How to Be Saved

At midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing praises to God in a jail in Philippi when an earthquake shook the prison and threw open every door (Acts 16:25, 26). The jailer was sure his prisoners had escaped. He “came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,” and asked the most important question a person can ask: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:29, 30).

The answer was short. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). That same night he and his whole family were baptized (Acts 16:33). If you’re asking the jailer’s question today, the answer hasn’t changed.

Short answer: We’re saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by our own good works. Jesus died for our sins and rose again. When we come to Him, repent, confess our sins, and trust Him as Savior and Lord, He forgives us, gives us a new heart, and grants us eternal life.

Why We Need Saving

Nobody looks for a rescue until they realize they’re in trouble. The Bible is honest about our condition: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). That means every one of us, not just the people we consider bad.

Sin is more than a few bad habits. The Bible defines it as breaking God’s law: “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). At its root, sin is choosing our own way over God’s. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6).

Sin cuts us off from God. “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God” (Isaiah 59:2). And it ends in death: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Notice the contrast in that verse. Death is something we earn. Eternal life can only be received as a gift.

We can’t fix this on our own. Even our best efforts fall short, because “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). Trying harder can’t erase the past or change the heart. We need a Savior.

What God Has Done for Us

God didn’t wait for us to clean ourselves up. “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). Paul adds, “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

At the cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserved. “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Paul sums up the exchange in one sentence: “he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus took our sin, and we receive His perfect record.

The story didn’t end at the tomb. Christ “died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4). He “was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Romans 4:25). Because He lives, His victory over sin and death is real, and it can be ours.

Jesus is still working for us today as our High Priest in heaven. “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25). The One who died for you now speaks to the Father on your behalf.

Saved by Grace Through Faith

Salvation is a gift. “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). Grace means God gives us what we could never earn. Faith is how we receive it.

That rules out earning our way to heaven. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us” (Titus 3:5). Going to church, doing good, and keeping a clean reputation all have their place, but none of them can pay for sin. Only Jesus could do that, and “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Saving faith is more than agreeing that Jesus existed. It means trusting Him with your life. When fiery serpents bit the Israelites in the wilderness, God told Moses to set a serpent of brass on a pole, and anyone who looked at it lived (Numbers 21:8, 9). Jesus used that story to explain His own death: “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish” (John 3:14, 15). The people couldn’t heal themselves. They looked, and they lived.

If your faith feels weak, start with God’s Word. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Even faith is His gift, and He grows it as we read and listen.

How to Respond to Jesus

These steps aren’t hoops to jump through. They describe how a person turns toward a God who has already come looking for them, because “the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

1. Come to Him as you are. You don’t have to get your life in order first. Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28), and “him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37).
2. Repent. Repentance means being sorry for sin and turning away from it, not just regretting the consequences. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). You don’t have to work this up on your own. It is “the goodness of God” that “leadeth thee to repentance” (Romans 2:4).
3. Confess your sins. Tell God the truth about what you’ve done. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
4. Believe in Jesus and receive Him as Savior and Lord. Trust that His death paid for your sins and that He rose again, and give Him your life. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved” (Romans 10:9). “As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God” (John 1:12).
5. Be baptized. Baptism is how the Bible tells new believers to answer Jesus publicly. Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38). In the New Testament, people went down into the water and came up again (Matthew 3:16), a picture of being “buried with him by baptism into death” and rising to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).

A Simple Prayer

There are no magic words, because “the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). But if you’d like a place to start, you can pray something like this:

Father in heaven, I know I have sinned against You, and I can’t save myself. Thank You for sending Jesus to die for my sins and for raising Him from the dead. I’m sorry for my sins, and I turn from them. Please forgive me and give me a new heart. Jesus, I trust You as my Savior and Lord. Help me follow You every day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

If you prayed that from your heart, God heard you. Keep reading His Word, and find a Bible-believing church where you can grow and be baptized.

A New Life Begins

Being saved is a beginning, not a finish line. Jesus told Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Paul wrote, “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

God doesn’t forgive us and then leave us as we were. He promised, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (Ezekiel 36:26). Part of that new heart is a new attitude toward His law: “I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts” (Hebrews 8:10). What once felt like rules imposed from outside becomes the desire of a changed heart.

We don’t obey in order to be saved. We obey because we have been saved. Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Paul, the great preacher of grace, asked, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law” (Romans 3:31). We are “created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (Ephesians 2:10), and real faith shows up in a changed life, because “faith, if it hath not works, is dead” (James 2:17).

None of this happens by willpower. “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). Growth takes time, so be patient with yourself. Stay close to Him through prayer and Bible study, and “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

Can You Know You’re Saved?

Yes. God wants you to be sure. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1 John 5:12, 13).

Your assurance doesn’t rest on how you feel on a given day. It rests on Jesus. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Jesus promised that whoever hears His word and believes “hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

That assurance belongs to a living relationship. Jesus compared it to a branch joined to a vine: “Abide in me, and I in you” (John 15:4). While we stay connected to Him, nothing can tear us away. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27, 28). And when we stumble, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).

The gift of eternal life will be given in full when Jesus comes again. “The dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed… this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Corinthians 15:52, 53). His promise still stands: “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:3).

Common Questions About Salvation

Can I be saved by being a good person?

No. Even the best person falls short (Romans 3:23). “A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). Good works matter, but they are the fruit of salvation, not the price of it.

Do I have to be baptized to be saved?

Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16), and He told His followers to baptize new disciples (Matthew 28:19). Baptism doesn’t save by itself. It’s “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son” that “cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). But for anyone who is able, baptism is the Bible’s way to answer Christ publicly. The thief on the cross had no chance to be baptized, and Jesus still promised him paradise (Luke 23:42, 43).

Can I lose my salvation?

No one can snatch you out of God’s hand (John 10:28). But the Bible also warns believers not to walk away: “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). Jesus said, “he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13). We stay in that relationship by faith, and God gives us the strength to stay, because He “is able to keep you from falling” (Jude 24).

Am I too far gone to be saved?

No. Paul once persecuted Christians, and he still wrote, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15). God’s invitation is wide open: “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). In Jesus’ story of the prodigal son, the father ran to meet his son while he was “yet a great way off” (Luke 15:20).

Do I have to keep the commandments to be saved?

We aren’t saved by keeping the commandments. We’re saved by grace through faith. But grace doesn’t cancel God’s law. It gives us the heart to keep it (Romans 3:31; Hebrews 8:10). Revelation describes God’s faithful people as those who “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12), and that includes all ten, with the seventh-day Sabbath among them. Our study on what the gospel is looks at that verse more closely.

What if I keep falling into the same sin?

Don’t give up, and don’t stay away from God. Keep confessing, because He keeps forgiving (1 John 1:9). He “which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Victory often comes slowly, but it does come as we stay close to Him and lean on His strength instead of our own.

God Is Calling You Today

You don’t have to earn salvation, wait for it, or figure it out alone. Jesus has already done the work, and what’s left is to answer Him. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

The Bible’s last invitation is open to everyone: “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” (Revelation 22:17).

Have a Question About the Bible?

If you have questions about salvation, baptism, or anything else in Scripture, ask us a Bible question and we’ll answer it from the Word of God.