How to get saved
According to the words of Jesus Christ, which are recorded in the Gospel of John, salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, when we leave evil deeds, that is, when we go through repentance, and begin to act according to what Jesus Christ has commanded us.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. (John 3:16-21)
Thus, a person receives salvation by accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, going through repentance.
Repentance means to change the way of thinking, to transform one’s mentality, to acknowledge that our sinful nature is not acceptable to God. It also means to feel sorry for the sins committed and to turn away from them through Jesus Christ.
When the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord, he realized he was sinful. He felt sorry for his sins.
So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts." (Isaiah 6:5)
Just like Isaiah we all need to acknowledge the fact that we are sinful and repent. Regret alone does not take away sins. God produces this feeling of regret in a person to lead him to repentance. God does not like when sinners die. He wants that everyone stays alive. That is why He gives a chance to repent.
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)
Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." (Acts 2:38-39)
To get saved, we need to believe in Jesus. That is why for salvation one needs to have faith in Jesus Christ (neither in a denomination nor in a church, but in the Person of Jesus Christ). It is God’s grace that brings salvation, not our deeds.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
To get saved by grace, you need to have faith. You need to believe in Jesus Christ, to acknowledge His sacrifice, and to believe that Jesus, the Son of God, died and shed His blood for you.
Repentance has two steps:
• to have faith in your heart;
• to confess it with your mouth.
That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)
The person does not have to confess all his sins committed before repentance. He needs to confess Jesus as his Lord and receive Him as his personal Savior. Then the person gets saved.
To repent, you just need to turn to God, for example, with these words:
Heavenly Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus. Thank You for Jesus Christ, who died for my sins and shed His blood for my transgressions. Lord, forgive me for all my sins and for my ignorance about You. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe He rose from the dead to justify me. I acknowledge Him as my Lord and Savior. Lord Jesus, come into my heart and live in me. Thank You, Father, that now I am saved! I am Your child now. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Jesus Christ did everything so that we could have salvation. All we need to do is just to accept it. But acceptance is only the first step. It is equally important to preserve what we have accepted. To keep our salvation, we must remain in close fellowship with God, stay in His Word, in prayer, in fellowship with other believers, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and live in obedience and dedication to God.
Therefore, if you have just turned to God in prayer of repentance, Christ for All Cities Ministries would be glad to know about you. You can write to us about yourself by filling out the form in the “Contacts” section on our website.
God bless you!
