“What Must I Do To Be Saved?”

I am certain that you are interested in the Biblical answer to that question, or you probably would not be reading this article.  This is the question asked of the Apostle Peter after the first Gospel sermon (Acts 2:37).  Before we start the answer, let us look at a little background.

First of all, you have to believe that the Bible is the unerring Word of God.  If you do not believe in the Bible, there is no point in going on, because there is no other place to find out what God expects and wants of us.  We must agree that God is the ultimate authority on what God wants, and we must be willing to do what He tells us to do that is pleasing to HIm.  Does that make sense?  From that premise, we can move on to see what the Bible tells us to do to be saved.  I urge you to read the attached Scriptures, and then to open your own Bible and be sure that we have quoted them correctly.

These are the steps that the Bible tells us are necessary to be saved:

  1. Hear the Word  That should be self-evident.  How can you possibly believe something of which you have never heard?  It is absolutely necessary that you have heard of God and Jesus and the Bible, or you would have no idea at all that they existed, would you? (Romans 10:17)
  2. Believe  There are three thing that you must believe:  a.  That God exists  (Hebrews 11:6) is the first requirement.  b.  That Jesus Christ is the Son of God is the second thing (Acts 8:37; John 14:1; John 6:29;  John 20:21; I John 3:23)).  c.  That Jesus arose from the dead  is the third thing you must believe (Romans 10:9).
  3. Repent  This means to realize that there are things in your life which are contrary to the Will of God, and to stop doing those things.  This is absolutely necessary  (Luke 13:3).  If you deliberately continue to do those things, there is no forgiveness for you.
  4. Confess  Unlike what some teach, this does not mean to make a public confession of all the wrongs you have done.  Nor does it mean to tell any one man what you have done wrong.  It simply means that you are to publically confess aloud that you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Romans 10:9-10; Matthew 10:32;   Luke 12:8).
  5. Baptism  (Greek meaning was to dip, to plunge, or to immerse; it has nothing to do with pouring water over, or sprinkling water on an object or a person)It is indeed amazing that many will balk at this point.  However, if you put away man’s teaching and look closely at what the Bible itself says, the conclusion is clear that this is necessary…that it is only through baptism that one’s sins are forgiven…at the point of baptism, and not before. (Acts 2:38;  Acts 8:38;  I Corinthians 12:13;  I Peter 3:21)  If baptism is still a stumbling block that you find hard to believe, try this:  The book of Acts is the book of the New Testament that  tells of the establishment of the new congregations, and is a history of how that was accomplished.  Read the book of Acts with pen and paper at hand.  Whenever you read about a conversion and of anyone becoming a Christian, note what they were told and what was done.  In each and every one, including the conversionof Saul of Tarsus (who became the Apostle Paul), you will see that they were baptized before they were saved.  It is for this reason that we believe that baptism is a necessary part of salvation, and not a mere outward symbol that we have already been saved. 
  6. Live a life according to God’s Word  You will need to study the Word of God, the New Testament, to see what kind of life is pleasing to God today.  The two commandments that Jesus quoted are found in Matthew 22:37-40, Mark 12:30,33; and Luke 10:27.  To understand how God wants these two commandments carried out, you will need to read the New Testament and  learn what He has said.

If you think This article is misleading, are you arguing with the article or with the Bible?  I urge you to read the references.  If there is an error in this article, please post a comment and let me know, for I would not wish to lead anyone astray.

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Posted on May 9th, 2009 by doc
Filed under: Authority of Scripture, New Testament, Obedience, Salvation

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