Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
How Do I get Saved?
Being saved is not a big ordeal as many make it. It is not like you need to go through some course or pass a test. We are saved by believing in our heart that Jesus is the Son of God and that God raised Him from the dead. That is all. The trickiest part of it is whether you believe in your heart or your mind.
There are many verses about Salvation but I feel these few do a very good job of summing it all up....
Romans 10:9-10
9 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; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 1:13 NASB
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
The simple truth is, as soon as you truly believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God and He rose from the dead? You are saved. That very moment, God sends the Holy Spirit to enter you and seal you with the promise of Salvation. That is being baptized in the Spirit. At that point you are saved.
Now you might want to point out the part about confessing with your lips. It clearly says you must confess aloud to be saved. The problem with that is it would be saying anyone who is mute cannot be saved. This is one of those times you need to recognize what it is that Paul is saying and not read his words to verbatim. What Paul was telling us is that you have to believe in your heart strong enough that you are willing to confess it to others. You cannot be ashamed of it. Jesus said as much Himself...
John 3:5
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
However, John 3:5 can be easily misunderstood by someone who just reads it. I read it as it is and believed it to be as it says until someone pointed out to me that when Jesus died on the cross, he told the thief next to Him "Before the sun has set today, you'll be with me in paradise." How could that be if the thief had not been baptized in water? The answer is here...
Mark 8:38 (NASB)
38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
So if you can speak and you believe it enough to confess it to others and mean it, you are saved. There are many who will try and claim that one needs to be baptized by water, or do good works and such. Those things are very important, but they are not what saves you. To understand it all in more detail and to see why I say water baptism and good deeds don't save you, read this article... How We are Saved: The Truth of God's Word
There is one other minor thing that I believe is very important to understand going in. Getting saved isn't a one time action and just going back to living your normal life. Many Christians will say that you just come as you are to Jesus and He will change you to what He wants from you. And that is true. Its just a little deceiving sounding in my opinion.
Look, it doesn't matter what your sins are. What you have done in your life, God will forgive you for it. If you have murdered people, God will forgive you. If you have sexually abused people, men, women, children, it doesn't change that God will forgive you for it, if you are truly repentant in your heart. You honestly cannot imagine a sin that is so bad that God wont forgive you other than Blaspheme of the Holy Spirit, and if you are wanting to be saved, then you have not committed Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. All you really need to do is believe in your heart and you will be saved. The moment you believe, you will be washed clean and forgiven of all of your sins.
However, once you are saved, it doesn't end there. That is just the beginning. From that point, it is of dire importance that you work toward being right with God in a personal relationship with Him. The first steps to that is being baptized by water.
Matthew 7:21
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Sinners Prayer....
The majority of Christians are taught that you need to say the Sinners prayer. There is nothing bad about saying the Sinner's prayer, but it is not necessary either. The truth is, the Sinner's Prayer is not even biblical. There is nowhere in the Bible that actually promotes anything like a sinner's prayer. The Bible is clear that saying a prayer is not what means you are saved. It is your belief! Your conviction! Your repentant heart, that means you will be saved.
You cannot repeat some words and be saved. You have to truly believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. You must confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.
If you do those things and truly mean them in your heart, you then need only trust God that you are saved. I cannot stress enough however, that these are not just one time things to do and just put God on a shelf after that. Being a Brother or Sister in Christ is a conviction in the heart to serve God and follow Christ. It is of utmost importance that you work hard to grow closer to Jesus. To learn more about God. To tend your relationship with God with diligence. Which you will then want to read "How do I Stay Right with God?"
There are many verses about Salvation but I feel these few do a very good job of summing it all up....
Romans 10:9-10
9 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; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 1:13 NASB
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
The simple truth is, as soon as you truly believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God and He rose from the dead? You are saved. That very moment, God sends the Holy Spirit to enter you and seal you with the promise of Salvation. That is being baptized in the Spirit. At that point you are saved.
Now you might want to point out the part about confessing with your lips. It clearly says you must confess aloud to be saved. The problem with that is it would be saying anyone who is mute cannot be saved. This is one of those times you need to recognize what it is that Paul is saying and not read his words to verbatim. What Paul was telling us is that you have to believe in your heart strong enough that you are willing to confess it to others. You cannot be ashamed of it. Jesus said as much Himself...
John 3:5
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
However, John 3:5 can be easily misunderstood by someone who just reads it. I read it as it is and believed it to be as it says until someone pointed out to me that when Jesus died on the cross, he told the thief next to Him "Before the sun has set today, you'll be with me in paradise." How could that be if the thief had not been baptized in water? The answer is here...
Mark 8:38 (NASB)
38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
So if you can speak and you believe it enough to confess it to others and mean it, you are saved. There are many who will try and claim that one needs to be baptized by water, or do good works and such. Those things are very important, but they are not what saves you. To understand it all in more detail and to see why I say water baptism and good deeds don't save you, read this article... How We are Saved: The Truth of God's Word
There is one other minor thing that I believe is very important to understand going in. Getting saved isn't a one time action and just going back to living your normal life. Many Christians will say that you just come as you are to Jesus and He will change you to what He wants from you. And that is true. Its just a little deceiving sounding in my opinion.
Look, it doesn't matter what your sins are. What you have done in your life, God will forgive you for it. If you have murdered people, God will forgive you. If you have sexually abused people, men, women, children, it doesn't change that God will forgive you for it, if you are truly repentant in your heart. You honestly cannot imagine a sin that is so bad that God wont forgive you other than Blaspheme of the Holy Spirit, and if you are wanting to be saved, then you have not committed Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. All you really need to do is believe in your heart and you will be saved. The moment you believe, you will be washed clean and forgiven of all of your sins.
However, once you are saved, it doesn't end there. That is just the beginning. From that point, it is of dire importance that you work toward being right with God in a personal relationship with Him. The first steps to that is being baptized by water.
Matthew 7:21
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Sinners Prayer....
The majority of Christians are taught that you need to say the Sinners prayer. There is nothing bad about saying the Sinner's prayer, but it is not necessary either. The truth is, the Sinner's Prayer is not even biblical. There is nowhere in the Bible that actually promotes anything like a sinner's prayer. The Bible is clear that saying a prayer is not what means you are saved. It is your belief! Your conviction! Your repentant heart, that means you will be saved.
You cannot repeat some words and be saved. You have to truly believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead. You must confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.
If you do those things and truly mean them in your heart, you then need only trust God that you are saved. I cannot stress enough however, that these are not just one time things to do and just put God on a shelf after that. Being a Brother or Sister in Christ is a conviction in the heart to serve God and follow Christ. It is of utmost importance that you work hard to grow closer to Jesus. To learn more about God. To tend your relationship with God with diligence. Which you will then want to read "How do I Stay Right with God?"
