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Subject: How to be Saved
Replies: 30 Views: 2076

n1ck 10.04.08 - 09:38am
When people ask how to be saved, 99 times out of 100 they will be told to say a little prayer - which is read out to them and they just recite - and they are told they are saved. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 09:41am
Is saying a little prayer enough? How many times have you said that prayer, asking Jesus to come into your heart? How many times have you confessed your sins? Was it sufficient to keep you from sliding into sin again and again and again? *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 09:45am
Being saved is not like a flu injection. You dont just say a magical prayer and you are saved. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

Paul was talking to the church when he said this. Why would he say this to the church if praying a prayer was enough to be saved? If that were the case, almost every man and woman on earth would be saved. No, my friends, we are to TEST ourselves to see if we are in the faith. And clearly, Paul says there is a chance you could fail the test. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 09:48am
Now John wrote a book called 1 John in which he outlines the tests which we are to take in order to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith - i.e. to see if we are saved. We will get to that later. For now, I want to focus on the steps to getting saved. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 09:49am
1. Decide to turn away from sin and to obey God. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 09:51am
There has to be a clear decision to believe and obey God. This is something to be sincere about. Not to be done half-heartedly. You must be sincere. God knows our hearts.

Most importantly, I must add that you must have faith in the redemption that Christ bought for us on the cross. Jesus said in John 14:6 that He is the way, the truth and the life, and NONE can come to the Father except through Him. Jesus is the ONLY way to salvation. It doesnt help believing there is a God but not believing in Jesus Christ and what He did for us. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 09:52am
2. Confess that you are a sinner *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 09:56am
OK. Prayer time, time to talk to God one to one. I am not going to read off some prayer for you to recite. That means nothing. This is a personal conversation between you and the Almighty God; if you are sincere then speak from your heart. I cannot advise you on what to say. I can outline what confessions need to be made and what needs to be done, but this is YOUR salvation, your conversation with God. Instead of repeating after me, rather speak openly from your heart to your Creator, and He will hear your words. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 09:59am
Anyway, step 2. Prayer to God. Confess you are a sinner. Romans 3:10 says as it is written: None is righteous, no, not one;'. 1 John 1:10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. We are all in need of salvation. You need to confess to God that you are a sinner and you need Him to save you. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:01am
3. Believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and died for our sins so that we may be saved. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:02am
John 3:16 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.' *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:03am
4. Confess your sins to God and repent and ask God to forgive you. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:04am
1 John 1:9 'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.' *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:09am
This is the part where you confess all your sins to God. Every sin you can think of. The lie you told yesterday. The l*st for the girl you saw at the mall. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring all things to your memory. Confession of your sins is important, it is a sincere act of repentance and submission to God's will. Humble yourself before God and ask Him to forgive you for your sins. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:12am
Ask Jesus to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Ask God to save you. Salvation doesnt come from following a few steps like a formula. Thats how it was in the Old Testament, under the law. But Jesus Christ fulfilled the law and we now live under grace.

Only God has the power to save you, so you need to put your trust in God and repent and believe and cry out to God to save you. Salvation is a supernatural work of God. Acts 2:21 says And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Now for some, salvation may come instantly. Yet for others, you may need to call out to God and seek His face for weeks. Not every body has the same experience. But one thing is for certain: you will not need to rely on somebody else to tell you that you are saved. God will tell you! God will make it known to you by His Spirit. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:14am
5. Be baptised *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:16am
Acts 22:16 'And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.' *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:20am
Acts 10:47-48 'Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?' And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:22am
As a believer you need to be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit. Find a church - a baptist church if you can - and be baptized. It is an act of obedience to God. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:23am
Now water baptism is not necessarily a requirement for salvation, but it is an act of obedience to God. It is possible that God will baptize you with the Spirit as you kneel in earnest prayer to Him and study His Word. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:24am
6. Study the Scriptures *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:26am
Now study the Word of God. Focus on His promises to His people. Read and study the Gospel, and learn from the teachings of Paul in the books of Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians. And importantly, read the book of 1 John and study the tests of salvation. I will post a new topic soon outlining these tests also. The apostle Paul said he died daily to the flesh. He repented DAILY for his sins. He studied God's Word daily and obeyed God's commandments. We must do the same. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:28am
Now having done all these things, I cannot tell you that you are saved. GOD HIMSELF will tell you that you are saved. You will see: when we are saved we receive the Holy Spirit, and we know then without a shadow of a doubt that we are saved, because God tells us we are. No man can tell you that you are saved - only God can! *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:35am
Remember: when we are saved we are SAVED! When we have truly experienced God, and God does a work in us, we are changed for ever! It is a permanent change! Phillipians 1:6 'And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.' If God begins a good work in you, He will finish it! When we are saved, we are born again and we become a new creature! *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:39am
Let me explain it like this: Say I am supposed to meet you for lunch and I arrive late. When I finally arrive I tell you that I had a flat tyre on the freeway and when I was changing it, a wheel nut rolled across the freeway and I went after it, and I was run over by a 30 ton logging truck. And that is why I am late. YOU WOULD TELL ME I AM LYING. How could I have an encounter with a 30 ton logging truck and not be changed forever? WELL WHAT IS BIGGER? A 30 TON LOGGING TRUCK, OR GOD? *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:53am
If you are sincere before God and God forgives you and saves you, you will be changed forever. Yes, you will still sin. But God will guard you, and if you stray from the path He will correct you. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:58am
When you are saved, even though you sin, God corrects you. God will convict you heavily if you sin. You see, to have a new realtionship with God, you must also have a new relationship with sin. You might sin, but you will not STAY in sin or continue in sin or regularly practice sin. *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 10:59am
Because you will hate sin *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 11:01am
1 John 3:4-10 'Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.' *

n1ck 10.04.08 - 11:03am
I pray that this topic opens hearts to the true message of the Gospel. Too many people are led into some meaningless recited prayer and pro nounced saved. Crusades are held all over the world and tens of thousands come forward and repeat a prayer, but 95 percent of them wont attend church the next sunday. Because they werent really saved.

Being saved can be a process: God might want you to despair over your sins for some time before He saves you, like He has done with me.

Salvation is preceded by repentance - true repentance. A turning away from sin. A hatred of sin and a hatred of the things of this world and the desires of the flesh. A desire, not to be like Britney Spears or Justin Timberlake or the great majority of people who call themselves Christians, but a burning desire to be like Jesus Christ! *

n1ck 28.05.08 - 07:18am
Take heed of the words of Jesus in Matthew 1:15 ''The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.'' *


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