How Do I Get Saved?

If you have followed this link, you must have an interest in the salvation of your soul and in being secure in the knowledge that when this life is over you have made preparation for the next life. Please allow me to share with you the very simple steps, from God's Word, which are necessary for you to be saved and to know that you are.

The Roman Road
Friend, would you take a walk with me today? Would you stroll with me down the Roman Road? Its ultimate destination is eternity with God in His great Heaven. These few short moments could literally change your life forever.

Our first stop along the way is Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

This passage tells us very plainly that there is no one who has not gone his own way, and in so doing disobeyed God, His Word and His will. In short, we are all sinners, without exception. Which leads us to our next stop.

Romans 6:23 also says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

In the simplest terms, sin deserves death. Not just some sin. Any sin. No sin is greater than another. As it says in James 2:10-11,

10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

In other words, anyone who breaks the law is a law-breaker, no matter which part of the law you may break. Some might say, "Well, I never murdered anyone, so I'm not as bad as others." But God and reason says that if you break the law you are guilty of breaking the law. God has set the penalty for breaking His law, and that penalty is death. Each of us deserves to die for our disobedience of God's law and for ignoring His claim upon our lives, as our creator.

But the second part of this verse also shows us that God has mercifully made provision for us through the precious gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

And so we stop by Romans 5:8, which says:

"But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

So God's provision for us is that, even while we were yet in sin, caring not for God, religion, church and such, Jesus went to the cruel cross of Calvary and shed His precious blood in atonement for our sins; my sins, your sins; in fact, the sins of the entire world. The sins of all who have ever lived, or who ever will.

We are told that this great deliverance is a gift, freely offered to any who wish to receive it. Now a gift is not really yours until you receive it. If I had a gift for you, wrapped it nicely, put a bow on it and a tag with your name written, it would not be yours until you actually reached out and took it from me. Even if I said, "This is for you; see, it has your name on it." and reached out with it in my hands to give it to you. As long as you do not take it into your own hands it does not become yours. No one else can receive it for you and make it yours. It is exactly the same way with salvation. No one can be saved for you, or make you get saved. It is a free gift offered by God Himself and you must receive it for yourself.

Which brings us to Romans 10:9-10, s Scripture which shows us how to receive this wonderful gift:

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. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Simply believe in your heart that Jesus died for you, rose from the dead, so that you too might live and not die and you are saved!! Confession, as written here, refers to speaking it out, to yourself and to others. Letting it be known that you have received Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.

The last stop on today's journey is a place of prayer. You don't have to be in church, or in any special place to receive this gift and be saved. You just need to pray. Silently, out loud,  with someone else or alone. There are no "rules" or formulas to follow. Simply speak to God, as though you were responding, in person, to the things I have just presented. Sincerely ask His forgiveness for breaking His law and for being disobedient to His will. Tell Him you want His forgiveness and that you accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as full payment for your sins. Close by thanking him for this marvelous gift He has given you, and which you have just received as your own. This is called being saved, also known as being born again (see John's Gospel, chapter 3 to better understand.)

We have now reached the end of our journey down the Roman Road. However, you have just embarked on a brand new journey that will last for the rest of your life! May I point out a few things that will be essential for you to begin living in the fullest blessings of God's great gift and enable you to please Him as you continue walking with Him?

FIRST - If you don't have a Bible, get one. I strongly recommend a King James or New King James version. I will not go into the reasons here and now, as they are not sufficiently important for you to get hung up on at the beginning of your journey. I suggest that you not try to start at Genesis and read from cover to cover. Instead, begin with the Gospel of John, which will ground you in your new found faith. Continue into the book of Acts, which will demonstrate what the church should really be like. Then into Romans (parts of which you are already familiar with because of our earlier walk together) which will teach you the fundamentals of the Christian faith and doctrine. And keep going into I and II Corinthians and the other letters (in the Scripture called epistles) Paul wrote to the church. This plan will help establish your understanding of God's church and His plan for your new walk of faith. Begin a habit of reading at LEAST a chapter or two EVERY day. It is your necessary food for your soul. You feed your body, don't you? Feed your soul as well.

SECOND - Begin a habit of taking a little bit of time to talk with God each and every day. It doesn't have to be long and drawn out. The important thing is to begin open communication with Him and keep it open. It will get easier with time, and you will discover that you are spending more time with Him, and enjoying it.

THIRD - Find a Christian church that preaches God's Word. Preferably one that has a class for new believers, or a discipleship program. If you email me, giving me your location, I may be able to give you a few hints as to how to begun your search. It is very essential that you get into a church and establish fellowship with other believers to aid in your growth and development. Do not try to "go it alone." Don't let anyone tell you, "you don't need to go to church to be a Christian." The church is ordained of God and we are commanded to worship together regularly, without fail, and even more so as we see this world getting farther and farther from God. (see Hebrews 10:25)

If you made a commitment to Jesus Christ through our walk together today, would you please let me know. Just click on the link below to send an email telling me that you received God's free gift of salvation as a result of visiting our web site. I will pray with you for your continued faithfulness and the blessings of God in your walk with Him.

Pastor M. Elden Gaines

Send email to: megaines(AT)calvaryministries(DOT)com

Just replace the (AT) and the (DOT) with the appropriate sybols.