Theological Digression: How To Become Saved

Do you know with certainty that if you died right now you would wake up in Heaven? Would you like to know for sure?

No one goes to Heaven by default. This is because everyone has sinned against God. The Bible says this:

Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

This verse says that everyone has sinned. At some point in their life everyone has disobeyed God. Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever lied? Have you ever taken God’s name in vain, or hated someone, or lusted after someone? If so then you have sinned. It doesn’t matter how many good deeds you have done – in God’s eyes you have sinned, and your sin must be paid for.

The Bible goes on to say that the penalty for even one sin is death:

Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Since you have sinned you are no longer right with God. The punishment for your sin is death – eternal death in a place the Bible calls the Lake of Fire. There is no way for you to pay for your sin on your own. No amount of good deeds will make things right.

But God stepped in and did what you could never have done. The Bible says that God loved you so much that Jesus Christ came to Earth and died in your place to pay for your sins:

Romans 5:8: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus, the Son of God, came to Earth and lived a perfect life. He then suffered and died a cruel death on the cross – not to pay for his sins (for he never sinned once in his life), but to pay for yours. He loved you so much that he took on himself the punishment that you deserved.

Jesus then rose from the dead and offers salvation freely to anyone who trusts Him as their Lord and Savior. Jesus is the only way to be saved; there is no other path to God. This is because his death on the cross is the only payment God will accept for our sins. If you reject this payment and try to pay your debt another way (such as through your own good deeds) then God will reject you.

To become saved, all you have to do is:

(a) ask God to forgive your sins (for God will not save anyone who refuses to admit they have sinned, or who refuses to make Jesus the Lord and master of their life)

(b) believe that Jesus died in your place and that His death completely paid for all of your sins (which means you have to stop believing that you are good enough to get to Heaven on our own, or that your good deeds will somehow outweigh your bad deeds and that that will be enough)

(c) believe that Jesus rose from the dead

(d) ask God to save you

These passages sums it all up:

Romans 10:9: “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.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the Scripture saith, whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Mark 1:15: “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

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.
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

If you come to Jesus and ask him to save you then he will. At that moment your debt of sin will be canceled and from God’s point of view it will be as if you had never sinned. The Bible says this:

Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

When God forgives your sins they are forgiven once and for all. When you die you will not face the wrath of God but instead will receive His mercy. God will invite you to live forever with Him in unending peace and joy:

Revelation 21:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

When you give your life to Jesus (which means that our life is now about honoring God instead of honoring ourselves) and ask Him to be your Savior and Lord a whole new life will open up. Your life will become centered around Jesus as you learn how to love him and honor him in all that you do. The Holy Spirit will enter your life and begin turning you into a new person. As God begins changing your heart you will lose your appetite for sin and become hungry for spiritual things.

Once you become saved I highly recommend finding a good local church and attending it regularly. They will help you grow spiritually. But the key to remember is that Christianity is not a do-it-yourself religion. God will always be with you, and will never stop loving you or watching over you. He promised to make you perfect in every way (just like Jesus) and He will do exactly that.