back to index2021-11-28 Tiffany Yu Baptism Testimony
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I've been attending Berean for eight years and I'm going to be sharing my testimony. 00:00:13.720 |
I grew up in a Christian household and was blessed to have heard the gospel. 00:00:17.440 |
I'm so thankful that my father shared the gospel with me on many occasions before I 00:00:24.080 |
My parents and my Sunday school teacher shared a gospel tract with me at an early age and 00:00:30.640 |
I wrote that date down in my Bible and I assumed I was a Christian. 00:00:35.020 |
At that time, I had no reason to question or to test my faith. 00:00:39.280 |
I grew up attending VBS every year and participated in baptism in high school without really questioning 00:00:46.740 |
In the past five years, I've wrestled with serious doubts of whether I was a genuine 00:00:54.040 |
In reflecting, prayer, wrestling with God's word, carefully examining biblical benchmarks 00:00:59.600 |
and encouragement from my church body, I've come to the conclusion that at the time of 00:01:04.400 |
my baptism back in high school, I'd intellectually acknowledged the gospel and got baptized because 00:01:10.160 |
it was what was considered noble in the community. 00:01:13.600 |
The following are biblical benchmarks I have carefully examined to conclude I was not a 00:01:21.720 |
Number one, I don't recall having a personal relationship with God. 00:01:25.600 |
The gospel means being reconciled to a proper relationship with a holy God. 00:01:30.160 |
My definition of being Christian was attending church, obeying my parents, and being a good 00:01:38.440 |
I believe sin only encompassed overt acts like stealing, murdering, cheating. 00:01:43.440 |
I knew I was not perfect, but I also believed I was a good child. 00:01:46.800 |
I was well-mannered, a rule follower, and obeyed my parents. 00:01:53.040 |
Third, I did not understand the authority and power of God. 00:01:59.800 |
Although I was exposed to the Bible at an early age, it was all head knowledge, and 00:02:04.320 |
I never understood why I was memorizing these verses or did I see a need to apply these 00:02:11.080 |
Fourth, I did not experience freedom from sin and joy in Christ as it says in Romans 00:02:17.080 |
Romans 8, 1-2 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ 00:02:22.840 |
The law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and 00:02:30.800 |
I did not have the desire to increase in my love for Christ. 00:02:36.000 |
On the outside, I was a Christian since I was so involved and I wanted to be seen by 00:02:41.840 |
But internally, my desires didn't concern Christ. 00:02:45.240 |
Reflecting back, I was not living for, by, and through God. 00:02:48.680 |
In high school, I felt a lot of pressure to do well and I had a lot of pride in my grades 00:02:54.920 |
I was surrounded by a group of ambitious and intelligent friends, and surrounded by them, 00:02:59.120 |
I strove to be very academically focused just like them, and I wanted to work hard. 00:03:04.080 |
I easily entangled my identity in wanting to attend a good college, get a good job, 00:03:10.720 |
In college, I checked out Berean on one Sunday in my freshman year, and I had a very hard 00:03:14.720 |
time following along with Pastor Peter through his expository preaching. 00:03:18.240 |
I wasn't used to the style of preaching and I didn't understand why he was cross-referencing 00:03:24.840 |
I later decided that Berean was probably not the right church for me. 00:03:28.680 |
But through the Lord's sovereignty, one of my friends was taking the BCC membership class 00:03:32.760 |
the next summer, so I revisited Berean and checked it out with my friend Jessica. 00:03:37.440 |
That summer, I remember how I had been so convicted by Pastor Peter's preaching from 00:03:42.560 |
In reflecting, I saw how shallow my understanding of God was. 00:03:47.200 |
In my sophomore year, I began to understand God's attributes of his love, faithfulness, 00:03:51.320 |
grace, and holiness through his word, and studying through the Book of Romans. 00:03:56.360 |
Reading the holiness of God that year in small groups transformed my understanding of God's 00:04:02.520 |
Growing up in the church, I often heard about God's grace, but I had not personally experienced 00:04:06.640 |
his true grace until I understood the depth of my sin. 00:04:10.440 |
God revealed that the internal sins of my heart offended him just as much as any overt 00:04:14.560 |
sin as all of my sins, no matter big, small, they were all acts of treason and offensive 00:04:22.860 |
I was so far from his perfect standard and there was nothing I could do to restore my 00:04:26.920 |
relationship with God except through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. 00:04:32.040 |
God opened my eyes and heart to recognize how Christ, perfect and righteous, was the 00:04:36.240 |
only mediator who could advocate and serve as a propitiation to atone for my sins. 00:04:42.480 |
In repentance, I experienced the freedom from sin and joy in Christ as I saw how God loved 00:04:46.880 |
me so much to sacrifice his only son for my sake. 00:04:50.980 |
I can attest that God has truly been faithful and gracious through all seasons of my life, 00:04:55.600 |
in seasons of joy and also in seasons of tribulation and trials. 00:05:00.020 |
He has softened my heart to recognize my identity in him, that all things I valued in the past 00:05:04.640 |
have decreased in its value as I've experienced a newness of life in Christ. 00:05:09.200 |
Philippians 3, 8 says, "Indeed, I count everything as lost because of the surpassing worth of 00:05:15.000 |
For his sake, I've suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order 00:05:20.760 |
Through his grace, I'm continually challenged daily to die and forsake the desires of my 00:05:25.000 |
flesh and to strive to put on Christ and to follow him. 00:05:29.480 |
I'm still a sinner, but by believing, I can see his power and provision over my life now. 00:05:34.320 |
I have joy in Christ because my value and identity is rooted in him. 00:05:38.720 |
I desire to do his will, to abide in him and to strive to become more like Christ as I 00:05:45.760 |
Galatians 2, 20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ. 00:05:48.880 |
It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. 00:05:52.160 |
And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and 00:05:58.280 |
Second Corinthians 5, 17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.