SIN –– Admit that you are a sinner
We are all sinners. Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (see I John 1:8).
We cannot earn our way to heaven by obeying the commandments or by doing good deeds, because no one is righteous (Romans 3:10), and no one is good (Romans 3:12). Romans 3:20: “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
HELL –– Realize that all sinners deserve to go to hell
Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death…” Hell is a place of “everlasting punishment” (Matthew 25:46).
Everyone deserves to go to hell. Romans 3:19: “…what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”
If we have even done just one sin, we deserve to go to hell (see James 2:10). Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
JESUS –– Know that the Lord Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again for you
Jesus Christ is our Savior (I John 4:14). I Corinthians 15:3-4: “…that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
Jesus Christ is the only sinless, perfect person (“who did no sin,” I Peter 2:22; “without sin” (Hebrews 4:15); see I John 3:5), and he is the Son of God (see John 10:36; John 5:17-18), which means that Jesus is himself God. John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (look up and read all the following verses: Isaiah 9:6; John 20:27-28; Acts 20:28; Romans 9:5; Philippians 2:5-7; Colossians 2:9; I Timothy 3:16; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:8; I John 5:20).
BELIEVE –– Believe (trust, put faith) in Jesus alone as the only way to be saved
Believing is all you have to do to be saved (salvation is by faith). Acts 16:30-31: “…Sirs, what must I do to be saved?31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…”
John 3:16: “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.”
Believing is the only thing you must do to be saved (salvation is by faith alone). Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast” (see John 3:15, 18, 36; Galatians 2:16; Titus 3:5). Doing good works cannot save you. Baptism cannot save you. Repenting of your sins cannot save you. We are saved through faith alone, not by any works.
Believing is the only way we can be saved (salvation must be by faith):
- …so that we cannot boast. Romans 3:27-28: “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.28Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”
- …so that Jesus did not die for nothing. Galatians 2:21: “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”
Believing has always been how all persons who are saved got saved (salvation has always been by faith):
- The thief on the cross: Luke 23:42: “And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.”
- Abraham: Romans 4:3: “For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.”
- David: Romans 4:6-8: “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,7Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Acts 10:43: “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”
To believe in Jesus means to trust in Jesus. If someone thinks that they have to be a good person to go to heaven, then they are trusting in themselves, and they are not trusting in Jesus. Matthew 7:22-23: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (see Philippians 3:4-9; Luke 18:9-14).
ETERNAL LIFE –– Understand that once you are saved, you will always be saved
THE POWER OF GOD: God will not let you go to hell after you believe in Jesus because your salvation is in God’s hands, not in your own hands. John 10:28: “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (see I Peter 1:4-5; Philippians 1:6).
THE PROMISE OF GOD: God promised that if you believe in Jesus, you will never go to hell (I John 2:25). If a believer were to go to hell for sinning, or any other reason, then God would be a liar for not be keeping his promise. Titus 1:2: “In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.”
THE GRACE OF GOD: Jesus died for all our sins (past, present, and future). If a believer sins, they will still go to heaven because all of their sins are already fully forgiven (Colossians 2:13) and finally forgotten (Hebrews 8:12). I John 2:1-2: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins…”
THE ADOPTION OF GOD: When we trust in Jesus, we become God’s children; only believers are God’s children. Galatians 3:26: “ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (see John 1:12; I John 5:1).
Punishment: As a child, if you disobey your parents, they will punish you, but you will still be their child. In a similar way, if a believer disobeys God, God will punish them only on the earth, but he will not send them to hell. Deuteronomy 8:5: “…as a man chasteneth [disciplines/punishes] his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee” (see Hebrews 12:5-11; I Corinthians 11:30-32; Psalm 89:30-37).
Reward: As a believer, if you obey God, he will bless you on the earth, and he will reward you in heaven for your good works. We can lose our blessings on earth, and we can lose our rewards in heaven, but we cannot lose our salvation. I Corinthians 3:14-15: “If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (see Matthew 5:19).
CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD –– Ask God to save you and give you eternal life
Believing is a one-time event, not a process; it is “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10, 14). You are only saved once, so you only have to ask God for salvation one time.
Romans 10:13: “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Here is a simple prayer that you can pray to put trust in Jesus Christ as Savior:
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I know that I deserve to go to hell. Please save me. I believe you are the Son of God. I believe that you died for my sins, and that you rose again to save me. I am not trusting in myself anymore; I am only believing in you, Jesus. Thank you for saving me. Amen.