Bible Study How to be saved

[Alfred Persson]

Sermon: How to Be Saved

Introduction:
Salvation is the most important decision a person can make. It is the doorway to eternal life, reconciliation with God, and the promise of being part of His kingdom. Today, we will explore the Bible's clear and comprehensive teaching on how to be saved, focusing on confession, repentance, faith, and the transforming power of being born again.

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I. Confess Jesus as Lord

The first step in salvation is acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord. In Matthew 10:32, Jesus says,
“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.”

Paul expands on this in Romans 10:9-10:
“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Confession involves more than words—it is a declaration of faith rooted in a heart that truly believes in the resurrection and lordship of Jesus Christ. This act is essential for salvation, as seen in Philippians 2:9-11:
“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

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II. Recognize Jesus as the Only Way

To be saved, we must understand that Jesus is the exclusive path to salvation. He declares in John 14:6:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The apostles reinforce this truth in Acts 4:12:
“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Salvation begins and ends with Jesus, the only mediator between God and humanity.

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III. Repent of Sin

Repentance is a crucial aspect of salvation. Jesus’ first public message in Matthew 4:17 was:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Repentance means turning away from sin and turning toward God. Peter echoed this call in Acts 2:38:
“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Repentance prepares our hearts to receive the transformative work of salvation and brings us into alignment with God’s will.

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IV. Be Born Again

Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3:3:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Being born again is a spiritual transformation. Paul describes this transformation in 2 Corinthians 5:17:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

This new birth is the work of the Holy Spirit, who regenerates and renews us, giving us a new heart and mind.

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V. Trust in God’s Grace Through Faith

Salvation is not something we earn; it is a gift from God. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Faith is the means by which we receive this gift. We trust completely in the finished work of Christ on the cross, believing that His sacrifice is sufficient for our sins.

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VI. Surrender Fully to Jesus

Salvation requires total surrender. Jesus warns in Matthew 10:37-39:
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me... And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”

To follow Christ means to lay down our lives and live fully for Him. Paul expresses this surrender in Galatians 2:20:
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”

This level of commitment ensures that our hearts and lives are aligned with God’s kingdom priorities. As Jesus teaches in Luke 12:33-34:
“Provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail.”

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VII. Answer His Invitation

Salvation is not forced upon anyone; it is an invitation to be accepted. Jesus says in Revelation 3:20:
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

This invitation requires a personal response. We must hear His voice, open the door of our hearts, and allow Him to enter into fellowship with us.

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VIII. How to Be Saved

The steps to salvation are clear:

1. Confess Jesus as Lord: Publicly proclaim His lordship and believe in His resurrection (Romans 10:9-10).
2. Repent of Sin: Turn away from sin and commit to God’s way (Mark 1:15, Acts 2:38).
3. Be Born Again: Experience the new life given by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17).
4. Place Your Faith in God’s Grace: Trust in Christ’s work, not your own efforts (Ephesians 2:8-9).
5. Surrender Completely: Make Jesus the Lord of your life, taking up your cross daily (Matthew 10:37-39, Galatians 2:20).
6. Respond to His Call: Open the door to Jesus, accepting His offer of salvation (Revelation 3:20).

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IX. Assurance of Salvation

The promise of salvation is secure. Paul declares in Romans 10:13:
“Whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

We can trust in this promise because Jesus is faithful to His word. As we look to Him, we are assured of eternal life. The author of Hebrews exhorts us in Hebrews 12:2:
“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”

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Conclusion:

Salvation is God’s greatest gift, available to all who confess, believe, repent, and follow Jesus. The invitation is open to you today. Will you accept it?

Jesus says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Now is the time to confess Him as Lord and receive the eternal life He offers.

Amen.

 

[Alfred Persson]

 

[Alfred Persson]

 

[Tenchi]

I'm always glad to see a Christian put forward the steps of reconciliation with God (i.e. how to be born-again/saved). Unfortunately, you seem to have got things rather...confused. There are really only three necessary steps to being born-again.

1) Repentance.
2) Confession.
3) Submission.

1.) Repentance.

