How Do I get Saved?
This is not some extravagant ordeal to be saved. There are not a bunch of qualifications or anything. Most of it id done right inside your own heart and in fact, some of it you have already done if you are asking this question.
First you need to believe Jesus is real, that he died on the cross and God raised Him from the dead.
You need to repent of your sins.
You have to confess aloud that Jesus is Lord.
You must be baptized by the Holy Spirit.
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.
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...
Ezekiel 36:24-26
24 For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
You see, when Jesus is speaking of being born by water, He is not speaking of physical water. He is stating that you need to be cleansed by Him of all your sins.
How is one baptized by the Holy Spirit?
Acts 2:38
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In simple English, when you ask Jesus into your heart and repent of your sins, Jesus will cleanse you of your sins and give you the Holy Spirit. He will transform you and give you a new heart and a new spirit within you. If you are truly repentant and ask Him, He will change you into a new person inside.
To be clear, when I say that Jesus is not speaking of physical water and He is simply saying He will cleanse you of your sin, I am not saying Baptism by real water is not important. It is. It just isn't an absolute requirement. Remember, when we give ourselves to Jesus, we do not do it lightly. We do it with conviction to follow Christ and to do what He wants us to do. One of the things He wants us to do is be baptized by water. It is more of a declaration of giving yourself to Jesus. It is a symbolic act, but it is a very important one. Jesus himself went to John the Baptist to be baptized by water. Jesus baptized others by water. He had his disciples baptizing people by water. Everyone who gives themselves to Jesus should get baptized by water. When you do, you will claim that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and it will represent the washing away of the sinful nature and becoming a new person in Christ. Water baptism is very important to your walk with Christ, but it is not necessarily a must to be saved. You can die after getting saved but not baptized by water and still go to heaven, but you wont make it into heaven if you are not baptized by the spirit.
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. All you really need to do is ask Him for that forgiveness and you will be washed clean of "All" of your sin.
But once you do ask God to forgive you for your sins and confess Jesus is your Lord, and after you are baptized, you cant think it is okay to live life as usual and you are saved now. You must make it your desire after that to serve God and do His will.
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....
Originally I had a prayer written here. In recent studies, I was surprised to learn that 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 would lead us into the last part of the series, "How do I Stay Right with God?"
First you need to believe Jesus is real, that he died on the cross and God raised Him from the dead.
You need to repent of your sins.
You have to confess aloud that Jesus is Lord.
You must be baptized by the Holy Spirit.
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.
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...
Ezekiel 36:24-26
24 For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
You see, when Jesus is speaking of being born by water, He is not speaking of physical water. He is stating that you need to be cleansed by Him of all your sins.
How is one baptized by the Holy Spirit?
Acts 2:38
38 Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
In simple English, when you ask Jesus into your heart and repent of your sins, Jesus will cleanse you of your sins and give you the Holy Spirit. He will transform you and give you a new heart and a new spirit within you. If you are truly repentant and ask Him, He will change you into a new person inside.
To be clear, when I say that Jesus is not speaking of physical water and He is simply saying He will cleanse you of your sin, I am not saying Baptism by real water is not important. It is. It just isn't an absolute requirement. Remember, when we give ourselves to Jesus, we do not do it lightly. We do it with conviction to follow Christ and to do what He wants us to do. One of the things He wants us to do is be baptized by water. It is more of a declaration of giving yourself to Jesus. It is a symbolic act, but it is a very important one. Jesus himself went to John the Baptist to be baptized by water. Jesus baptized others by water. He had his disciples baptizing people by water. Everyone who gives themselves to Jesus should get baptized by water. When you do, you will claim that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and it will represent the washing away of the sinful nature and becoming a new person in Christ. Water baptism is very important to your walk with Christ, but it is not necessarily a must to be saved. You can die after getting saved but not baptized by water and still go to heaven, but you wont make it into heaven if you are not baptized by the spirit.
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. All you really need to do is ask Him for that forgiveness and you will be washed clean of "All" of your sin.
But once you do ask God to forgive you for your sins and confess Jesus is your Lord, and after you are baptized, you cant think it is okay to live life as usual and you are saved now. You must make it your desire after that to serve God and do His will.
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....
Originally I had a prayer written here. In recent studies, I was surprised to learn that 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 would lead us into the last part of the series, "How do I Stay Right with God?"
Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
