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He had one of the sharpest minds of any man I have ever met. As a farmer/businessman, he showed unusual shrewdness. His political influence was evident because he served as a colonel (an honorary position) on the staff of two Mississippi governors. He was liked and respected by people from all spectrums of society. But K. C. Peters was not a Christian. Usually a very confident man, at one point in his life this native of Charleston, Mississippi, became obsessed with fear about his health. He seemed utterly helpless in trying to overcome his fear. He spent some time in a hospital and eventually was given electrical shock treatments to erase from his mind the thoughts that were causing him to be afraid. During this time, the Holy Spirit began to deal with him about his spiritual needs. Even after he had gone home from the hospital, the Spirit continued to speak to him. One morning I felt an inner urge to go to K. C.’s house. When I arrived—his house was located in a beautiful rustic setting—he met me at the door and said: “Preacher, the Lord sent you here this morning. I’ve gone three times to get my hat to go to town, and for some reason I just couldn’t leave.” Then he added, “I want to be saved.” We went into the house, sat down on the sofa, and talked about the plan of salvation. I suggested that he needed to ask God to forgive him for the wrong he had done. He responded, “Preacher, I’ve asked God to forgive me of every sin that I can think of that I’ve ever committed. I’ve told Him that if I have forgotten any sin, if He will bring it to my attention, I will ask His forgiveness for that too.” |
I told K. C. that if he had come to grips with the sin in his life, all he needed to do now was to place his faith in Jesus Christ and invite the Savior to come into his heart. At that point, we knelt together, and K. C. prayed the sinner’s prayer. After the prayer, he looked at me as tears streamed down his cheeks and said, “Preacher, I feel something that I’ve never felt before. I feel clean and peaceful in my heart.” Such was the character of this man that he apologized for his tears. The Lord gloriously saved K. C. Peters that morning. He became one of the best friends I have ever had. Though he has gone on to be with the Lord, I am still influenced by his life. His experience is just one example of the complete change that takes place when a person is regenerated. Henry C. Thiessen in Lectures in Systematic Theology define regeneration “as the communication of divine life to the soul (John 3:5; 10:10, 28; 1 John 5:11, 12), as the impartation of a new nature (2 Peter 1:3) or heart (Jeremiah 24:7; Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26), and the production of a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10; 4:24).” The plan to regeneration is simple. When the jailer fell down before Paul and Silas (Acts 16) and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (v. 30). They replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (v. 31, NKJV). All we have to do to be born again is to repent of our sins and believe on the Lord Jesus as our personal Lord and Savor. We don’t clean up, give up, or turn around ourselves; we just come as we are. |
