I WAS LOST
AND DIDN’T
EVEN KNOW!!
My name is Austin Wartner and
this is my story.
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free." (John 8:32)
"Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, van-
ity of vanities, all is vanity." (Ecclesiastes 1:2)
If I could sum up my life before salvation, this one
verse fits the bill. I always tried so hard to find that
one thing in my life to fill an inner void that I had
and could never explain. I tried sports, school,
friends, a relationship and even religion, yet never
found peace. In fact, the more I tried to grasp the
things of this world, the emptier I felt. The vain
things of this world could never fill the internal
emptiness I had. Then on April 4th, 1999 at 9:35
p.m., I was saved by the grace of God and that void
was filled. I want to share with you how the Lord
worked in my life and how he transformed me into
a new creature in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17)."There is a way that seemeth right unto a
man, but the end thereof are the ways of
death." (Proverbs 14:12)
I always felt I had a good respect for the things of
God. I believed there was a God and I believed the
Bible was the word of God. I always tried to do my
best. I wasn't a murderer or a thief, I didn't drink,
and I wasn't immoral. I went to church and cat-
echism classes. I repeated prayers before I ate and
before I went to bed. I felt I was a pretty clean guy.
I figured that when I died, God would let me into
Heaven without a problem. However, no matter how
much positive thinking I had about eternity, I didn't
know for sure. Everybody has a fear about dying,
especially since nobody has ever come back to tell
us what eternity is like. Death is a subject most
people shy away from mostly because they have
no clue what happens afterwards."...it is appointed unto men once to die, but
after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)
I thought that when I died I would stand outside
Heaven's gates and "old Saint Peter would let
me in." I really didn't know what it took to get
into Heaven, but I always assumed that my
church and its beliefs on how to get to Heaven
were the way. I mean they talked about Jesus
and God, but I never at all bothered to checkout whether or not what the minister was saying
lined up with the Bible. I assumed everything
that was taught was in the Bible, and to my
shock, I was sorely mistaken. My soul's eternal
security was based off what a man said, not what
God said (Psalm 118:8, Colossians 2:8, Romans
3:4)."And ye shall seek me, and find me, when
ye shall search for me with all your heart."
(Jeremiah 29:13)
Before my freshmen year in college, I went to
Fort Sill, Oklahoma to complete the second half
of my initial entry training for the National
Guard. While at Fort Sill, I decided that I wanted
to "get to know God better." So I decided I would
start cleaning up my act more. I went to church,
started reading my Bible more; in a nutshell I
was becoming more "religious". I remember an
incident that happened that really tested my
"faith" in God. A rumor was started that spread
throughout my whole platoon about the U.S.
going to war with North Korea and that we
would more than likely be shipped over there.
Because we had no access to newspapers or tele-
visions, we had no idea if that rumor was true,
and this terrified me. I remember telling myself
to trust God, but I could not since I was so scared.
I felt like I was alone. Even though I was ex-
tremely religious, I had no faith in God and He
seemed a million miles away. My religion gave
me some head knowledge about God, but I
didn't "know" God personally. Since I didn't
know any better I figured if I kept getting more
religious, I would be okay. In spite of this, I still
had no assurance about things concerning God
and eternity.Fortunately I never was sent to Korea, but I
still feared it could happen. After I got back
from Fort Sill, I decided I wanted to continue
to get more religious. So I would read out of
my Bible and pray and go to church. I never
could though get rid of that inner fear about
going to war and possibly dying.When I got to college I decided to try out for
the MSU men's basketball team. I made the
team and thought I would get a chance to ful-
fill a dream of mine, to play college basket-
ball. God had other plans though. One day af-
ter practice, I walked into the locker room and
overheard a conversation between two of my
teammates about the things of God. I got into
their conversation and was amazed about what
one of them knew about the Lord. He quoted
Scripture, which blew me away. For the next
month, he and I would talk about the things of
the Lord and he asked me one queston, "If you
were to die this very moment, are you 100%
sure that you would go to Heaven?" I couldn't
say yes and I didn't want to say no, so I replied
"maybe". He showed me that the Bible said
we could know for sure that when we died we
would go to Heaven (I John 5:13). I decided to
go with my teammate to his church since I
learned more Bible talking to him than I ever
did in the church I was going to."...repent ye, and believe the gospel."
(Mark 1:15)
After going to church with my teammate and
attending Bible studies, God started to reveal
to me that I was a lost hell-bound, hell-deserv-
ing sinner. That was something that I did not
like, in fact it made me very uncomfortable. I
was used to being told that I was a good person
and being patted on the back. Nobody had ever
shown me verses that said I was unrighteous
(Romans 3:10) and that every good thing I tried
to do was like a filthy rag before God (Isaiah
64:6). The preaching really spoke to my heart
(Hebrews 4:12). I thought at first what I was
hearing was a little off the wall. Yet, everything
that was preached came straight from the Bible
and I could not argue with that. Every question I
had received a Bible answer. I was even told that
I should take everything I hear and check things
out for myself in the Bible and not just "take their
word for it." And I did.
My biggest hindrance though was my unwilling-
ness to repent. To repent means "to turn from yoursinful ways unto God's ways with all your heart."
I wanted God, but I wanted to run my own life
instead of making Him "Lord or Master" of my
life. I didn't want to submit my will to God's will.
