Hopeless Addict (Details available on audio above.)

I was married when I was twenty years old and brought my wife into my misery. To make things worse, we had a little girl. By that time I knew I was a hopeless addict. All I had to look forward to was being found in an alley with an overdose.

One day, a lady called to pick up our daughter for some children’s meetings. I asked her what she was. She said, “I am a Christian.” She told me that the Lord Jesus had died to take the punishment for her sins, and that at the moment she trusted Him, she became one of Christ’s, which meant a Christian.

Christians Visit Our Sad Home

Later, two men visited us. I said,

“You know, you and I are like people stranded on a desert island. We have told ourselves that a big ship is going to come and take us off the island. That is what keeps us going from day to day – we have our big ship. This syringe is my big ship. It gets me from day to day. Your Jesus and your Salvation are your big ship, but really we are just in the same boat.”

“I want to read something to you,” one of the gentlemen replied, and he read Isaiah 53. In the middle of a dark, empty existence, there was just the inkling of a hope that softened and touched me the first time I heard it.

My Big Rebuttal

“I know the Jesus story. Anybody could write something like that,” I said. “But not 700 years before it happened,” he responded, “and besides, who told you it was talking about Jesus?” It just came to me that everything God said would happen did happen, and I was afraid.

Tears in the Christian’s Eyes

One of the men kept coming back. I would tell him what a righteous drug addict I was, and what he would say, “You know, it is a wonderful thing that God loves you and sent His Son to die for you.” He told me that Christ was the Saviour and no matter how vile you were, “this Man receiveth sinners.”(1) But one day tears were in his eyes as he said,

“Oh Peter, salvation is not only the joy of receiving Christ, it is being delivered from a real hell. Unless you get serious about this matter you are going to die in your sin and go to hell.”

At a Party Thinking About Hell

That night I went to a party. I used as much as I could in order to forget his words, but I could still hear and see him. I said to a man I knew, “Billy, I have to go. I can’t stay here. I am going to hell.” Billy said, “We are all going to hell.” “But,” I replied, “someone told me there was a way out, I have to find it.” Billy said, “You go. I’ll cover for you. But if you ever get it, let me know.”

Heroin Dealer/User off to a Bible Reading

The next night I was invited to a Bible reading. No matter what portion they were reading they would say, “Isn’t it wonderful that there is no limit to the mercy of God?” After the meeting a man asked me I was saved. “No,” I replied, “but I really want to be saved. I don’t want to go to hell.”

He started reading Bible verses, but I couldn’t understand how I could know my sins were forgiven. Finally, he said, “The Word of God tells you that the work that can take you to heaven has been perfectly done. If that is not enough, you will just have to go to hell.”I thought, “I can never live knowing that I am going to hell with all the sins I will have to account for. I can’t live that way and I certainly can’t die that way.” I started to cry and said, “I don’t want to go to hell. Please help me.” “The Bible tells us that the very worst sinner is in heaven tonight because of the power of the blood of Christ,” he replied. “It’s too bad it isn’t enough for you.”

Saved and Forgiven

It just dawned on me that the God who told me that I was going to hell was also telling me that the worst sinner could be in heaven. At that moment, I couldn’t think of one reason why it wasn’t enough. Not one. As low as I was, I realized that I could go to heaven because of the power that was in the blood of Christ. I accepted by faith the truth that “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”(2)

I bowed my head and prayed. “It seems so obvious and yet so simple that the Lord Jesus did it all, and because of Him, I can go to heaven. Lord, is that it, is that salvation?” I looked down at the Bible and saw three words, “It is finished.” It seemed as if God was saying, “Peter, that is it.” I cried, “Oh God, it is not fair! It is not fair that I should do all the sinning and He should do all the suffering.”

God saved me that night over twenty years ago.

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”(3)