(Note: This testimony is actually from an Indonesian, written by him in English. Although we have edited it some so you will understand it, we did not edit everything so it would be more real.)
We (Christian workers on Sumatra) met Pak Hendri* at his nursery. At the time there were no buyers so we went in to meet him. After asking about the flowers, we got acquainted. He said that he was glad to talk about spiritual things and that he had represented the province following the meeting of the Islamic religious teachers in Malaysia.
“Wow! So you are a religious person, aren’t you?” I asked, “Maybe you sin just a little?”
“Not really,” he said. “The important thing in life is always to do the right thing.”
“You are right,” I agreed with him. “We have to do what is right. And everyone is a sinner, right? Well, how can your sins be forgiven by God?”
Pak Hendri replied, “By doing many good deeds and performing Nashua repentance, which is true repentance and not repeating the same mistake.”
“If you repented, would your sins are forgiven for sure?” I asked. “I do not know,” he answered.
“Oh, is that so?” I said, “What I believe is different from that. I know my sins are already paid off by God, not because I did many good deeds or only repented, but because God has made a way to forgive sin through Jesus Christ.”
“You probably have heard about Jesus Christ before,” I testified. “Well, Jesus Christ was with God in heaven from the beginning.” Then I told him the birth of Jesus Christ, His holy life and miracles. I explained that Jesus had predicted His death and the reason why Jesus had to die by first telling of man’s fall into sin, the consequences of sin, punishment of sin, and the promise of the coming of a Savior.
“According to the Book of Moses, the Psalms, the prophets and the Gospel, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness,” I explained. Then I told about Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven.
“Jesus was the sacrifice who came from God Himself to redeem the people from their sin.” I affirmed,“That’s why I know my sins are forgiven, and it’s not because I’m better than you, but because God has already made a way to forgive my sin through the sacrifice of Jesus.”
“So, that’s the story?” Pak Hendri said, “It is the first time I’ve heard this story.”
“Does this story make sense? That we cannot obtain forgiveness by our own efforts, but God has made a way to forgive sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ?” I asked.
“Yes, it makes sense,” he said.
“Do you believe that Jesus Christ died to atone for sin?” I challenged him. “Yes, I believe,” he said.
Then I invited Pak Hendri to pray to confess his sins and receive Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
After praying, I told him the story of the Ethiopian eunuch who believed and immediately gave himself to be baptized.
“I do not understand this story yet,” Hendri said. “Let me learn first!” We promised to meet the following week. When we came again he had many customers so we could not continue the stories from the Bible. Hopefully we will be able to meet with him again soon.
*Names have been changed for security reasons
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