What Must I Do to Be SAVED?
"God ... now commands all men everywhere to repent.." Acts 17:30
*** Why we need to REPENT ***
The reason we need to repent is that we have been going the wrong way. We have not been going God's way. Instead, we have been going our own way. The Bible says, " we have turned every one to HIS OWN WAY... "
Isaiah 53:6
Because we have been going our own way, we must repent if we want to be saved. The Lord Jesus said. "Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish (be lost)."
Repentance is not shedding many tears over your sins. Repentance is not going without food or afflicting your body. No one can get rid of his sins by doing these things.
Repentance is not just being sorry for your sins.
Repentace is not fear. REPENTANCE is a "turn around" - a change of mind that leads to a change in our attitudes and actions.
Repentance can take place in a moment's time. When you say, " I see that I have been going the wrong way, with God's help, I will turn to Christ, " - that is repentance. This brings joy to God's heart.
Jesus told us that there are two roads in life- a broad and a narrow road. He told us where each of these roads leads. The broad leads to "destruction" - Hell ; the narrow road leads to "life" - everlasting life in Heaven.
Because we were born into Adam's family, by nature we are still on the broad road. This road leads to destruction. If we want to get on the narrow road that leads to everlasting life in Heaven ,we must turn around. Jesus said, " Except you repent (turn around) , you shall all likewise perish ."
***Repentance is a change of mind about ourselves***
The first step in repentance is to learn and to accept what the Bible says about us. God 's word says that we are sinners. The Bible says, " For all have sinned , and come short of the glory of God."
We have all sinned. We are all sinners. We may not like this description of ourselves, but it is true. The first step toward being saved is to realize this.
No one is ever saved until he sees that he is a sinner in need of a Savior.
You may be decent and moral in your life, and upright in your dealings with your fellow-man, a good husband or a good wife, a kind and generous person, but you have left God out of your life. You are yet UNSAVED.
You may be active church member, a liberal giver to charitable and religious causes, and, at the same time you have never come as a lost sinner to Jesus and trusted Him as your Savior.
Dear friend, do not let your pride keep you from admitting that you are a sinner. The Bible says, " Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." You must see that you are a sinner in order to be saved.
*** Repentance is a change of mind about our sins ***
As we can read the Ten Commandments of God in the book of EXODUS 20: 1-17. God's commandments form one law, just as the many links of a chain form one chain. You do not have to break every link in a chain to break the chain. You need break only one link. Likewise, if you break any one of God's commandments, you have broken His Holy law. The Bible says, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point (break one commandment), he is guilty of all." James 2:10
If your sins bother you, remember this - God is speaking to you in love. He wants you to turn to Him before it is too late.
To repent of our sins means that we change our mind about them. We see how serious they are and what they cost the Lord Jesus.
*** Repentance is a change of Mind about God ***
Before a person is saved, he has all sorts of wrong ideas about God in his mind, put there by satan.
Jesus came to tell us and to show us what God is reallyl like. He showed us that God loves sinners and that He wants to save them. The bible says that God is " not willing that any should perish , but that all should come to repentance."
*** The Five Steps that tells us how to become a child of God ***
STEP 1 : I HAVE SINNED
" For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God " Romans 3:23
Are you truly sorry for your sins? Are you sorry enough for them that you want to stop doing them?
STEP 2: GOD LOVES ME
Because we are sinners we need a Savior, and God has given His Son to us to be our Savior. The bible says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish (be lost) but have everlasting life." John 3 : 16
Whom does God mean when He says, " the world? He means all the people in the world. That includes you! Whom does God mean when He says, "whosoever"? He means anyone. That includes you also.
What is God's gift to you? God's gifty to you is His Son! God loves you and He has given the Lord Jesus to you to be your Savior.
STEP 3: CHRIST DIED FOR ME
" God commedeth (God showed) His love toward us, in that , while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
The Bible says that God laid all of our sins on His Son on the cross. Jesus had no sins of His own, but He bore our sins. When Jesus died, He cried out, " It is finished!" He had finished the work, He came to do. He had paid the penalty of our sins.
Because Jesus died for our sins, God can now forgive us of all our sins when we take Jesus as our Savior. God does not overlook our sins, but He forgives them because He sees the blood of His Son which was shed for them.
Not only did Jesus die for our sins, but He rose again to be our living Savior and Lord. He ascended back into Heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father. God has given the Lord Jesus all power in Heaven and in earth. He has the power to forgive your sins and make you a child of God.
Because of who Jesus is and what He has done for us, He is worthy of all our love , worship and obedience. He is worthy to be followed as our Lord and Master.
STEP 4: I RECEIVED HIM
"As many as received Him (take the Lord Jesus as their Savior) , to them gave He power to become the sons of God... " John 1:12
You become a child of God by taking the Lord Jesus as your Savior.
Salvation is not merely a matter of believing certain facts about Jesus Christ, it is coming into a living relationship with Him by receiving Him.
You take Him as your Savior by inviting Him to come into your heart. Your heart is like a house with a door. The Lord Jesus said, " Behold, I stand at the door , and knock, if any man (anyone) hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in.." Revelation 3:20
STEP 5: I HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE
"He that has the Son has life (everlasting life)..." 1 John 5:12
This verse tells you that if you have the Lord Jesus as your Savior, you have everlasting life.
Now that we have explained the five steps, are you ready to take the Lord Jesus as your Savior? YOU can do this right now.
Since this is just between you and the Lord, it will be best if you can find a quiet place where you can be alone for a few minutes.
Note : Excerpted from the book entitled " The New life in Christ"
