Way of Purity Testimony: Andre Augusto

First of all, I've been in a christian environment my hole life, going to church every Sunday, and I really thought that I was christian, but I wasn't. I went to church, and in most of churches there're always people in there that aren't true christians, so there was plenty of people for me to hang with. But I truly converted myself when I was 17 almost 18 years old, and what culminated in that was truly my sexual impurity, that was walking towards very horrible things. I would gratify the lusts of the flesh every day, and when I started with that, I knew it was wrong, but when I talked to my friends in church they did it too, and because I wasn't truly converted at that time, I would just think that it was normal, even if I knew inside of me that what I was doing was wrong. I started watching pornography with 10 to 12 years old, and I did it just by curiosity. I started with self-gratification at 14 years old, and as you can see, it was always escalating, and growing, and always turning into a bigger thing, and always dragging me further deeper into perdition. And God is such a great and wonderful God that He didn't let it go to far, He didn't let me make any mistakes that couldn't be reversed. His way is the best way, and it can be painful sometimes, but it's always what it takes for us to come back to Him. He allowed two people that I really loved, to caught me sinning, 2 times. And even before that happened, I was already noticing, by His grace, that something was wrong with me, that I couldn't stay without doing that, and I didn't know why, and I was already trying to stop doing that, but by my own strength, and I never succeded. And then God let me get caught, and through that, and through my mom and dad talking to me, and trying to head me to the light, that's when God started showing that I needed change, and that's when I truly converted myself. Because convertion is not only praying a prayer, like I thought it was, but it implies in a radical change of life. That change doesn't always comes right away, but it always comes. There always have to be something changing, and something going on with ourselves in the christian life, because don't matter how spiritual or godly we might think we are, we're still nothing, and there's always much room for improvement. So I was decided to follow God's steps, and to try to learn how to come near to Him. And by a little more than one year, I always tried to get myself rid of that bondage, and I never succeded, because I didn't know how. I would read the bible, and pray everyday, and the frequence of my sins decreased, but I was still in bondage. If we are christians, there must not be any bondage to sin, any habitual sin in our lives. Then I found this course, that has been used by God to free many people, and in here I learned some very important and valuable things that God sayd to us in the bible, ways to be free from that, and sometimes the texts of Scripture used where text that I had already read many times, but I never realized what I was reading. Glory to God because He does things in His time, and I believe that there isn't any time that would be better than now for God to free me. God used much my mentor, Jeff Wolk, who passed through this course, and had much to teach me, and was a living proof that God is able to do all things, and God sure could free me from my bondage to sexual sin. Today I'm 19 years old, and I'm free from my bondage to sexual sin by God's grace and to His honor and glory. He freed me, and there isn't anybody else that could have done this. I couldn't do it myself. He did everything. And to whoever is reading this, it IS possible to be free, and God WILL free you, just trust in Him, rely in Him, and this course will point you the way to achieving that. God bless you all. "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen." 1 Timothy 1:17