how to be saved
Written By Fortune Neluswi
“For 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 —
JESUS WILL SAVE WHOSOEVER WILL
The Bible teaches us that salvation is given for FREE!!
“And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freeely.” — Revelation 22:17
Man’s greatest need is to be forgiven of his sins. Salvation is not a difficult matter and God only requires a child-like faith to be saved. God has made salvation so simple that the smallest child who understands right from wrong can accept it and be saved. Salvation, my friend, is NOT hard, it is VERY simple. God has made salvation so easy that anybody who acknowledges that he is a sinner and knows that by faith he can receive Christ as Savior, can be saved.
“I AM THE DOOR: by me if ANY man enter in, HE SHALL BE SAVED, …” (John 10:9, KJV)
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if ANY man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Rev 3:20, KJV)
The Word of God is crystal clear that ANYONE can be saved, and the Bible tells us why in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is…NOT WILLING that ANY should perish…” God DOES NOT want one single sinner to perish into hell. God wants to live in your heart my friend. All you have to do is to “…take the water of life freely.” This can ONLY be done through faith in the blood of Jesus.salvation so easy that anybody who acknowledges that he is a sinner and knows that by faith he can receive Christ as Savior, can be saved.
“The Lord is…NOT WILLING that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9, KJV)
Whilst anyone may receive eternal life, God DOES NOT force anyone to be saved. The Bible teaches that man is a free agent with the capacity to accept God’s gift of eternal life or to choose eternal damnation through rejection of God’s Son (John 3:18 |Deut 18:19 |Rev 22:17). You don’t need to be inside a church building to be saved, you can be saved anywhere and at any time. The Bible contains many figures of speech that teach us on the simplicity of salvation. In John 4:14 Jesus said, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.” Revelation 22:17 says, “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” It is very simple to take a drink of water. All you have to do is to pour some water in a glass and then drink! — Jesus is the One Who is the water! You take a drink and He comes in. That’s how simple it is to be saved.
“… And let him that is athirst come. And WHOSOEVER will, let him take the water of life FREELY.” (Rev 22:17, KJV)
THE honest truth is that God has provided a simple and easy way for all mankind to be saved. In your sinful nature, you CANNOT do any form of good works to get saved except come to the Lord Jesus Christ. People have tried to perform their own works of righteousness to earn salvation. People want some soft music in the background. They want some candles in the church. People want to learn some confessions of faith. People want to weep a bucket-full of tears to be saved. People want to walk down the aisle to be saved. People want to do something themselves to be saved.
NOT BY WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS – NOT BY RELIGIOUS ACTS
When you get saved, you may cry, but the crying won’t have anything to do with your getting saved. You may get saved with soft music playing, but the soft music won’t have a single thing to do with your getting saved. You may get saved the moment you join a church, but the joining of a church won’t have a single thing to do with your getting saved. You may shout, but the shouting will not save you.
“For BY GRACE ARE YE SAVED THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV)
The Word of God boldly proclaims that eternal life is obtained WITHOUT good works, i.e., works of self-righteousness. Salvation is by grace (mere undeserved favour ) from God through our faith in the precious blood of Jesus. You cannot do anything to get saved except come to the Lord Jesus Christ. When you get saved, you may cry a bucket-full of tears, but the crying won’t have a single thing to do with your getting saved. The way to get saved is to come to Jesus and trust Him by faith. It is the simple plan that God has made. There is nothing “magic” about the words you pray, it is your faith (trust) in Jesus Christ that saves you. It is your faith that causes you to call upon Jesus to forgive your sins.
Salvation is repenting towards God in faith because of the SINS we have committed. Biblical repentance is when we come to the realization that we have sinned AGAINST GOD and by faith we turn to Christ to be forgiven of our sins (Acts 11:21).
“Being justified FREELY by his GRACE through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:”, (Romans 3:24, KJV)
Salvation is NOT by your own merit; it is not because you have any claim. Salvation is for FREE! You receive eternal life without performing any good deeds. The Bible is clear that whosoever wants to be saved is NOT required to do any works of righteousness.
“NOT BY WORKS of righteousness which we have done, but according to HIS MERCY he saved us…” (Titus 3:5, KJV).
THE CHANGE COMES AFTER YOU ARE SAVED, NOT BEFORE!
“To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever BELIEVETH in him SHALL RECEIVE REMISSION OF SINS.” (Acts 10:43, KJV)
“To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever BELIEVETH in him SHALL RECEIVE REMISSION OF SINS.” (Acts 10:43, KJV)
Notice that there is no requirement to stop doing some “bad” deeds or start a “right living” in order for one to get saved. The Bible does NOT require us to give up any bad works to be saved! The change in a person’s way of life only comes AFTER they are saved and NOT before! Salvation is for FREE– that means you CANNOT earn it by any good works! You cannot impress God by changing behavior or living a “good” life so as to get saved. God says “all our righteousness are as FILTHY RAGS” before Him (Isaiah 64:6).