Acts 2:38
38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

At its core, repentance is just "changing your mind" about a thing. In regards to salvation, repentance would be "changing one's mind about the truths of the Gospel, accepting what they reveal about God, ourselves and Jesus Christ and rejecting our former thinking that contradicts or denies the truths of the Gospel. Repentance, then, entails gaining a knowledge of the Gospel (Romans 10:11-14), making a decision to believe it or not (1 John 4:16; 2 Timothy 1:12b), and then acting in manifestation of what one chooses to believe about the Gospel (James 2:26). This action would be necessarily involve abandoning former godless beliefs/values/conduct for new Christ-centered ones, confession and submission.

2.) Confession.

Romans 10:9-10
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Confession is the result of repentance. It is not repentance itself, though many confuse the two. Confession is a practical, concrete outworking of genuine repentance. In particular, it is agreement with God that His truth is true: Our sin is, indeed, sin; we are, indeed, sinners in desperate need of a Savior; Jesus is, indeed, the One and Only Savior of lost sinners; Jesus is, indeed, our rightful King, Lord and God to whom we must submit ourselves entirely.

3.) Submission.

James 4:6-7
6 ...Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God...

1 Peter 5:5-6
5 ...for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

Romans 12:1
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

There is no relationship one can have with God except that of inferior to Superior. And the difference between ourselves and God is so vast that it is indescribable. Nothing in this universe can properly illustrate just how far beyond us, how much greater, God is than us, though the Bible is careful to repeat that we are inferior to our Maker. We are branches in the Vine, vessels for the Master's use, children to heavenly Father, sheep to the Shepherd (John 15:4-5; 2 Timothy 2:21; Romans 8:15; John 10:1-11). And so, we can only interact with God under this reality, approaching Him in submission, dependence, love and deep humility. If we don't, if we think to approach God as a near-equal, or we think that He's just a divine Assistant to our agenda, or that He is our snuggle buddy, or that we can approach Him boldly, forgetting it is to His throne we always come, we have a deeply distorted understanding of the God who saves us such that we cannot be saved by Him. Why? Because our "snuggle buddy" God doesn't actually exist. And so long as we aren't submitted to our Maker, we remain in rebellion to Him - which is what has separated us from Him all along.

 

[Alfred Persson]

I'm always glad to see a Christian put forward the steps of reconciliation with God (i.e. how to be born-again/saved). Unfortunately, you seem to have got things rather...confused. There are really only three necessary steps to being born-again.

1) Repentance.
2) Confession.
3) Submission.

1.) Repentance.

Acts 2:38
38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

At its core, repentance is just "changing your mind" about a thing. In regards to salvation, repentance would be "changing one's mind about the truths of the Gospel, accepting what they reveal about God, ourselves and Jesus Christ and rejecting our former thinking that contradicts or denies the truths of the Gospel. Repentance, then, entails gaining a knowledge of the Gospel (Romans 10:11-14), making a decision to believe it or not (1 John 4:16; 2 Timothy 1:12b), and then acting in manifestation of what one chooses to believe about the Gospel (James 2:26). This action would be necessarily involve abandoning former godless beliefs/values/conduct for new Christ-centered ones, confession and submission.

2.) Confession.

Romans 10:9-10
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Confession is the result of repentance. It is not repentance itself, though many confuse the two. Confession is a practical, concrete outworking of genuine repentance. In particular, it is agreement with God that His truth is true: Our sin is, indeed, sin; we are, indeed, sinners in desperate need of a Savior; Jesus is, indeed, the One and Only Savior of lost sinners; Jesus is, indeed, our rightful King, Lord and God to whom we must submit ourselves entirely.

3.) Submission.

James 4:6-7
6 ...Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God...

1 Peter 5:5-6
5 ...for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

Romans 12:1
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

There is no relationship one can have with God except that of inferior to Superior. And the difference between ourselves and God is so vast that it is indescribable. Nothing in this universe can properly illustrate just how far beyond us, how much greater, God is than us, though the Bible is careful to repeat that we are inferior to our Maker. We are branches in the Vine, vessels for the Master's use, children to heavenly Father, sheep to the Shepherd (John 15:4-5; 2 Timothy 2:21; Romans 8:15; John 10:1-11). And so, we can only interact with God under this reality, approaching Him in submission, dependence, love and deep humility. If we don't, if we think to approach God as a near-equal, or we think that He's just a divine Assistant to our agenda, or that He is our snuggle buddy, or that we can approach Him boldly, forgetting it is to His throne we always come, we have a deeply distorted understanding of the God who saves us such that we cannot be saved by Him. Why? Because our "snuggle buddy" God doesn't actually exist. And so long as we aren't submitted to our Maker, we remain in rebellion to Him - which is what has separated us from Him all along.

