"Bad" Born-Again Experience - Anyone?

[Judas_Thaddeus]

Ok, I’ll share a “born again”, or “conversion” experience that was both wonderful and awful. I was nearly 30 years old, a baptized, lukewarm Catholic, at a terrible place in my life dealing with a dysfunctional past because of alcoholism in the family and then a marriage headed for the rocks. I was a mental and emotional mess and I wanted to die. That is only the tip of the iceberg.

But then, unexpectedly, in an answer to desperate prayer seeking God in a 12-step program, I had a wonderful conversion experience. God became real to me, and my mind was being transformed. I wanted to pray and read Scripture and go to church, and the Holy Spirit seemed to fill my mind. Amazing.

And almost immediately Satan attacked. He tried to fill me with doubt and despair and depression. I could literally feel a tug-of-war like thing going on for my soul. I had not ever before and had never since felt such a spiritual attack in my soul. Satan did not want to let me go. My soul was a battleground. At times I thought I was going crazy. But the Lord won, because I had decided to follow Him, and He had promised that NOTHING or NO ONE could snatch me from His hand. That promise is true. I can leave Him, but Satan cannot take me from Him.

That was nearly 35 years ago. I am still learning and growing. People can debate theology and call it a conversion, a born again experience, asking Jesus into your heart, whatever, I don’t argue these things. When someone talks about it, I understand what they mean, and how it changed their lives and how they developed a relationship with their Savior, Jesus Christ.

Wow, I like this tale!

 

[Considerate]

Since salvation is an ongoing process and not a “one time zap” into the Kingdom, I would say every “experience” is troubled due to the presupposition of “once saved (a one time experience), always saved (a denial of salvation as process)”.
That is where fantasy clashes with reality. It does not have to lead, as one poster above describes, to suicide. But it does lead to a crisis when my life does not match up to the “zap” I recieved when prayed the “sinner’s prayer” at the revival meeting.

Um, it was a one time zap, I was born again December 5 1983 Monday 9:20 AM. While driving a truck route, that is when Jesus revealed himself to me and I knew he was my savior and I WAS SAVED! Yes, once saved always saved. I was sealed to eternity in heaven with Him. Now I don’t know what my rewards will be, probably not much because my works are pathetic. When deciding what ecclesia with which to affiliate, the thing to look for is if they stand on salvation by grace or salvation by works. I know my works will never measure up to God’s holiness. What arrogance, what self fraud it takes to presume oneself good enough to enter in heaven.

There are no bad born again experiences…unless John 3:16 is a mistranslation?