What must I do to be saved? The difference between the right answer and the wrong answer to this question is the difference between heaven and hell.
 
The Bible is the only source to find the right answer. God’s plan to save people has not changed. Whatever God required people to do in the New Testament times in order to be saved from their sins is what we must do today.

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is sprit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. John 3:5-7

Salvation MYTHS
MYTH #1: Ignorance is an excuse.

• Some people believe that if you never had the opportunity to hear about Jesus you will automatically make it into heaven. The Bible tells us that all men will have the opportunity to know Jesus.
  
• Ignorance cannot wash away sin. ONLY the blood of Jesus can wash away our sins.
  

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Matthew 24:14
And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world… Acts 17:30-31
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all. Ecclesiates 9:11
MYTH #2: All you have to do is say the Sinner’s Prayer to be saved.

• The Sinner’s Prayer is not found anywhere in the Bible.
• There are no examples of salvation by prayer alone in the Bible.

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Revelation 22: 18-19
MYTH #3: Baptism is not needed.

• To suggest that you can be saved without baptism is to say that you can be saved without the blood of Jesus; baptism is where we make contact with the blood of Jesus.
  • Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Romans 5:9
    

• Even Jesus was baptized. Who are we to think that we are greater than Jesus and don’t need baptism?
  • And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: Matthew 3:16
• There are many examples of individuals who were saved in the Bible and these examples involved baptism in order to be saved.

Person/People/Event--Baptism
Pentecost: Acts 2:41
Samaria: Acts 8:12-13, 16
The Eunuch: Acts 8:38
Saul: Acts 9:18
Cornelius: Acts 10:47-48
Lydia: Acts 16:15
The Jailer: Acts 16:33
Corinthians: Acts 18:8
Ephesians: Acts 19:5
  
MYTH #4: God is a merciful God so He wouldn’t send anyone to hell; we are all saved.

• If God were to overlook sin He would not be a just and righteous God.
  • Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne…Psalm 89:14
    
• We will all be judged for the things we say and do.
  • For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 1 Peter 4:17-18
    
• God has no respect of persons. Sin is sin no matter who you are.
  • Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 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? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21-23
     
    

God’s Plan of Salvation
Hear: You must hear the word of God in order to be saved.

• For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in who they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?... Romans 10:13-14
  

Believe: You must believe the word of God after hearing it. You must also believe that Jesus is the son of God and that He died for your sins and was resurrected on the third day. You must believe that salvation is in JESUS!

• And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:15-16
  
• … for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. John 8:24
  
• But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
  
• ...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. Romans 10:9
  
• Therefore I endure all things for the elects’ sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 2 Timothy 2:10
  

Repent: You must repent of your sins in order to be forgiven.

• …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. Acts 2:38
  
• What is repentance? Repentance…
  
  • Involves a change of mind or change of thinking.
    • But what think you? A certain man had two sons: and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. Matthew 21: 28-29
• Involves godly sorrow.
  • For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 2 Corinthians 7:10
• Involves a change of life.
  • I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1-2

1. Confess: You must confess your sins to be saved.
   • For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:10
   • Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16
2. Be Baptized in the name of JESUS: You must be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away our sins; baptism is where we contact the blood of Jesus.
   • And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Acts 22:16
   • …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. Acts 2:38
   • For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Matthew 26:28

• Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:3-4
  

3.       Holy Ghost: You must receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

• In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in who also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. Ephesians 1:13
  
• And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:2-4
• But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. John 14:26
• …Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Romans 8:9
  

4.        Live Faithfully: You must live for Jesus every day.

• And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish….So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14: 27-30, 33
  
• For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and, The sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. 2 Peter 2:20-22

So you decided to turn your life over to Jesus! Congratulations friend!!! You repented of your sins, were baptized in the mighty name of Jesus and have received the precious gift of the Holy Ghost...now what? After being born again, the important question is…What must I do to STAY saved?* Well, you must:

1. Walk in the light and become a new creature in Christ. Live Holy each day, read God’s word, attend church services each Sunday, attend Bible study each week, fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ and grow in the grace of Jesus.
   
2. Examine yourself daily
   
3. If you make a mistake:
   1. Repent
      
   2. Confess
   3. Pray for forgiveness

*This process gives constant cleansing, in the blood of Jesus, so that you may know that you are saved and may have eternal life. If you die with any sin in your life, even if you were once saved, you will not inherit the kingdom of heaven or eternal life.

Once Saved-Always Saved? Why not? 

• Eternal life in heaven is conditional upon a Christian’s faithfulness.
  • …be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Revelation 2:10
  • I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8
• It is possible to be lost even after being born again.
  • Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. Galations 5:4
  • Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. Galations 5:7-8
  • For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and, The sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. 2 Peter 2:20-22
• Christian’s must have a made up mind.
  • Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:10-11
    
  • Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 
    
• Christian’s must examine themselves regularly. If your life lines up with the Word of God then you may know that you will have eternal life; if not, you need to make changes and repent of any sin.
  • Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. 2 Corinthians 13:5
  • These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 1 John 5:13
• What happens after you are baptized and you sin? Do you need to be baptized again?
  • One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Ephesians 4:5
  • If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9

  Self-Examination Test

Have I been keeping the first and greatest commandment?

• Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. Matthew 22:37-38
  
• Is the Lord first in every list of my priorities? (i.e., Is the Lord the first person/thing I think about in the morning? Does the Lord come first with my money? Does the Lord come first with my time? Does the Lord come first with my personal devotion?)
  
• He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. Matthew 10:37-38
  

Have I been keeping the second greatest commandment?

• And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Matthew 22:39
  
• For I was a hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me....And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:35-36, 40
  
• Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1:27
  

Have I been seeking to teach others?

• But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. 1 Peter 3:15
  

Am I growing as a Christian?

• As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. 1 Peter 2:2
  
• And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8
  

Have I been worshipping in spirit and in truth not forsaking the assembly of the church?

• But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. John 4:23-24
  
• Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:25
  

Acts of Worship

• Singing (Ephesians 5:19)
  
• Prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
  
• Witnessing (Acts 20:7)
  
• Giving (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)
  
• The Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23)
  
• Personal Devotion (i.e., Prayer, Study of God’s Word, Tarrying)
  

Do I keep myself free from sin? Do I diligently resist the temptation to sin?

• What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Romans 6:1-2
  
• Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7