Your summary is not my confusing them. I listed aspects that are implied in your summary, like acknowledging one is a sinner. The Holy Spirit brings conviction one is lost without Christ, THEN true repentance is possible. Coupled with that witness of the Holy Spirit, is the revelation Jesus is the ONLY way truth life, THEN repentance can bring one to submission. THEN God will convert, regenerate the soul animating it with divine nature. You left that out.

 

[for_his_glory]

There are five requirements to Salvation

1. Confession - Acts 2:21; Romans 10:9, 10
2. Repentance - Mark 1:14, 15
3. Faith - John 3:14-18
4. Regeneration - John 3:3-8
5. Holy Scripture - 2 Timothy 3:15

Christian Baptism
1. Commanded by Christ - Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15, 16
2. Commanded by Peter - Acts 10:44-48
3. Commanded by Christian ministers - Acts 2:1, 41

Places of Baptism
1. Jordan - Matthew 3:13-16; Mark 1:5-10
2. Jerusalem - Acts 2:5, 41 (actually read the whole chapter)
3. Samaria - Acts 8:14-17
4. A house - Acts 10:44-48
5. A jail - Acts 16:25-33

Characteristics of Baptism
1. By water - Acts 10:47
2. Only one - Ephesians 4:5
3. Necessary - Acts 2:38, 41
4. Source of power - Acts 1:5, 8
5. Follows faith - Acts 18:8

Symbolism of Baptism
1. Forecast in prophecy - Joel 2:28, 29; Acts 2:16-21
2. Prefigured in types- 1 Corinthians 10:2; 1 Peter 3:20, 21
3. Visualized by the Spirit's descent - Acts 2:3, 4, 41; Acts 10:44-48
4. Expressive of Spiritual unity - 1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27, 28
5. Figurative of regeneration - John 3:3, 5, 6; Romans 6:3, 4, 11
6. Illustrative of cleansing - Acts 22:16; Titus 3:5

 

[Tenchi]

Your summary is not my confusing them. I listed aspects that are implied in your summary, like acknowledging one is a sinner. The Holy Spirit brings conviction one is lost without Christ, THEN true repentance is possible. Coupled with that witness of the Holy Spirit, is the revelation Jesus is the ONLY way truth life, THEN repentance can bring one to submission. THEN God will convert, regenerate the soul animating it with divine nature. You left that out.

Well, I presume you don't see the confusion that characterizes your posts on how to be saved since you persist in it the quotation above. I'm not trying to embarrass you or nitpick your words, but to get at the Truth and to represent it as precisely, and simply, and rationally as possible. As you're no doubt quite aware, for the lost person, no Truth is more vital than the Truth of the Gospel that can rescue them from an eternity in hell, separated forever from their holy, loving, awesome Maker. And so, knowing this, I am very interested in what you've put forward concerning salvation and have made the comments on your OP that I have. If the lost person gets it wrong about the Gospel, about how to be saved and what salvation is, everything that follows from it is likewise tangled and may even be illusory, salvation still yet to occur. Remember the horrible story Jesus told in Matthew 7:21-23! Yikes.

So, I'm going to go through what you wrote in your OP and show you where and why I think you've got things confused.

I. Confess Jesus as Lord

The first step in salvation is acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord. In Matthew 10:32, Jesus says,
“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.”

Paul expands on this in Romans 10:9-10:
“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Confession involves more than words—it is a declaration of faith rooted in a heart that truly believes in the resurrection and lordship of Jesus Christ. This act is essential for salvation, as seen in Philippians 2:9-11:
“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow... and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

Before one can confess that "Jesus Christ is Lord," they must first have heard that he is Lord and been convicted by the Holy Spirit of the truth of this claim, right? Remember what Paul the apostle wrote:

Romans 10:13-14
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Wouldn't these things - hearing that "Jesus Christ is Lord" and being Spirit-convicted of it being true - be prior "steps," then, in the process that leads to salvation? Paul thought so (and so do I). But this would mean the first step in salvation isn't confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord. This is actually the effect of earlier "steps," right?

