To which the preachers said:

"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."
(Acts 16:31)

This is God's plan of salvation, which is the only plan He has given so that sinners can be saved.

There was hope for this jailer because he was convicted in his heart of his sinfulness. He saw himself as he really was: a lost sinner in need of the saving power of Jesus Christ. Like the jailer, you are a sinner. The Bible emphasizes that fact in Isaiah 53:6:

"All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way;"

And in Romans 3:9-12 it says:

"What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, 'THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.'"

Romans 3:23 teaches that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That is why Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:7, "Do not be amazed that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'" And a little later in the same chapter, verse 18, He said that those who do not believe in Him, God's Son, stand condemned already.

The Bible makes it abundantly clear that all are sinners. No matter how good you and those around you think you are, you are a sinner. The sinner remains lost and in need of saving until he accepts Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The first step in coming to salvation is admitting in your own heart that you are a sinner, lost, and separated from God.

Once you have come to acknowledge the truth of this, then you are ready to learn God's answer to your question, "What must I do to be saved?"

You are in a fatal state that has dire eternal consequences. You are a sinner, alienated from God, destined for hell, and you cannot save yourself. The only thing to do is to trust completely in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. Do not trust in Jesus plus whatever good deeds you may do, religious rituals, water baptism, Sabbath-keeping, church membership, your faith, or your repentance. For whatever "righteousness" we can muster is but filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6). Trust in Him alone. When you do this, you will then have God's promise of salvation.

Simply believing in the existence of God or that Jesus is Savior and Lord is not enough. For that is no better than the faith of demons. They believe that and tremble (James 2:19). You can believe that taking medication prescribed by your doctor will maintain your life without actually taking it. Mere intellectual assent to the truth about Jesus is not sufficient; you are to believe in Him, that is, depend completely upon Him, and trust Him.

None of us, no matter how much good we may do, deserve salvation. There is nothing you can do that will make you worthy of it. You cannot be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments, for the Scripture clearly shows that you have not kept them.

James 2:10 says: "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all."

Romans 3:19-20 says: "Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin."

The same thing is told in Galatians 3:11, which says, "Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, 'THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.'"

1 John 1:8 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us."

The Bible clearly teaches repeatedly that there is no salvation through human goodness, since no one is righteous or seeks God (Romans 3:10-11). You are not saved by giving money to the church or to the poor. You are not saved by volunteering your time to charitable activities. You are not saved by living a moral life.

Titus 3:5 says: "He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit."

Ephesians 2:8-9 says: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast."

It can be readily seen in God's Word that no one deserves saving, and no one can save himself. Salvation must be by grace, or no one would be able to receive it. In fact, it takes blood to pay for sin, as Scripture says:

"Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22)

"For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:6)

"All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." (Isaiah 53:6)

The Apostle Peter declares that sinners are bought by the blood of Christ:

"You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Every animal sacrifice offered in Old Testament times on the altar illustrated this: that man, a guilty sinner, must have his sins paid for by the shedding of the blood of an innocent. Jesus was the Lamb of God. He died for sinners just like you, securing salvation for them as a gift.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

Church membership will not save you. Water baptism will not save you. Reforming your behavior will not save you. Engaging in religious activities will not save you. The observance of certain days or other rules and regulations will not save you or keep you saved.

The Bible plainly teaches that "all people everywhere should repent" (Acts 17:30), and again, "Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3, 5). This was the preaching of John the Baptist, of Jesus, of Peter, and of Paul: that men should repent. Repentance is an integral part of salvation.

Repentance does not mean being sorry that you were caught. It is not just being sorry for your sin. Repentance is not "fire insurance" or taking an action to get away from God's wrath.

To repent literally means to have a change of mind toward God and toward sin. It means agreeing with God regarding the truth of your own sinfulness. Repentance means not excusing your sins or seeking to justify yourself, but admitting, like David in Psalm 51:4: "Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge." Repentance means to earnestly turn from your sins with all your heart and trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you. The jailer repented when he turned from his sins to believing in Jesus Christ.

While God desires that you have a penitent, broken heart over your sins, no amount of emotion or lack thereof will make you right with God. You should be sorry for your sins and ashamed of them. However, Scripture teaches that "the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation." (2 Corinthians 7:10) The right kind of sorrow leads to immediate repentance, but mourning is not itself repentance.