To be saved, friend, you simple need to realize your sinful condition and come to Christ by faith. That is how simple God made salvation to be. It is our faith that is COUNTED for righteousness. No good works are required to be saved.
“But to him that WORKETH NOT, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, HIS FAITH is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5, KJV). That’s Biblical salvation!
IT IS THE BLOOD OF JESUS THAT CLEANSES FROM SIN
Praying DOES NOT cleanse from sin, Pharisees used to pray but they went to Hell. Changing your lifestyle DOES NOT cleanse from sin. Being an active church member DOES NOT cleanse from sin. Joining a church DOES NOT cleanse from sin. Living a good life DOES NOT cleanse from sin. Being baptized in water DOES NOT cleanse from sin. Going to church every day DOES NOT cleanse from sin. Partaking of the sacraments DOES NOT cleanse from sin. Committing your life to Jesus DOES NOT cleanse from sin. Singing in the choir DOES NOT cleanse from sin. Tithing DOES NOT cleanse from sin. THE BLOOD OF JESUS — HIS BLOOD ALONE — cleanses from sin!
“If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST HIS SON CLEANSETH US FROM ALL SIN” , 1st John 1: 7, KJV
SALVATION IS SIMPLY BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
Being optimistic is NOT faith, turning over a new leaf in order to leave a better life for God is NOT faith. Abstaining from “bad” things is NOT faith. Saying you believe is NOT faith. Hoping for the best is NOT faith. Worrying is NOT faith. Faith is when you come as a sinner in need of a Savior, and you actively place your trust upon Jesus Christ to forgive and save you, because of the blood that He shed for you. Do you want to be saved? It’s so simple to be saved. You must simply go to the Lord and believe on Him in faith. Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose again to pay for your sins. If you’ll simply trust in Christ as your door into heaven, you can be saved. The honest truth is that we are all rotten dirty sinners deserving to burn in hell, but God who is full of mercy saves us by His grace through our faith in the precious blood of Jesus Christ
“…by grace are ye saved, through faith…” (Ephesians 2:8).
Do not try and measure up your salvation by hoping to have an experience similar to one that you heard from somebody else. The Bible is clear that outward conditions and emotions vary with different people. Instead, if you want to be saved, simply go to Christ by faith, realizing your guilt as a sinner that is deserving of hell fire, and by faith ask Jesus to forgive you your sins and you will be born again. A lot of you would be saved, but you want to have something about which God says nothing! You want to feel something coming out of your ears and see visions. You want an ecstatic feeling to strike you and “see visions”. You want to have something about which the Bible says nothing!
THINGS YOU MUST ACKNOWLEDGE TO BE SAVED:
- You are a sinner under the condemnation of God’s Law (Romans 3:10,23). The entire matter of salvation deals with OUR SINS. You can put all the faith in Christ you want, but it means nothing if you’re in denial about your sins… “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1st John 1:10). Repentance is when we come to the realization that we have sinned AGAINST GOD and by faith we turn to Christ to be forgiven of our sins.
- You are GUILTY, and deserve to go to Hellfire as punishment for your sins (Romans 3:19; 6:23; Revelation 21:8).
- Jesus Christ, God in the flesh (God’s Son), died upon the cross to pay for your sins (John 3:16-18; Romans 5:8). It is Jesus’ blood that takes our sins away (1st John 1:7)
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU ARE NOW SAVED
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” (Romans 8:16, KJV)
This is how you get to know that you are now born again. It is ONLY the Holy Spirit that confirms in your heart that you are now saved; Salvation is NOT a process; you are saved at that very moment you trust Christ to forgive you (Mark 2:5). You may have been a very active member at your church, but if you have never had this experience, then you are simply not yet saved! It is a common trend for pastors to make people follow some confession of faith with a raised hand and then thereafter they declare them saved. This is the nonsense being taught in Charismatic circles today, and by their televangelists. Your pastor has no right to declare anyone saved. It is God’s duty, the onewho does the saving. Make sure that you get saved according to the Bible otherwise you will go to hell like the religious Pharisees.
Most people compare themselves to others who are worse than they are, instead of properly comparing themselves to God’s Law. It’s very easy to view one’s self as being righteous if we COMPARE ourselves to our fellow mankind. Surely most people will look good in their own eyes if they watch the news or read the newspaper. You hear about all the crime and horrible things that people do and then conclude that you are not so bad after all. They are looking horizontally, instead of vertically. They ought to be comparing themselves to a Holy God, instead of sinful men!
My friend, you CANNOT get saved until you admit that you are a sinner, deserving of hell. If you are not willing to confess your sins by admitting your wicked ways to yourself first and then to God, then you don’t need a Savior. Jesus is the Savior (i.e., the Christ) who paid for your sins. If you realize that you’re a guilty sinner and thus need a Savior, then you simply need to believe upon Jesus to have your sins forgiven. Do you see your need for Christ? — “I AM THE DOOR: by me if ANY man enter in, he SHALL BE SAVED, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” — Jesus Christ, John 10:9 (KJV) —