-adapted from an excerpt in Soul Winning-
YOU MAY NOT BE SURE that you, yourself, have been born again or have received the miracle of the new birth. If that should be the case, the Bible says that you can know (you can be certain-when you do get born again) that you have passed from death unto life (1 Jn 3:14).
The Bible says, This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Ti 1:15). It says, God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved (1 Jn 3:17).
Peter said, Whoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Acts 2:21). What does it mean to be saved?
1st- To be saved means: To be born again, to become a child of God.
Jesus said, You must be born again (Jn 3:7). Christ actually enters your life and you are made new because He begins living in you. This is not accepting a religion. This is accepting Christ. He is a Person, not a philosophy. He is reality, not theory.
The Bible says, As many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become the children of God (Jn 1:2). What a marvel that a human person can receive a new birth and be born into God’s royal family!
You have been born once- born in sin, a child of sin, a servant of the devil. Now Christ says, You must be born again (Jn 3:7). You must be converted, saved, changed, recreated, made new.
2nd – To be saved means: To have THIRD your sins forgiven.
The Psalmist David said, He forgives all your iniquities (Psa 103:3). The angel said, You shall call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins (Mt 1:21). God says, I am He who blots out your transgressions (Isa 43:25). Also: And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more (Heb 10:17). Again: As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psa 103:12).
3rd- To be saved means: To receive a new spiritual life.
Paul says, If any one be in Christ, that person is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new (2 Cor 5:17). That is exactly
what happens when Jesus Christ saves you. A re- creative miracle takes place. Old desires, habits, and diseases pass away. All things become new. You receive a new life, a new nature, new health, new desires, new ambitions. You receive Christ’s life.
He said, I am come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly (Jn 10:10).
4th- To be saved means: To receive peace.
Jesus said, Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you (Jn 14:27). He said, I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace (16:33).
Real peace only comes with Christ’s pardon and salvation. Living in sin you can never have peace in your soul. The Bible says, There is no peace, says my God, to the wicked (Isa 57:21). But being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1).
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5th- To be saved means: To have fellowship with God.
You were created in God’s likeness, so that you could walk and talk with Him. But your sins separated you from God. Now, instead of fellowship with the Father, you fear Him wrongly-facing Him frightens you. Your sins condemn you and they create in you a sense of guilt and insecurity before Him.
Only Christ can save you from your sins. He will blot out every stain and bring you back to God with a clean record as if you had never sinned. Then you can say with John in the New Testament: Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ (1 Jn 1:3). God will be a friend that sticks closer than a brother or sister (Prov 18:24).
How To Know You Are Saved
NO PERSON WAS made for a life of sin and disease. People were created to walk with God. But sin has separated humanity from Him.
Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear (Isa 59:2). But, His blood was shed for many, for the remission of sins (Mt 26:28).
John said, If we confess our sins (to Him), He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn 1:9). Then he added, We know that we have passed from death unto life (3:14).
There are many things in this world which we may never know, but we can know that we have Christ’s life in us. We can know that we have been saved that we are born again. To say, “I don’t know, “I think I’m saved; I try to be, but I’m not sure about it,” is like saying, “I think I’m married; I try to be, but I’m not sure about it.”
Paul said, If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved (Rom 10:9).
This scripture promises: You shall be saved. Do what the scripture says, and you can know that you have received Christ-that you have passed from death unto life, that you are saved. This is not accepting a religion. This is receiving Christ.
A real Christian is a person who… 1. Has come to God as a lost sinner; 2. Has accepted by faith the Lord Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior by embracing Him as Lord and Master; 3. Has confessed Christ as Lord before others. 4. Is striving to please Him every day.
Seven Steps To Salvation
IF YOU ARE not sure that you have personally accepted Jesus Christ into your heart as your Lord and Master, then follow these seven steps prayerfully and you will receive a miraculous new spiritual experience in which He will come to you and will begin living in and through you.
FIRST: Realize that you have sinned. Paul said that All have sinned, and have come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). John added, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves (1 Jn 1:8).
SECOND: Truly repent of your sins. Jesus illustrated this attitude: And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner (Lk 18:13). Paul said, For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation (2 Cor 7:10).
THIRD: Confess your sins to God. The Bible says, One who covers sin shall not prosper: but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy (Prov 28:13). John said, If we confess our sins (to Him), He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn 1:9).
FOURTH: Forsake your sins. Isaiah, the prophet, said, Let the wicked forsake their way, and the unrighteous their thoughts-and let them return to the LORD, and He will have mercy upon them… for He will abundantly pardon (Isa 55:7). Solomon
FIFTH: Ask forgiveness for your sins. David the Psalmist said that God is the One Who forgives all your iniquities (Psa 103:3). Isaiah the prophet said, Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Isa 1:18).
SIXTH: Consecrate your ENTIRE LIFE to Christ. Jesus said, Whoever shall confess me before others, I will confess that one before my Father which is in heaven (Mt 10:32). I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Rom 12:1). But you are a chosen generation… that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9).
SEVENTH: Believe that God saves you by His grace. Paul said, For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any one should boast (Eph 2:8-9).
Accept Christ Now
NOW IS THE day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2). Not some other day, but now-this very day! Paul said in another place, Behold, now is the accepted time (2 Cor 6:2). Not some other time-but right now!
Isaiah, one of the Old Testament prophets said, Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near: Let the wicked forsake their ways, and the unrighteous their thoughts: and let them return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon them… for He will abundantly pardon (Isa 55:6-7).
The Prayer
THE LORD IS near you this very moment, so before you put down this book, if you have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, find a place alone with God where you will not be disturbed. Get on your knees and pray to the Lord this prayer, right out loud:
DEAR LORD, I receive Your gift of eternal life today. I acknowledge that I have sinned against You and that my sins have separated me from You and Your blessing. I am sorry for them, and I truly repent and ask Your forgiveness.
I believe that Jesus Christ died for me, in my place, and rose from the dead to live as my Lord. I do now welcome Jesus Christ as my Savior from sin, from hell, and from all the power of evil. I accept Christ as the Lord of my life.
Lord Jesus, You have said that, if I will come to You, You will in no wise cast me out. I have come to You, seeking salvation and trusting only in Your Blood. I know that You do not reject me.
You have said, If I will confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus, and will believe in my heart that God has raised Him from the dead, I shall be saved (Rom 10:9). I believe with all my heart that You are my Lord, risen from the dead. I do, here and now, confess You as my Master, my Savior, my Lord.
Because You died for me, suffering the penalty which I ought to have suffered, I know that my sins can never condemn me again, so long as I remain in You. You paid the full price for my redemption.
You said, As many as received Him (Jesus Christ), to them He gave the power to become the children of God (Jn 1:12). I believe that You do give me power to become Your child. Your blood washes all of my sins and my iniquities away. You were wounded for my transgressions. You were bruised for my iniquities. The punishment I ought to have endured was laid upon You.
From this hour, I will do my best to read Your Word and to please You in all that I think and do and say. I am now a real Christian, a representative of Jesus Christ on earth. I know I am saved. Amen!
Record Your Decision
Now, AS AN act of faith, register your decision by
signing your name below, and if you are ever influenced to question your salvation, get on your knees, open this book, and read this decision you have made, out loud.
MY DECISION
Today I have read how to be a REAL CHRISTIAN. I have learned what it means to be saved. I have sincerely taken the steps outlined here and reverently prayed the prayer. I believe I have received Jesus Christ in my life. I am now a new creature. I commit my life to do my best to please God in all that I think and say and do. With His grace and help, I shall share Jesus Christ with others.