The jailer's sorrow for his sin led to genuine repentance, which moved him by faith to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. He was saved at that moment, and his whole family was saved the same way. So salvation is a gift that is granted by God at the moment a person turns to Jesus Christ in repentance and total trust.

Being saved by faith apart from works seems so easy, and it is. Many believe it is too easy and erroneously seek to add to God's plan of salvation. Godly living comes as the result of accepting Christ as Savior and Lord. Do not depend, then, on what you do, but on what Jesus did and promises to do for you.

Must one who accepts Christ by faith have a change of heart? Most definitely. But that is God's part, not yours. In order to have this change of heart, you need to be born again. When Jesus talked to Nicodemus in John 3, He told him that the only way one could be saved was to be born again. Being born again changes your heart and mind, making you a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).

The change in your heart is according to God's work in your life, not your efforts. You are to simply believe in Him. And even this ability to believe, to trust, and to have faith comes as a gift from Him. Salvation from start to finish is of the Lord, not according to your own merit, abilities, or power.

After you are saved, you will receive peace and joy that transcend all understanding and circumstances in life. Instead of living a life in opposition to God, you desire to serve Him by obeying His command to be baptized, reading His Word, sharing the great news of the gospel with the unsaved, and otherwise living a life that is pleasing to God. This brings about continual fellowship with the Lord and provides joy in the Christian life. And you can thank God that salvation is settled once and for all.

Everyone who is saved ought to publicly confess Christ. Matthew 10:32 and Romans 10:9 plainly teach that God will claim as His child any of us who claim Christ as Savior and Lord. We simply confess with our mouths what we have already trusted in our hearts. Concerning this, Romans 10:10 says:

"For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."

To claim Christ as your Savior and Lord simply means that you trust in Him from your heart. When you have received Him, you have done everything necessary to be saved. Remember, Acts 16:31 says, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." The Bible teaches in numerous places that salvation is promised to those who believe. Carefully read the following Scriptures and see that this is taught over and over again.

"But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." (John 1:12)

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:14-16)

"He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18)

"He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36)

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." (John 5:24)

"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:40)

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life." (John 6:47)

"Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins." (Acts 10:43)

"And through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses." (Acts 13:39)

"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." (Acts 16:30-31)

Trust in Jesus today, while you can. Have the kind of trusting faith in Him that an infant has in its mother while being cradled in her arms.

If you had committed a crime and were thrown in jail, probably the first thing you would do is hire a lawyer in whom you had confidence and trust him with the entire matter of your defense. According to the Bible, before accepting Christ as Savior and Lord, you are a criminal in God's sight, abiding in His wrath, and destined for hell. But God has provided an Advocate to defend you. Jesus is that Advocate, for the Bible says:

"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." (1 John 2:1-2)

Jesus will not only be your lawyer to defend your case; He has already paid the penalty, and you may safely trust Him to have you immediately pardoned and justified before God! Why not simply trust in Jesus as your lawyer? He is the best advocate anyone could ever have, and no bill will come to you. His rates are free!

Consider your eternal destiny. Will it be a joyful life beyond imagination in heaven with God, or misery beyond description in hell? Jesus holds out His hands to you in invitation. No matter where you have been or what you have done, come to Him, and He will welcome you with open arms. Do not harden your heart in refusal; do not say, "Tomorrow I will come to Him." Tomorrow may never come.

"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." (Proverbs 27:1)

"Behold, now is 'THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,' behold, now is 'THE DAY OF SALVATION.'" (2 Corinthians 6:2)

"TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS." (Hebrews 3:7-8)

God has given you life up to this moment, but there is no promise of another opportunity tomorrow. Please accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior today, right now!

One who trusts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior should publicly claim Him before men. "For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." (Romans 10:10)

After trusting Jesus Christ, you should join a well-balanced, Bible-believing church and be baptized. It is my hope that you will find such a church and attend it faithfully.


Summary

You are not saved by your good deeds. You are not saved by being a member of a church. You are not saved by being sincere. You are not saved by your intelligence.

What must you do? You must believe in Jesus alone; you must trust Him alone; you must accept Jesus' sacrifice for your sins alone and nothing that you do in any way.

