What Must I Do to Be Saved?

What Must I Do to Be Saved?

This is the most important question you will ever ask. It’s where you begin a journey that will change your life forever.

Every person has an eternal journey to make — either with God or without Him. Those who are ‘saved’ will spend eternity in the presence of the Lord God Almighty (what most people call ‘heaven’). Those who are not ‘saved’ will spend eternity without God (a place often referred to as ‘torments’ or ‘hell’).

Most likely you’ve heard the verse from John 3:16 many times. It says:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Why did Jesus (God’s only begotten Son) have to die? The answer is ‘sin’.

Romans 3:23
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

The word ‘all’ here means just that — ALL. Every one of us is born into a sinful world with a sinful heart. It’s like we’re genetically broken.

Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

‘Wages of sin’? It’s what your sin earns. Death. Hell. But God provides a life preserver in the form of His Son Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:8 tells us that God loved us so that “when we were in our sin Christ Jesus came to die for us.”

Second Corinthians 5:21 says, “He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we may be made the righteousness of God through Him.”

The only caveat is that we must willingly accept that sacrifice. God will not force any decision on us. Free Will was given to us from the very start. Free Will means we can choose wisely or foolishly.

How do we make this choice? Do nothing, and your choice is made — you choose to refuse the gift of life through Christ. But if you wish to accept Christ’s gift, then here’s how:

Romans 10:9-10 says “…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Romans 10:13 tells us “…whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

You can boil this down to ABC:
A: Admit that you are a sinner and that you cannot reconcile your life with God on your own.

B: Believe in God’s plan to help you. Believe that Jesus Christ died on a cross and rose again on the third day.

C: Confess Christ as Lord! Tell the world! At least, tell a friend. Tell someone and start living for Christ. The Bible is God’s owner’s manual, and you’ll find there the ways to serve Him. The Gospel of John is a great starting place. Then read I John (First John – it’s near the back of the New Testament).

When should you do this? NOW. You might think that you have lots of tomorrows to make this life-changing decision, but no one is promised one moment longer than now.

The prayer doesn’t have to be fancy. Just say this:

“Dear God, I confess that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for all the times I’ve failed you. I know I can’t erase the sins, but I believe Jesus can. I need a Savior. I believe that Jesus, your Son, died on the cross to be my Savior. I believe He rose from the grave on the third day to live as my Lord and King. I turn away from my sin (repent means to ‘turn away’), and I ask you to forgive my sins. I ask Jesus Christ to come into my heart and become my Savior. I receive you as my Lord. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me.”

Anyone who means words like these, who confesses his or her sin and asks Jesus to come into his or her heart, that one is saved according to God’s Word. If you pray a prayer of repentance and faith, you are saved. You have God’s word on it.

Dear friend, if you have prayed this prayer to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior, take a minute to write down the date and time in a diary or in your Bible, if you have one. Send an email to a friend, or perhaps to us (radio at peeringintodarkness dot com). We’d love to rejoice with you and welcome you as a new brother or sister in Christ.

Don’t forget that Christ will soon be returning to Earth to reign as King. Are you ready to welcome Him? Now is the time to accept Christ’s salvation. Tomorrow may be too late.

Please e-mail me if I can help in any way.