Also, how does one know that one's heart truly believes in the resurrection and Lordship of Jesus Christ? Is it the quality of our faith that saves us? Or is it the Object of our faith who saves us, small and weak though our faith may be? Remember the story of the father of a demon-possessed boy who came to Jesus asking for help (Mark 9:14-29)? Consider this part of it:

Mark 9:22-27
22 "It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!"
23 And Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."
24 Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again."
26 After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, "He is dead!"
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.

Though the father's faith was small, though he had doubt as to Jesus's power to free his child, Jesus still responded to the father's faith and cast out the "unclean spirit" from him. The crucial thing wasn't the quality or quantity of the father's faith but the Object of his faith. So, then, I wonder about the idea of "truly believing." What is this, exactly? How much faith is enough? How sincere does it have to be, precisely? How does one know if one's faith is "true" enough? And how does the quality of one's faith not steal from Christ the power to save and subtly locate that power in the lost person and their power to believe sufficiently? Do you see, perhaps, why I've wondered at your remarks in your OP?

Having said all this, I agree with you that Scripture does indicate that confession is integral to salvation, insofar as it communicates a genuine change of mind, real repentance, concerning the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Continued below.

 

[Tenchi]

II. Recognize Jesus as the Only Way

To be saved, we must understand that Jesus is the exclusive path to salvation. He declares in John 14:6:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The apostles reinforce this truth in Acts 4:12:
“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Salvation begins and ends with Jesus, the only mediator between God and humanity.

This is, I think, one of several Truths of the Gospel that a lost person must come to accept as true. As they are convinced that Jesus is the Only Way, they can confess that they are so convinced. But, like the truth that Jesus is Lord, the truth that Jesus is the sole Mediator between God and Man (1 Timothy 2:5) must be heard and accepted before it can be confessed as true.

III. Repent of Sin

Repentance is a crucial aspect of salvation. Jesus’ first public message in Matthew 4:17 was:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Repentance means turning away from sin and turning toward God. Peter echoed this call in Acts 2:38:
“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Repentance prepares our hearts to receive the transformative work of salvation and brings us into alignment with God’s will.

Where does this repentance happen in the process of being converted? You seem to indicate that repentance from sin must precede conversion (i.e. the "transformative work of salvation"). The New Testament, though, describes born-again people living quite badly, morally and spiritually. They are confirmed as Christian brethren but aren't living like it. See Paul's first letter to the believers at Corinth (1 Corinthians 3, 5, 6, 11), or John's words to the seven churches of Asia Minor (Revelation 2-3). What, then, does it mean to "turn away from sin" such that one can be saved? And doesn't doing this locate at least part of the power for salvation in the turning away from sin, as well as in the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ? This would make the one who turns from sin, something of a co-Savior with Jesus, it seems to me. How, exactly, do you avoid this if, as you say, repentance from sin is a "crucial aspect of salvation"?

IV. Be Born Again

Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3:3:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Being born again is a spiritual transformation. Paul describes this transformation in 2 Corinthians 5:17:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

This new birth is the work of the Holy Spirit, who regenerates and renews us, giving us a new heart and mind.

Isn't this the essence of salvation? It's in being born-again by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9; Philippians 1:19) that one is saved, or spiritually-regenerated, or made a "new creature in Christ."

Romans 8:9
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

1 John 4:13
13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.

John 3:5-6
5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Repentance, faith, confession - these all put us in position to be saved, but the one who actually saves us is the Spirit of Christ who enters us and makes of us his "temple," imparting to us all that Jesus Christ has obtained for us in his atonement for our sin on the cross. Only if/when he does so are we saved.

V. Trust in God’s Grace Through Faith

Salvation is not something we earn; it is a gift from God. Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Faith is the means by which we receive this gift. We trust completely in the finished work of Christ on the cross, believing that His sacrifice is sufficient for our sins.

This point you make here is perhaps the most confused. If salvation is not something a person earns, if salvation is a gift that can only be received, does this fact not counter the things you've said about "truly believing," and "confession is essential to salvation," and "repentance is a crucial act of salvation"? If all these things are vital to being saved, and these are all things we must do, how do we not, in doing these things, become a co-Savior with Jesus?

Can you see, now, how your post is confusing? I don't think you believe a person actually shares in the work of their salvation, but a person reading your post could easily come to think that you do believe this (and that they should, too).

I won't go on to say more since I haven't time right now. Hopefully, you can see, now, why I thought your OP was confused.