Though there are no rules or steps to becoming a Christian, the following is a Biblical summary of what you need to know and do:

1. You must recognize your sinfulness before God:

   "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned". (Romans 5:12)
   
   

2. You must recognize that your sin has caused a separation between you and God:

   "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." (Isaiah 59:2)
   
   

3. You must believe that Jesus is the only way to God:

   "I am the way, the truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father but by Me." (John 14:6)
   
   

4. You must ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins because He has the authority to forgive you of your sins:

   "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me'". (Matthew 28:18) Jesus told you to ask Him for your requests: "You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it". (John 14:14) Jesus is the one who forgives sins: "'But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins -- He said to the paralytic, 'I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home'." (Mark 2:10-11)

   You must receive Jesus. John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."
   
   

5. You must turn away from your sin

   "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30); and to "produce fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matthew 3:8).

   If you want to be saved you must accept Jesus as your Savior. Pray to Him and ask Him to forgive you of your sins and come into your heart. He will because He loves you.

   Salvation is only a prayer of faith away.

If you believe these things, you can pray a prayer like the one below to receive Jesus into your life, keeping in mind that merely saying a prayer in itself does not save you, for prayer is not like a magic charm or incantation. Only faith in Jesus Christ alone saves.

"Father in heaven, I come to you confessing that I am a sinner, completely lost, and without hope. I repent of my sinful ways and ask for Your forgiveness. I believe in my heart that Christ Jesus is the Son of God, that He completely paid for all of my sins by His death on the cross, and that You raised Him from the dead. I confess that Jesus is my Savior and Lord. I trust in Him, and in Him alone, for my salvation. I believe that through His shed blood, I have eternal life. I will pray, study, meditate, and live by Your Word the rest of my life. Father, I ask that You fill me with the Holy Spirit. Please come into my heart and save and sanctify my soul. I love you, Lord, and offer myself to You completely and without reservation. In the precious name of Jesus, I pray. Amen."

If you prayed a prayer like this and meant it with all your heart, YOU ARE SAVED! You have been "born again" spiritually as a child of God. Your sins have been washed away, and you are a person with a new nature.

After receiving salvation, you should join a Christ-centered church that preaches the gospel and be baptized. You should also pray, read your Bible daily, and regularly assemble with fellow Christians at your church.

Suggestions for Christian Growth:

Spiritual growth results from trusting Jesus Christ. "The righteous man shall live by faith" (Galatians 3:11). A life of faith will enable you to trust God increasingly with every detail of your life and to practice the following:

Go to God in prayer daily. (John 15:7)

Read God's Word daily (Acts 17:11); begin with the Gospel of John.

Obey God moment by moment. (John 14:21)

Witness for Christ by your life and words. (Matthew 4:19; John 15:8)

Trust God for every detail of your life. (1 Peter 5:7)

Holy Spirit -- allow Him to control and empower your daily life and witness.
        (Galatians 5:16-17; Acts 1:8)

God's Word instructs us not to forsake "the assembling of ourselves together." (Hebrews 10:25) Several logs burn brightly together, but put one aside on the cold hearth, and the fire goes out. So it is with your relationship with other Christians.

If you do not belong to a church, do not wait to be invited. Take the initiative; call the pastor of a nearby church where Christ is honored and His Word is preached. Start this week, and make plans to attend regularly.

In the course of your new life in Jesus Christ, you will continually struggle with sin. Sometimes you will, in a moment of weakness, succumb to temptation and sin. Please do not lose hope or be discouraged. Know that you are not alone and that other Christians go through these struggles. The Apostle Paul faced the same thing in his walk with Christ. Of his life, he said,

"For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:18-24)

But Paul does not leave it there. He goes on to say,

"Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin."

While you will always struggle with sin until the day the Lord comes to take you home to heaven, do not lose heart. If you turn to the Lord in repentance and confess your sins, He will forgive you and make you clean again. 1 John 1:9 says,

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

As a new child of God, you can be assured of salvation. Salvation is not a "maybe" or an "I hope to be." It is a sure thing that is based on the promises of God's Word. The Apostle John said:

"And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life." (1 John 5:11-13)

Also, as a new child of God, you can share the same assurance that the Apostle Paul had:

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)