How to be Saved

Maybe you've heard about Jesus and Christianity, but no one has ever really explained to you how to become a Christian and be saved from your sin. Perhaps you think you are a Christian, but if anyone ever asked you what that means you would get tongue-tied. Either way, I would encourage you to keep reading.

First of all, I want to make it clear that there are no magic words or secret formulas to be saved and go to heaven. Becoming a Christian is a matter of the heart; saying words you don't mean is useless. That being said, many people do use a method called the Romans Road to Salvation as a way to explain the process of salvation to others. It's not the only way to explain how to become a Christian, but it is helpful, clear, and fairly simple.The book of Romans is the sixth book of the New Testament (the second part of the Bible). Paul, the author of this book, talks a lot about sin, salvation, and living a new life as Christians. While the Romans Road focuses on key verses, I would suggest reading the entire book to gain the full meaning.The first stop on the Romans Road is in chapter three, where Paul reminds us that we are all sinners and separated from God. Part of being saved is repenting from sin and asking God for forgiveness. This means you will have to admit to God you have done wrong and can't fix it.

Romans 3:10-12 – “As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.’”

And in Romans 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”Paul is saying that we as humans are not good by nature. We have all done wrong in our lives and we have separated ourselves from God who is perfectly good and the only source of life. Therefore, our sin leads to death.

Romans 6:23a – “For the wages of sin is death;"
Even though God is a loving God, He is also just and can't simply let us off the hook for sinning. He may be all-powerful, but He is also perfect and holy and will not break His own rules. There are consequences for our sin and God must punish all sin. However, the rest of Romans 6:23 has good news for us.

Romans 6:23b – "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Where does this gift of eternal life come from? This is the second stop on the Romans Road. We must understand how God made a way for us to be with Him. He had to punish our sin, so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to take it on Himself. The penalty for sin is death, so Jesus died for our sin so that we would not have to.

Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Now our lives on earth will still come to an end. But when we die, we can either have life in heaven with God or we will spend eternity apart from Him in hell, which is the worst form of death: existence apart from God who is the source of all life, hope, goodness, love, etc.

The third step is to accept the gift that God offers us. Even though Jesus died for everyone's sin, we can still choose to reject Him. He will only save those who want to be saved. So if you are not willing to admit you need His help, you will not be saved. Please, don't slap away the hand that God has offered to pull you to safety.Romans 10:9-10 tells us “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

And Romans 10:13 says, “for ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

All you have to do is believe in your heart that 1.) Jesus was who He said He was: the Son of God and 2.) that His sacrifice paid for your sin. If you believe that His death on the cross and resurrection is what saves you from sin rather than your own good works, then call out to Jesus to save you and He will. Put your faith in His ability to save you rather than your own.

Once you have done this, your new life has already begun. Now comes step four: assurance of salvation.

Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 8:1 – “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”Romans 8:38-39 – “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

These verses tell us that we don't have to worry about what will happen to us. Even though we have sinned, if we have put our faith in Christ we are now justified and God will not condemn us. And nothing anyone does or says, no matter what happens in this life, you can be sure that you will go to be with God forever when this life is over.

Furthermore, you no longer have to live a life of sin like the rest of the world. Those who do not understand what God has done for them still live according to their own sinful desires and try everything they can to find happiness. But once we have received God's forgiveness and the assurance of our salvation. Thus, step five is to live a life of obedience and holiness. Even though we usually do not like people telling us how to live, God will only tell us to do what is best for us. Obeying God will always work out well for you in the end.
Romans 6:20-22 – “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”

No matter who you are, where you are, where you come from, or what you have done you can always be saved. There is nowhere you can go where God cannot reach you. Don't even think that there is any sin you could have committed that He cannot forgive. Your sin is not stronger than His grace; do not insult His ability to save.

Do not underestimate the power of Jesus, but do not overestimate your own ability either. Do not assume that everything will work out for you if you have not put your life in His hands. Nothing you do will impress God and He will not make exceptions. One way or another, your sin will be punished. Do you want to pay for it or will you let Jesus handle it for you?