What must I do to be saved?
God’s Plan of Salvation
God’s Part
- The great love of God for man (John 3:16)
- He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Saviour (Luke 19:10)
- Sent the Holy Spirit as a guide (John 16:13)
- Gave the Gospel as “the power” unto salvation (Romans 1:16)
- Provided atonement by the blood of Christ (Romans 5:9)
Man’s Part
- Hear the Gospel. (Romans 10:17, John 8:32)
- Believe the Gospel (Hebrews 11:6, John 20:31)
- Repent of past sins (Luke 13:3, Acts 17:30)
- Confess faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:10, Matthew 10:32)
- Be Baptized (Galatians 3:27, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38)
- Be faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10)
God has done His part; will you do yours?
If you have questions concerning your part of this great plan, continue reading.
God desires that all men be saved (cf. 2 Pet. 3:9). The truth is that if someone wants to be saved, God will ensure that they will have such an opportunity (cf. Matt. 7:7-8). For most people, then, the question becomes: what do I need to do to be saved? This is an important question to ask and consider and it is our hope that if you have not yet considered this that you will do so. In order to find out about God’s plan for us to be saved, we must turn to His unadulterated, objective truth i.e. the bible (cf. Jn. 17:17). The following steps below are those that one needs to take in order to be saved by God:
Remove Pre-Conceived Notions
Prior to opening up the bible to study and learn from it, we must rid ourselves of any preconceived notions that we might have. Preconceived notions are opinions formed ahead of time based on little to no evidence. It’s dangerous to live life this way and especially so with respect to our spiritual lives. There is always something we can learn from God’s word and there is always a message we need to be reminded of even if we have heard it before. If we hold on to our pre-conceived notions we may be tempted to disagree with the bible if it doesn’t meed our standards, feelings or conclusions.
Ridding ourselves of our pre-conceived conclusions will allow the gospel to do exactly what it was intended to do: change our lives and save us from our sins! Sins separate us from obeying God’s will. If we fail to get rid of any pre-conceived notions we have or we just don’t want to do it, we will never receive the grace God wants to impart to us and the reward it will ultimately yield if we are willing to let the gospel do its job.
Listen to the Word
Once we have gotten rid of any pre-conceived notions we may have, we will be ready to turn our attention to God’s word and to listen carefully to what it says. The bible teaches that us that God cannot be pleased without faith (cf. Heb. 11:6) and the only way for us to acquire faith and to grow in it is to listen to the word of God (cf. Rom. 10:17).
Believe
After listening to the word, one must be willing to believe that God is the source of life and salvation and that only He alone can impart to us the grace needed to rescue us from sin (cf. Jn. 3:16; 14:6; Acts 16:31; Heb. 11:6;).
Confess
The need for confession is something that Jesus Himself emphasized in His teachings (cf. Matt. 10:32-33). This isn’t merely uttering the words: “I believe that Jesus is God” but it’s more of a testimony to the commitment that we are making to live for Jesus and to stand up for Him before all men (cf. Rom. 10:9-10).
Repent
The scriptures teach that repentance must be enacted by the individual who desires to be saved (cf. Acts 2:38). The term repentance refers to the act of turning away from sin and living a life that if different than our former worldly selves (cf. Matt. 3:8; Eph. 4:17-24).
Be Baptized
The bible also teaches that baptism is essential to salvation because it connects us to the blood of Christ (cf. Rom. 6:3-7). Baptism, in the bible, means being immersed in water (cf. Acts 8:36-39). Without baptism, one cannot be saved from their sins (cf. Acts 2:38; 1 Pet. 3:21)
Acts 2:38–40 (KJV 1900): 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Live Faithfully
The Bible teaches that one can be lost after they have been saved if they don’t remain committed to Christ by living faithfully (cf. 2 Pet. 2:20-22). Living faithfully includes being a part of a local church, being holy as God is holy and making sacrifices in order to help one another and get to Heaven (cf. Eph. 4:24-6:18; Rev. 2:10).
Only through God’s love do we have Hope for eternal life. His son,Jesus Christ, paid a debt we could never repay. God’s sacrificed His son, Jesus Christ to do what we could not do for ourselves. He took care of two problems, sin and death. When we obey this Gospel, Christ saves us from our sins and gives us eternal life after our earthly death.