I could have easily said a little prayer and asked
Jesus to come into my heart, but until I was will-
ing to repent, I would have never gotten saved. I
would be like millions who claim to know Christ
as personal saviour, but they act, talk, walk (Titus
1:16) and pursue the thing of the world (I John
2:15). They never truly changed their attitude to-
wards their sin, and thus are still lost (Luke 13:5).
"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but
whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have
mercy." (Proverbs 28:13)Over time, God began to humble me through a
series of circumstances that occurred in my life.
God kicked out the "pillars of happiness" that I
clung to in my life. God showed me that those
things were nothing more than idols that were
keeping me from truly knowing Him. As I lis-
tened to more and more preaching, God began to
draw me closer to Him. He showed me how much
He loved me by the price He paid on the cross.
By receiving Jesus Christ as my Saviour, I would
have a place in Heaven instead of a place in Hell,
where I would go if I was to die in my lost condi-
tion. I didn't want to go to Hell, but I didn't want
to give up my life to Him either. God was faithful
and longsuffering, and finally on April 4th, 1999,
after 15 months of resisting God, He brought me
to the end of myself. I bowed my knee and real-
ized that nothing was worth an eternity in Hell,
burning forever (Revelation 20:15, 21:8). I asked
the age-old question to a faithful friend in the Lord,
"What must I do to be saved?"That night, he showed me from the Bible what I
had to do to be saved. First he showed me that I
had to stop trusting in my good works, my reli-
gion, myself, and anything else that I was trusting
in to get me to Heaven. "For by grace are ye saved
through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the
gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should
boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)Next he showed me that I must be willing to re-
pent of my sins and turn to the Saviour with all of
my heart. This meant that I was willing to obey the
Bible no matter what everybody else thought and
to the best of my ability through God's grace. I had
to be willing to turn from my sinful, wicked, un-
godly ways to God's holy ways. "I tell you, Nay:
but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."
(Luke 13:3)I decided that I no longer wanted to live my sinful
lifestyle anymore. I was sick of my sin and hated
it. I wanted to be saved more than anything in the
world. In a cry for mercy, I called upon the name
of the Lord in a complete attitude of repentance
and faith towards God. (Romans 10:13, Acts 20:21)
I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour,
and since that day, my life has never been the same
(John 1:12)."Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a
new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new."
(II Corinthians 5:17)
Ever since that night, my life has completely
changed. My love for God and the things of God
has completely blossomed and I know it is none of
my doing. No matter how much I tried to love God
before I was saved, I failed miserably. Now, since
the Holy Spirit dwells within my heart, the Lord
has given me a desire to follow Him and His Word.
I know now without a shadow of a doubt that I will
go to Heaven when I die. Not by what I have done,
but by what Christ has done for me. That is all I am
trusting in. I have nothing to boast about to any-
one; all I am is a sinner saved by grace. "And
he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise
unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall
trust in the LORD. " (Psalm 40:3)"Examine yourselves whether ye be in the
faith..." (II Corinthians 13:5)Now I ask you dear friend, have you ever had a
time in your life when you realized that you needed
to be saved from an eternity in Hell? Are you 100%sure if you were to die right now, you would go to
Heaven? or are you hoping? God wants us to have
peace about our eternal state, "Therefore being
justified [saved] by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).
God's will is that everyone should be saved (I Timo-
thy 2:4, II Peter 3:9).First, you must realize that what keeps you from
going to Heaven are your sins, because: "...Your
iniquities have separated between you and your
God." (Isaiah 59:2) This includes everybody who
has ever lived, "For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)Secondly, you must realize that there is nothing you
can do to save yourself and earn Heaven: "For by
grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest
any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) Bap-
tism, good deeds, church membership, self-righ-
teousness are all examples of good works that will
not get you to Heaven because: "Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according
to his mercy He saved us." (Titus 3:5)The only way you can be saved is through Jesus
Christ. He said: "I am the way, the truth, and the
life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
(John 14:6) You must REPENT (change your mind
and attitude towards your sin), admit that you are a
hell-deserving sinner that can't save yourself. If you
mean business with God, and want nothing more
than to be saved, then call upon Christ, and Him
alone to save you. "If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus [Repent], and shalt believe
in thine heart [Trust] that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Romans 10:9)"Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the
kisses of an enemy are deceitful."
(Proverbs 27:6)I realize some of the things I have said in my tes-
timony probably have shocked many people and
may have even angered some of you. I felt the sameway when somebody first showed me things in
the Bible. I encourage anybody and everybody to
check out the verses I have used in a good King
James Bible for themselves, and to check to see if
what you are believing in lines up with the Bible
(Acts 17:11). I was surprised that what I used to
believe did not line up. I wrote this testimony to
share what Christ has given me, I don't deserve
the salvation I got, if I got what I deserved I would
be in Hell right now. Dear friend, with all the love
and encouragement I can give, please search for
the Lord and the truth, your eternity depends on it.
If you have any questions or concerns feel free to
call me, write me or E-mail me anytime day or
night. I am your friend who loves your soul and
wants to share with you what God has done for
me. "...there is a friend that sticketh closer than a
brother." (Proverbs 18:24)Austin Wartner
1021 9th Avenue N.?
Bloomington, MN 58102?
701.306.0217?
awartner@hotmail.com
