Baptism Testimony – Richard Wozniak

Richard Wozniak was baptized Sunday, December 9 2001
at the New Hyde Park Baptist Church NY by Pastor Gary
Scott. The following were his words of testimony before being
baptized

My friends,

As I stand here before you today allow me to give all
the glory to Jesus Christ, to the One who is my whole
basis of Christian life, to Jesus Christ, the One Who
said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he
shall be saved”. To my Rock, my fortress, and my
deliverer.” To Jesus Christ who said; “I am the way,
the truth and the life: No man cometh to the Father,
but by me”. And let me say that no human tradition
can deny anyone grace, for God spoke through the
apostle Paul when He told us “For it is by grace you
have been saved through faith; and this not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, so
that no one can boast.” A gift of God, God’s grace
has been poured unto me. And I stand here today to
give you testimony of this grace and to give glory
“Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins
in His own blood.” That One is Jesus Christ, my Lord
of Lords and King of Kings.

I was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church in 1963.
Like some of you here today and so many of our
friends and loved ones I was taught to believe that
salvation was not sufficient through Jesus Christ only
but came only through the church of Rome, it’s
traditions, and my own efforts to do good works also.
I taught the catechism for 5 years to 5th grade
children while in my late 20’s. My goal was to try
and make up for any of the past sins that I had
committed. It was a commendable goal but an
impossible task because what I did not know then was
the doctrine of saving grace and that “Salvation is
found in no one else, for there is no other name under
heaven given to men, by which we must be saved.”

In the spring of 2000 my wife and I were blessed with
the good news of the coming birth of our child. I
could not have been happier yet there was an unrest in
my heart that began to grow daily some time after. At
first I thought it may have been the daily stress of
working in the stock market. Coming from a broken
home, as a child I always promised God that if one day
I had children I would be the best father there could
be and the daily roller coaster ride in my attitude
that seemed to go up and down with the Dow Jones
average didn’t fit into that promise so I left my
career behind and called it quits. It fit into my
schedule well at the time as we had just purchased a
new home and I now had some time to get some work done
on it. These were my plans but unknown to me was the
fact that our Sovereign God had other plans, not just
for the 3 months that I stayed home, but also for my
life. Yes, God had it all mapped out just the way He
planned and grace has shown me this truth in Jeremiah
when God tells us “Before I formed you in the womb I
knew you, before you were born I set you apart;

As the days off grew so did the unrest. I tried to
keep myself as busy as possible and started by ripping
up my entire backyard with only a shovel, but the
anxiety became to much to bear and I found myself
scared and confused without reason. After weeks of
feeling this way and shutting myself out from everyone
but my wife, I saw a strength in her that I could not
ignore. I saw God shining through her as she
comforted me while working and carrying our child. I
wanted to gain back the strength she saw in me, the
strength that she knew would not be re-gained through
medication. One day I went to the locksmith to make
extra keys and while I waited I walked across the
street to the Olive Branch Christian store. I was
never a book reader but thought it might help ease my
mind. I purchased “In His Steps” by Charles Sheldon.
It was a tale of people who made a vow for one year to
ask themselves before they made any decision
whatsoever “What Would Jesus Do.” I read how their
lives were drastically changed by faith in Christ and
how they became persecuted by many and separated from
the world all in the name of Christ. It was while
reading this book and so many others that my anxieties
were fading. I asked myself what Jesus would do and I
determined that I would go to Mass everyday. I prayed
for countless hours. I knelt before numerous statues
of Saints every morning and paid homage to them with
money even though I didn’t know whom half of them were
or did. I then bought a copy of the Catechism of the
Catholic Church and studied the thousands of man-made
doctrines. Life seemed great. All my plans were
fitting into place again. But then I did something
that I never did before. I began to read the Bible.

I realized that I really didn’t know Jesus. I never
heard these words before. I didn’t know that He was
the “light that shines in the darkness.” I didn’t
know that He was the Word. No one told me that He was
“the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through Him”. It wouldn’t take long
though. In my own self-efforts to get closer to the
Roman Church, God’s plan for my salvation was far
greater than any plan the traditions of men or I could
ever come up. At this point it was the Bible that
took hold of my every thought. Verses stuck in my
head like “It is better to trust in the Lord than to
put confidence in man”. I now knew what this meant.
Everything seemed to get much clearer and make so much
sense. Then I was blown away when the Lord revealed
to me. “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is
Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him
from the dead, you will be saved.” And “For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall
be saved.” This was God’s plan of salvation. This is
the salvation that comes by grace through faith. It
could not come from any plan that I had. His grace is
a free gift and it was given to me so that He would be
glorified, so that I could stand here today to respond
in obedience to the call and demands of Christ my
Savior.

