Steps to Salvation

“‘Come now and let us reason together’ says the Lord, ‘though your sins are as scarlet they will be as white as snow.'” Isa. 1:18

 “He [God] says, ‘At the acceptable time I listened to you, and on the day of salvation I helped you.’ Behold, now is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation.’” II Cor. 6:2

If you’re reading this, I believe God is calling you to Himself. He wants a relationship with you, wants to fellowship with you for eternity. There is no magic formula, no special words to recite, and no number of “things” you can do to bring about this relationship. God has done it all through His son, Jesus Christ.

The following steps are intended to help you understand your situation, from God’s perspective, and open your eyes to the truth of Jesus’ words, “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but through Me.”[1] There is a sample prayer at the end that, if you are truly repentant, you can offer to God. The specific words aren’t important; it’s the humility in your heart that God looks at.

  1. There is a God. He is holy and hates sin “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” I Peter 1:16.
  2. Your sin separated you from God and deserves death.

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

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 6:23.

  1. God loves you so much He sent Jesus to earth to die in your place, to pay the penalty you could never pay on your own.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Jn. 3:16

  1. Good works, good attitudes, and good deeds can’t solve your sin problem. You must believe that Jesus is THE ONLY WAY back to God, and trust that His death on your behalf erased your debt.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Eph. 2:8,9.

  1. Tell God you’re sorry for your sin (repent) and you want to turn your life around.

“…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;” Rom. 10:9.

  1. Believe that God has forgiven you and restored you to fellowship with Him.

“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Rom. 8:1 (read Blog on this site: Good News Monday)

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I Jn. 1:9

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” I Jn. 5:13

The devil will try to tell you that nothing happened, that you’re still the same worthless sinner you always were. Don’t believe his lies. But you will know because you (and everybody else) will see a change in your attitudes, your desires, and you may even be drawn to different companions.

Jesus told a parable about a sower and four different results from the same seed. Only one of four took root and grew. Make sure you see the results of a changed life. If nothing changes and lasts, come back to this list and examine yourself to see if it was real. Read the whole story about the sower and seeds in Luke 8:4-8.

  1. Tell everyone what has just happened to you.

You Believe in Jesus Christ as your Savior

You are a child of God

Your sins are forgiven

Your relationship with God has been restored

Your eternity in Heaven is guaranteed

  1. Find a Bible-believing church and become involved with fellowship and service. Ask the pastor about believer’s baptism and plan for this outward display of the inward change that has taken place.
  1. Spend time daily reading the Bible and talking to God (prayer).

Lord God, I confess that I am a sinner and my sin has separated me from You and there’s nothing I can do on my own to change that. I believe that Jesus came to earth, died on the cross for my sin, was resurrected and now sits at Your right hand waiting to call me home to heaven. I believe that He is the only way back to You. I want to repent and receive Your free gift of salvation in Jesus. Thank You for hearing my prayer. Amen.

 

If you have prayed this prayer and would like to share it with us, or would like more information about next steps, send us an email with a brief summary of what you just did along with your contact info. We’ll get right back to you.

[1] Jn. 14:6