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My name is Phil Nickerson, and I live in Argyle Sound, Nova Scotia, Canada. This is a brief note on how and when God saved me over 27 years ago. One night having arrived home at my parents where I was living at the time, set a couple gentlemen (Harold Smith and Dick Goodwin) with their open Bibles.
They were discussing God's salvation with my folks and asked me what I thought about the Bible. My response at that point wasn't any more than what they probably expected, being something to the effect "nothing more than a fairy tale."
Over the next few months, these visits would persist, to my dismay at the time. The conversation would center on Biblical things, such as prophecy, but would always come back to the subject of God's salvation through the precious blood of the Lord's Christ.
I also found they used their Bibles extensively in every aspect of the
conversation. They pointed out from Scripture "my" sin, and its
consequences, which would be banishment from God to the lake of fire forever, Mt. 25:41 and 46.
At the beginning I just couldn't take in what they were saying. At this
point in my life, this seemed so far fetched. But the visits persisted, the pointing out of my sin, its consequences, and also God's remedy for sin, that being the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary. His precious blood alone, I was learning, was that which could take away my sin, Hebrews 9:22, "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission."
This sounded so different from anything I had heard growing up under some influence of the Catholic "church." Religion, baptism, keeping the commandments, turning over a new leaf so called, etc. was all part of some hope of attaining God's favor I was told.
But now I was beginning to see what the Lord Jesus did on the cross was all sufficient to take away my sin.
In January of 1973, the Lord really began to deal with me and I was
beginning to see that if I died the way I was I would be in hell. Luke 13:3 & 5 kept coming up, "Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish", and also John. 3:36, "He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." Though I would have denied anything of the sort to any friends at the time, alone in the dark the truth began to put me in straits; to die in my sins was to be in hell forever!
At the latter end of February on into March, three to four weeks of Gospel meetings were taking place, and I found myself at nearly each one of them. One Tuesday night, March 6th 1973, coming home from the Gospel meeting with Dick Goodwin who had been bringing me God's Word, I knew I had to be saved. Alone in my bedroom, I found myself on the floor on my knees, at the end of my wits as it were, pleading to God my own sinfulness and helplessness to save myself. I had nothing to give, including my heart. I had learned even my heart was deceitful and above all things desperately wicked, Jeremiah 17:9. That night at 11.00 I confessed to God I had absolutely nothing to
"give," but rather would "take" or "receive" the gift of life that He had to offer, Jn.1:12; 6:47.
At that point, I repented from my sins and received Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Did I feel I was saved? No I did not! But I KNEW I was, for taking an older Bible I had been given, somehow I happened upon (not really by chance) John. 5:24. "Verily, verily I say unto you, he that heareth My Word and believeth Him that sent Me, HATH everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation; but IS passed from death unto life."
There it was! I knew my sins were totally gone, Acts 10:43, "To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins."
Knowing my sins were gone, and taking God at His Word that I indeed had life eternal, my burden of guilt of course was gone! I knew from that point on that I was saved and ready for heaven!
From there, I've rested in the salvation God had given me the night He saved me as a guilty sinner. I'm resting in the salvation that has been completed by the Saviour at Calvary, knowing my salvation doesn't depend on what I do, or what I fail to do. That salvation was provided by the Lord's Christ nearly two thousand years ago and I thank God that He enabled me to come into the good of that sacrifice by grace, through repentance from sin and faith in the crucified and resurrected Christ!
"Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His Own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion"
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