Tim’s story

My name is Timothy Lim and I am currently studying Medicine in Manchester.

I have lived in different countries, Hong Kong and Singapore and now Britain. I was born in Singapore and migrated to Hong Kong when I was 5. Therefore, Hong Kong was the place where I spent the most formative years of my life.

Once I turned 18 I had to fulfill my national service obligations and return to Singapore to join the army. My Mum has always brought be along to church and I have been attending Sunday school since I was a child. The gospel had been explained to me numerous times and I knew many Bible stories and did pray to trust in Christ since I was 12. I knew that I had to believe in Jesus to be saved and I continued learning about God of the Bible in my Bible study classes.

However, during my national service in Singapore there was no Mum to bring me to church, but I knew it was vital for my Christian walk to join a church. And I attended a Baptist church in Singapore. By God’s grace, during those 2 years in Singapore I was exposed to the doctrine of regeneration or the new birth. I had the idea that if I said a “Sinner’s prayer” that instantly it made me a Christian. I truly did not sense the Holiness of God. I did not understand my need for God’s mercy and grace.

When I learned that I deserved nothing but the wrath of God and I was radically corrupt I felt helpless but it was truly sweet to taste the grace of God and know that my sins could be fully forgiven by the blood of Christ.

After my enlightenment about God’s grace through Christ’s sacrifice pierced my heart I understood that I was a rebellious child. I started to understand the words repent and believe that John the Baptist proclaimed. I had to turn away from sin and trust myself to Christ. I do not actually have a precise date when I was converted but it was a process of being awakened to the biblical gospel that brought about my new birth in Christ.

I am very fortunate to have found a biblical gospel church during my stay in Manchester. Stephen, the pastor explained to me the covenant of membership and what a biblical church should be. I desired to be part of part of God’s visible family in a local church. I made a conscious decision to be baptized and be a member of Grace Baptist church on the 22nd of March 2009. I made a public proclamation that I was dead to my old self and rose again to new life in Christ. I am grateful to God for his mercies that are new every morning and for my pardon that has been bought with the priceless blood of Christ.