What Must I Do To Be Saved?

God has provided a Saviour in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. Every single one of us has sinned (Romans 3:23) and rebelled against God (Romans 3:10-18). Sin separates us from fellowship with God and earns us His judgment (Romans 1:18, 6:23). Amazingly, Jesus was willing to pay the penalty for the sin that we deserve (Romans 5:8). To do this Jesus left the glory of heaven, took upon Himself our frail humanity, lived a sinless life, died a criminal's death, bore the guilt of all our sins, suffered the judgement we deserve so that we could be forgiven (Philippians 2:6-8). Only Jesus Christ could do what was necessary to reconcile us to God (1 Peter 3:18).

It was through Christ's death on the cross that God's righteous wrath against our sin was satisfied, and a way to obtain forgiveness was provided (Romans 5:9). This forgiveness is possible because God is willing to exchange our sinfulness for Christ’s righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21). For this exchange to take place, a person must acknowledge and repent of their sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 10:31).

ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR SIN

“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

First, you must see yourself for what you are - a sinner. Sin is tragic and vile. It blights, degrades and destroys. It has dire consequences: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “The soul that sinneth it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). “The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17).

REPENT OF YOUR SIN

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.” Acts 3:19

Second, you must also repent. Repentance is not making a resolution to do better. It is not just conviction of sin, for a person may be convinced that he is wrong and still not repent. Repentance can be described this way: “Man is born with his back toward God. When he truly repents, he turns right around and faces God. Repentance is a change of mind, a change of heart, and it results in a change of action.”

The Bible says, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:7). You must change your mind about sin and want God to end its mastery over you. After all, sin is so bad it took Christ’s death to make forgiveness possible for you.

Unfortunately, many people think they can earn their salvation by doing good works. But the Bible says "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” in God’s sight (Isaiah 64:6). Our own best efforts do not measure up to God’s perfect standard (Romans 3:23). Therefore we must also repent of the idea that we can earn God’s salvation by our good works (Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 9:14).

BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST

“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Thirdly, we must believe in the completed work Jesus accomplished on the cross. You must believe that Jesus substituted Himself for you, that He died for your sins, taking the punishment you deserved, and that He was resurrected from death (Romans 4:24-25, 5:8-10) to demonstrate that every sin was paid in full (Hebrews 10:11-18). “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 10:13).

“Because the sinless Saviour died,

My sinful soul is counted free;

For God, the Just, is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me.”

MAKE YOUR DECISION

“If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:9

You must believe in Jesus Christ and receive Him as your Saviour by faith if you are to be saved from the power of sin and its consequences. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).

If you have never yielded to God's plan (to be forgiven and reconciled to Him) take time right now to talk to Him about these things. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Will you pray to God something like this?

“God, I’m convinced I am a sinner, deserving your judgement, and that Christ alone can save me. I willingly repent of my sinful life and my efforts to save myself and believe Jesus Christ died for me. I want to receive Him as my personal Saviour.”

If you have just called upon the Lord to save you, please let us know. We’d be delighted to help you in your first steps as a Christian.