ gives us, is all about. It turns out I was trying to hard. That’s right, I was trying to have victory over sin, when all along it was Jesus Christ alone who had the power over sin. I eventually surrendered control of my life over to Jesus. It was very hard; I had to let go of things I loved: popularity, sexual gratification, and even spiritual stature (hard to believe, but I was a well-respected Christian …and I loved it). Once I let go of everything except for my Lord and Savior, He began to do work in my life like I had never experienced before.

By God’s grace, I am now 23 years old and have been free from the bondage of continual, unbeatable sin in my life. Sure, I still fall flat on my face, but I know that God has forgiven me because Jesus has paid the price for my sins. Not only that, but Jesus gives me victory over sin each day and, by His strength, I am able to love and serve others over myself. This is truly a work of God. Praise Him!