What Must I Do to Be Saved?

Before the Steps — Start Here

My Friend,

You asked for this guide, and I am glad you did. I am not going to sell you anything or ask you for a dime. I am going to show you what the Bible actually says — and then get out of the way and let you read it for yourself.

Here is the honest truth: this is not complicated. Men have made it complicated. God did not. A jailer in Philippi asked the question on the cover of this guide, and he got an answer that same hour of the night. So can you.

First, three things that are true

The Bible's Answer

1. Hear— you cannot believe what you have never heard

   Faith does not fall out of the sky. It does not come from a feeling in your chest or a sign in the clouds. It comes from one place: the word of God. That is why you start with an open Bible, not an open imagination. Read it. Let it do its own work on you.

   So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

2. Believe— trust Him enough to move

   Believing is not agreeing that a man named Jesus once existed. The devils believe that much and tremble. Believing is trusting that He is the Son of God, that He died for you, that God raised Him from the dead — and trusting Him enough to do what He says next.

   But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

3. Repent— change your mind, then watch your feet follow

   Repentance is not feeling bad on Sunday and going right back on Monday. It is a change of mind so real that it changes direction. You turn from sin and you turn to God. This one is not optional and it is not suggested — it is commanded.

   And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.

4. Confess— say it out loud, in front of people

   What is in the heart comes out of the mouth. You confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God — not privately, not someday, but openly. Jesus said He will confess before His Father the ones who confess Him before men.

   That 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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

5. Be Baptized— buried with Him, raised to walk new

   Here is where a lot of folks want to argue with me. Do not argue with me — read the verse. Peter did not say be baptized because your sins are already gone. He said be baptized FOR the remission of sins. It is a burial and a resurrection, and you come up out of that water a new creature.

   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.

6. Remain Faithful— the finish line, not the starting line

   Coming up out of the water is the beginning, my Friend, not the end. You keep walking. You keep worshipping. You keep confessing sin when you stumble, because the blood keeps cleansing those who walk in the light. Faithful unto death — then the crown.

   Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.