About

Noel Bass

I had lived a good atheist life up to that point, proud of the fact that I was better behaved than these foolish "Christians" I went to school with. I was 21 and couldn't think less of these hypocritical Christians who lived like their Devil and couldn't work up the nerve to tell me that I was going to Hell. 

Thankfully, a faithful brother from Westside Church of Christ was willing to speak to me about the things of God. For months, he patiently answered all my questions and objections until, finally, I decided to read the Bible for myself and figure out what had him so convinced that this was real. 

Shortly afterwards, my grandparents and I went up to their Summer home in Virginia where I spent the majority of my days alone in a cabin, reading through the Gospel of Matthew. I remember being so convicted by the words of Jesus in Matt 7:21-23,

"'Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"

 As an atheist, I was shocked that these people, who would seem to be top notch Christians, were being sent to hell! I had been holding on to my trump card which had me believing that IF in the very unlikely scenario I was wrong about my worldview, at least I'd get in to heaven because I was better behaved than the majority of Christians. Come to find out that my backup plan wasn't good enough. My anxiety only grew as I read through the gospel, and I came face to face with the reality that if this book were true, I was going to be cast into hell for eternity, and to be honest, I would applaud God's justice in doing so. His perfect justice wasn't too harsh, it was well deserved and right. I didn't have much hope for my eternity, but I found myself growing in my appreciation for the God of the Bible in this man Jesus.

At the end of the gospel, I discovered that God took upon Himself the punishment that we deserve, dying on the cross for the sins of the world, providing anyone who calls on His name eternal life through faith in His name.  How could anyone willingly die for someone like me? I don't deserve that sort of kindness or mercy. Yet He did it. God became a man so he could provide Himself as a sacrifice in my place. I remember crying out in that old shack late one night, promising that because Christ did this for me, I would dedicate my life to Him.

Waking up the next morning, it's as if the curtains had been opened. I immediately went to tell my grandparents who were, to put it plainly, less than enthused. He had done a work in my heart and I was a new man because of Him. I was baptized at that little Westside Church of Christ upon returning to Florida a few weeks later on August 11th 2010, right before I left to go to the University of Central Florida.