Steven Hutson
About Steve
At various times I was Catholic, then Protestant, then New Age, Charismatic, and “Born Again”. I prayed, chanted,
spoke in tongues, and “prophesied.” Got myself anointed with holy oil, slain in the Spirit, and “saved” again and
again. Jumped up, bowed down, laughed and wept. Several years later, after shopping around and examining
many disparate philosophies, I wasn’t much closer to God than when I began. Then, a friend invited me to a weekly
a Bible study that met in our neighborhood.
After reading the Bible in earnest for the first time (what an idea!), I learned what it means to become—and to live
as—a Christian. Deny myself? Carry a cross? Evangelize? There were so many things that I never learned as a
child. At last, after a few weeks of study and soul searching, I was baptized into Christ in October 1990. And life
has never been the same.
So what did I learn, exactly? I found that many of the things I was taught in my youth were not consistent with the
teaching of the Scriptures. But perhaps the most unsettling matter was this notion that “Jesus died for the sins of the
world.” Is this true? Well, of course it is. But then I read something in Isaiah 53:
In the New Testament, this passage is identified as a prophecy about the ministry of Christ. And it tells me that
Jesus didn’t just die for “the world.” Rather, he died for me. For my sins, my transgressions, my drinking and
swearing and fornication. And that’s a much different concept. Without this understanding, I would never be able to
fully understand—or appreciate—his sacrifice.
To date, most of my career has been spent in the retail industry. Let’s just say that I have learned far more about
women’s apparel (yikes!) than I ever wanted to know. My wife Ruth and I live in Southern California, where we are
active members of a non-denominational Christian church. Over the years, we have led Bible study groups and have
mentored many young Christians to help them mature in Christ. We have a son, Bradley, age 10.
- I was born in 1962 in an old Spanish colony on the coast of California. They called it The
Village of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels, in honor of Mary the mother of Jesus. Never
heard of it? Oh, silly me. Like most people, you probably know it by its abbreviated name in
Spanish: Los Angeles.
- I grew up somewhere between the gleaming glass towers of Bunker Hill and the bright lights
of Hollywood. Coming from a religious family, I attended church and Sunday School almost
every week through the twelfth grade. Disillusioned by the shallowness of the religious
instruction that I received as a child, I set out on a search for God while still in my teens. This
search took me all over town, to three or four counties, to churches and spiritual groups many
miles from home.
At various times I was Catholic, then Protestant, then New Age, Charismatic, and “Born Again”. I prayed, chanted,
spoke in tongues, and “prophesied.” Got myself anointed with holy oil, slain in the Spirit, and “saved” again and
again. Jumped up, bowed down, laughed and wept. Several years later, after shopping around and examining
many disparate philosophies, I wasn’t much closer to God than when I began. Then, a friend invited me to a weekly
a Bible study that met in our neighborhood.
After reading the Bible in earnest for the first time (what an idea!), I learned what it means to become—and to live
as—a Christian. Deny myself? Carry a cross? Evangelize? There were so many things that I never learned as a
child. At last, after a few weeks of study and soul searching, I was baptized into Christ in October 1990. And life
has never been the same.
So what did I learn, exactly? I found that many of the things I was taught in my youth were not consistent with the
teaching of the Scriptures. But perhaps the most unsettling matter was this notion that “Jesus died for the sins of the
world.” Is this true? Well, of course it is. But then I read something in Isaiah 53:
- Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
In the New Testament, this passage is identified as a prophecy about the ministry of Christ. And it tells me that
Jesus didn’t just die for “the world.” Rather, he died for me. For my sins, my transgressions, my drinking and
swearing and fornication. And that’s a much different concept. Without this understanding, I would never be able to
fully understand—or appreciate—his sacrifice.
To date, most of my career has been spent in the retail industry. Let’s just say that I have learned far more about
women’s apparel (yikes!) than I ever wanted to know. My wife Ruth and I live in Southern California, where we are
active members of a non-denominational Christian church. Over the years, we have led Bible study groups and have
mentored many young Christians to help them mature in Christ. We have a son, Bradley, age 10.
Keeping it simple.
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