Hershberger Family Testimony

Our family moved out of a very controlled Amish community almost 2 years ago. They shunned us for attending Bible studies a year an a half before we moved.

Our district was in an upheaval about buggy reflectors. Our current Bishop voted with the church to get a Bishop from another state, and mentioned that this other Bishop thinks we have too many reflectors on our buggies. (not saying we have to take them off) After we had this other Bishop, they said we voted to take reflectors off when we (had simply) voted to put the Bishop in. They were lying about it. This wasn’t the only thing they were lying about to the church (we won’t go into details). Their dishonesty about those reflectors is what really got us seeking for truth. We did not agree with removing reflectors.

We had attended an abuse awareness meeting and learned some about sexual sins that we had not known was sin. Long story short, a couple months passed and we were convicted of some sexual sins we had committed. We wanted what was right, and most of all we wanted to be right with God, so we confessed our sins and put ourselves in the bann. The sins would have required stoning to death in the Old Testament. Normally we would have been in the ban for 2 weeks. Since we refused to take reflectors off our buggy, they left is in the bann for 8 months. Finally we changed them (the reflectors) to their requirements, then they took us back. They were more concerned about our buggy reflectors then about the sins we had committed, which is awful! The Bible doesn't talk about reflectors and such, but what is sin is clear and they were not concerned about that.

Gal. 5:17-21 KJV 17 For the flesh lusteth again it the Spirit, and the spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18 But if ye be led of the spirit, ye are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 ldolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: Of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Not quite a year later we started attending Bible studies (with english and amish people) and they banned us for attending Bible studies. (They told us that's not for Amish). The devil doesn't want the truth revealed! The Amish need a fence to try to keep people in and hinder them from coming to the true Shepherd: JESUS.

If you follow the true Shepherd, JESUS, you don't need man-made rules for a fence. Trust in the blood Jesus shed for you!

Rom. 3:23-28 KJV 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 To declare, I say, at this times His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of them which believeth in Jesus. 27 Where is boasting then? lt is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. (What does faith mean?) Belief and trust in the death, burial and resurrection (the blood atonement) for your salvation.

We were both born again a few months apart from each other; upon trusting 100% in the finished work of Christ and not the ordnung. Our works we do to try to earn our salvation are as filthy rags. [Isaiah 64:6]