How Do I Get Saved?

Learn what we mean about getting saved and how to do it.

How does one get 'saved'?  This is the most important question that you will probably ever ask.  It is essential therefore, that the answer be correct.  Please find time to understand these concepts.  Your eternal life depends upon it.

At this point, let's examine the word 'repent'.  In The Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, the definition for the word 'repent' is 'To turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life.'  Secondly it is defined as to feel sorrow, regret or contrition and change one's mind.  The word 'repent' is not used very often today, so it is important to absorb the meaning of the word used in the verse.

You need to know that God loves you so much that He gave His only son Jesus Christ to die on a Roman cross and pay the demanded price for your sins.  You must personally and individually accept this free gift from God and confirm your belief in Jesus Christ by openly confessing your faith in Jesus.

You need to believe in Jesus by trusting in Him as your only hope of salvation.

John 3:16-17 (New International Version)
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 14:6 (New International Version)
6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Romans 5:8 (New International Version)
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 10:13 (New International Version)
13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

1 John 1:9 (New International Version)
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

You need to become a child of God by receiving Jesus Christ and embracing the forgiveness of sins that is freely offered through the cross.

John 1:12 (New International Version)
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

Revelation 3:20 (New International Version)
20 Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

So let's take just a moment to recap.  You must realize that you are lost, you have sinned and you have fallen short of the ability to be in the presence of God and that you need a savior.  You must believe through faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He paid the price in full by willfully dying on a Roman cross and that He arose from the grave three days later totally victorious over sin and death.  Then you must openly confess your faith in Jesus Christ and that you have accepted Christ as Lord and as your own personal Savior.

Romans 10:9-10 (New International Version)
9 That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Acts 4:12 (New International Version)
12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

We cannot argue our case in front of a Holy and Eternal God.  Do not be fooled.  You cannot stand in front of the Judgment Seat of God and argue that you have been good and deserve to have your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life.  None of us is good enough to stay in the presence of Almighty God.  But what a lawyer and defense team we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here's the important part.  Are you ready?

If you truly believe these things in your heart, you can petition God with a Sinner's Prayer.  There is no specific prayer that you must say.  The following is just an example.  But it must come from the heart and not just your lips.  Words alone will not suffice.  Throw open the gates of your heart and toss away any shields that you might be carrying around with you and surrender completely to His grace and accept His free gift of salvation.  True freedom begins with absolute surrender to Him.

Father God, I come to you knowing and admitting to You that I am a sinner.  I confess my sin and ask you to forgive me of my sins.  I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is your Son and that He died on the cross as a holy and fully atoning sacrifice for my sins.  I believe that through His shed blood on the cross, I have eternal life.  I willingly and completely throw open the gates of my heart and accept You as Savior.  Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul.  I love you, Lord, and offer myself to You as a living sacrifice and I believe that I am now, right now, an adopted child of God.  In the holy name of Jesus Christ I ask it.  Amen

If you have prayed this prayer, or something similar and have meant it with all of your heart and you have done it gladly and willingly and in full realization of its phenomenal and life-changing  and life-transforming significance, you may have just been saved through the Blood of the Lamb of God, which is Jesus Christ.  If you have prayed this prayer with all of your heart and truly meant it with your spirit, we definitely want to hear from you.  Please contact us.

Being saved from eternal separation from God is not as simple as thinking He probably exists and saying a quick prayer.  It is a deeper and more meaningful experience than that.  You have to let go of that comfortable shield of disbelief in the Lord Jesus Christ that you may have been carrying around with you.  There is nothing you can do to save yourself.  The Sinner's Prayer mentioned above or something similar to it will not save you either.  The sinner's prayer is solely intended to get your spirit into a condition of surrender to God and to grab the attention of the Holy Spirit.  It is He, that does the saving work through Jesus' death on the cross.

You must let this disbelief go and let it clang to the floor, surrendering completely to Him.  You must drop this shield of disbelief and then pick up the Shield of Faith spoken about in Ephesians 6 (quoted below) as part of the Armor of God.  In other words, say your own Sinner's Prayer with your heart, soul and mind and with your own words and not just your lips.

Your sins have been completely washed away.  You have been spiritually 'Born Again'.  You are a new creation.  As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (quoted below), if you are in Christ, you have actually just become an entirely new creation.  It is important that you understand this concept of taking off the old self and putting on the new self, which is this new creation that Paul speaks of.

The Bible speaks of those who have been saved as becoming an adopted child of God.

Ephesians 1:5 (New International Version)
5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—

Galatians 4:4-7 (New International Version)
4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.  6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Please also take the time to read the following verses, that will shed some much needed light on the concepts already discussed.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (New International Version)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Ephesians 4:22 (New International Version)
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

Romans 6:6 (New International Version)
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—

Colossians 3:1-17 (New International Version)
Rules for Holy Living
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.  4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.  6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.  7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.  8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.  11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.  16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Once you have been saved, cleansed of sin and have been justified in the eyes of God, there is something else you must do.  You must put on the full Armor of God.  Satan will work hard to rob you quickly and you have to protect yourself.  Let's take a quick look at the Armor of God.

Ephesians 6:10-18 (New International Version)
The Armor of God

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.  12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

The steps that you have just taken are the first steps in a brand new life, you are now a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (New International Version)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Romans 12:2 (New International Version)
2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Now you should join a body of believers in Christ, keep reading the Bible and protect your new life.  You should begin to regularly attend a Bible-believing church who preaches the Word of God.  If you have just taken your first steps as a Christian and new believer, we definitely want to hear from you.  Contact Us

The Short Version of How To Get Saved

The shortened and easier to remember version of how to get saved uses the first four letters of the English Alphabet.  It is sometimes called the ABCDs of Salvation.  Here are the ABCDs of Salvation.

Admit that you are a sinner.  (see Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:8 and Romans 6:23)

Ask God's forgiveness and repent of your sins.  (See Romans 10:13 and Acts 3:19)

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.  (See John 3:16 and John 14:6)

Become a child of God by receiving Christ.  (See John 1:12-13, Ephesians 1:5, Romans 8:23, Galatians 4:4-7, 1st John 3:1 and Revelation 3:20)

Confess that Jesus is your Lord.  (See Romans 10:9-10)

Discipleship  After confessing and receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you are in need of some discipleship. Discipleship is the very personal activity of two or more persons helping each other experience a growing relationship with God.  In other words, it is learning about Christ, following Jesus and His teachings and growing in Him.  The ABC's of getting 'saved' are not enough to keep you close to Him in your walk.

Effective discipleship consists of a few main areas of emphasis.  First we must institute a systematic study of the Word of God.  Discipleship should have a cross-generational approach, emphasizing the fact that discipleship begins at birth and ends at death.  Discipleship should be focused on changed lives and it should be relationship-driven and not be just a classroom-only study time.

If you have taken these steps of your own will and really meant it with all of your heart and would like someone to pray with you, you may contact us at Grace Family Church in Waterboro, Maine, you may contact the Assembly of God church that is closest to you or you may call the Assemblies of God National Prayer Center toll free at 1-800-4Prayer (1-800-477-2937).