Testimony of Conversion

I was born in a Christian home. I was constantly exposed to the Word of God, but I was not a Christian. I lived a religious life attending church and, in the eyes of others, doing what was asked of me. But when nobody saw me, my behavior was that of someone who did not know God.

I lived with my parents, so I was subject to their orders until I traveled to Spain in 2006, when I was 16. Here in this new country, without my parents, I could give free rein to the sinful desires of my heart and run into the world.

And so the years passed, living an unrestrained and empty life, which led me to an intense depression that I suffered in silence. The people around me saw me happy, full of life, but inside I cried and felt dead. I remember very well how in those years that I lived that way, the words that my parents (Agustin and Sarah) said about the Gospel made me think about how I was disobeying God. Remembering the teachings of my parents made me fear the punishment I deserved for having lived a life of sin. But this was nothing more than a fear that did not lead me to repentance because I continued to live the wrong way.

Today I can see how those words of my parents, even with their limitations when explaining the Gospel to me, were crucial for, in the future, being able to repent of my sins. And so the years went by until, in 2011, a boy told me about God at work and invited me to his church. When I got there, they welcomed me with open arms that cared about me. But unfortunately, over time, I realized that they preached a false gospel full of mysticism and love of money. This led me to live a religious life again; I attended that place but lived outside that place as one more unbeliever.

Until, by the providence of the Lord, my brother (Miguel) needed to travel, and for that, he had to sell some things, among which was his tablet, which I bought to help him. On this tablet was a book called “Strange Fire” by John MacArthur. Curious, I began to read it that same night. The book was such a blow to my life and the false gospel I was living. It helped me conclude that I was not a Christian and was on my way to eternal condemnation. This caused me great pain in my life because I could see that there was nothing I could do to save myself and that I only had to trust in Christ.

But how to trust? I didn’t know how to do it. Days went by, and I was still confused in May 2014; I don’t remember the exact day I sat in my room to read the entire Gospel of John, but I couldn’t pass chapter 3. I read over and over again that conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus. Those words of the Lord, “What is born of the flesh is flesh, what is born of the Spirit is spirit,” were withering for me at that moment; I fell to my knees and felt in such a natural way the forgiveness of sins through Christ.

I could feel that the Spirit of God was leading me to do what I did not know how to do: trust only in Christ. From that moment, my life changed completely. I began to love prayer and reading the Bible, and I began reading books that helped me understand the true Gospel.

I also remember how one of the first things I did was call my parents to apologize for how I had lived and tell them that I had given my life to Christ. My dear mother replied, “Oh, finally, the Lord has heard my prayers.”

The Lord was very good to me that I was just a religious boy who adored Him lip service, but my heart was far from Him. The Lord was kind to me by changing my hard religious heart into one that loves Him and longs to serve Him. I analyze my life and can only conclude, as all my brothers in faith do, “Soli Deo Gloria.”

Call to Ministry

When the Lord in His Grace led me to know the true gospel, He showed me the need to leave the congregation where I attended. In the church where I met, they preached the “gospel” of money, not the true Gospel contained in the Word. I left that place with the desire to find a congregation where only the Scriptures were preached. I visited many places, but I did not find any Church of sound doctrine.

At that time, searching the internet, I found that a course called Curso 222 was going to be held and taught by brothers from the Iglesia Evangélica de la Gracia, and also by brothers who collaborate with the Ministry of 9 Marks. I saw the subjects that were going to be taught, and I realized that the objective of the course was to raise men faithful to the Scriptures. I decided to take that course, something that made me want to be able to teach everything I was learning. I did it online and one of the limitations was that I couldn’t be in close contact with the teachers and pastors. So I decided to get in touch with the Iglesia Evangelica de la Gracia in Barcelona to ask them for advice, guidance, and help in this desire to fulfill my call to ministry. They accepted this request and we started working together.

I began to meet in my home with two brothers and my wife, Lidia Dols, simply to learn to read the scriptures in their context and thus be able to see the real meaning of the text. The more I worked in this work of discipline my brothers, the desire to see a Biblical Church in this city grew in me. In this way, after some time talking with my wife about this task, we decided to plant a new Church in the city of Valencia. This led to the small meetings we had at home growing in number of people. As we progressed, the Lord enabled me to carry out the work of teaching my brothers the Scriptures. With this, I could clearly see that the Lord was calling me to the ministry of His word and to shepherd His Church.

It has not been an easy task in these years, but His Grace has always been greater than the limitations or problems that we have suffered, the help of the pastors of Barcelona in my formation has also been essential to be able to confirm this call in my life. Now my desire is to be able to fulfill the call of God and also the mandate that Paul gives to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2 and in this way to be able to carry out the Great Commission in my beloved city.