Last week I went back to the site of where two great
towers once stood. I was finally able to get a look
at the building that I was in when the 1st tower
collapsed. How humbled I felt knowing that I stood
against a pillar made of stone in the lobby of this
building when the tower collapsed against it and how
blessed I felt when I saw how the first 14 floors were
ripped open and the offices were left fully exposed
and the lobby was completely covered with debris. God
held me tight in the palm of His hand that day and I
speak of it for two reasons. What difference in my
life would it have been if I walked out of that
building unscratched but yet unsaved by the blood of
my Savior Jesus Christ? Physically, I would be alive
and unhurt, but spiritually, I would be dead. Of what
value would my life had been to me then? “What good
will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet
forfeits his soul?”

My second reason is to bring glory to the only One who
saves sinners. By God’s grace, my testimony is one of
a believer and of one who has been saved. It is time
to give the Lord all the praise that only He deserves.
The Lord has convicted me of my sins and my need of a
Savior and by His grace I am saved through faith. I
realize that what has been a radical supernatural
change and saving grace in my life that can only come
from the blood of the cross, must now be expressed as
an outward picture that glorifies my Lord. This is my
acknowledgement and my picture to you of this free
gift that only He can bestow on us. But this is not
the end. It is only the beginning. God did not give
me this gift of salvation and truth to be put on a
shelf as if it were a trophy to be adored in the
confines of my home. On the contrary “I will bless
the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be
in my mouth”. I will do this until I leave this world
and when I enter into His kingdom I will lay down
every honor that He has given to me at His feet and
continue to glorify Him.

I baptized my child in a Catholic Church in January of
2001. One month later while driving to Church I
stopped my car at a local Baptist Church. I lived in
this same town all my life and was curious to see what
went on inside this Church that until then I used
simply as a parking spot while visiting the park
across the street. My friends, I’ve been here since.

God has always given to me the resources so that I can
grow in knowledge and in fellowship. Two weeks later
I found out that my best friend’s brother, Brian
Mclaughlin had been coming here for a few years before
me, and this old acquaintance and I have since
developed a bond in Christ that only God in His
Sovereign grace could have put together. God shines
through you Brian, though some may not see, I do.
Never be discouraged but instead remember that “He was
in the world and though the world was made through
Him, the world did not know Him.” We must continue
to plant seeds in His name.

To this congregation that has accepted my family and
myself with so much warmth and love I ask that you
“continue to sing to the Lord, you saints of His, and
praise His holy name.” To Pastor Gary and Pastor Dan
“We continually remember before our God and Father
your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by
love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord
Jesus Christ.”

Richard Bennett was a Dominican priest in the Roman
Church for 22 years and in 1985 at the age of 48 he
left the Church of Rome and by God’s grace through
faith, he accepted Jesus Christ and His Word in the
Bible as all sufficient and was baptized a believer.
He now shares that truth so that others can know of
God’s way of salvation and not man’s. Richard is a
friend and an inspiration and to him I will quote a
verse that became the cry of his heart while a priest:
“that I may know Him, and the power of His
resurrection.”

And, finally to wife and child, you are my gifts from
God. I see Him everyday through you both. You define
love. Your patience, understanding and caring are
only a fraction of the beauty that the Lord has
blessed you with. Your devotion is a testimony of
your love and for this I will forever be by your side.

My friends, do you believe in the great love that God
has towards man in Christ Jesus? Do you believe that
“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life.” If you can
believe that our Father desires us to come to Him and
calls us through the blood of His Son and that in
Christ only there is forgiveness of sins and you trust
Him to save you then the work of God’s salvation has
begun as far as the Spirit is concerned but it is
finished so far as Christ’s work is concerned. Lay
hold of Jesus Christ. He is the Rock of our
salvation. If you build a foundation on this Rock the
storms of life will never shake it. Never compromise
the Gospel of Christ. Never compromise one single
ounce of the all-sufficient blood that saves sinners.
Praise Him always. He is your example. Confess His
name and shout it out loudly. Jesus Christ is our
Lord of Lords and King of Kings!

I pray that I have glorified you today my Lord. If by
my testimony any seeds were dropped here in this
church today I pray that you would pour your living
water over them so that they may grow in You as I
have. “You turned my wailing into dancing; You have
removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my
heart may sing to You and not be silent. O Lord my
God, I will give you thanks forever.” Through your
Son and my Savior Jesus Christ I now glorify you in
Baptism. Amen.

Richard Wozniak

[email protected]