Salvation

To be saved or to receive salvation means to be rescued from the penalty of sin – which is eternal separation from God. It also means to be assured that you are going to spend eternity with God when you die. In the present tense, salvation means that you are in relationship with God, He is with you wherever you go and He is able to guide you and help you in all situations.

The Bible tells us that salvation is found in Jesus Christ. John 14:6 says, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. This verse tells us that Jesus is the way to the Father. The Bible also tells us in Acts 4:12 that there is no other way to find salvation. Salvation comes through Jesus Christ alone.

Each of us must respond personally to God’s plan for our salvation. God played His part by giving His Son to die on the cross for us to pay the price for our sin. Our part is to receive what Jesus has done for us. God requires us to do three things to find salvation.

They can be described as the A, B, C of salvation –

A – Admit.

We need to admit to God that we have sinned and fallen short of His standards and to ask for His forgiveness.

The Bible says…

Romans 3:23-24 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

1 John 1:9-10 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

When we admit to God that we have sinned and not fully followed Him or His ways, it is like a huge weight is lifted from our shoulders. We can know that we are right with God and our sins are forgiven.

B – Believe.

We need to believe in Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sin.

The Bible says…

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 1:12 – Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

When we believe in Jesus and what He has done for us, we become His children and have the promise of eternal life with Him. We can know in this life that our eternal destiny is sorted out by God. God promises us this in the Bible.

C – Call and Confess.

We need to call on Jesus to save us and we need to confess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

The Bible say…

Romans 10:13 – Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Romans 10:9-10 – 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.

The final step in the ABC of salvation is to call and confess. We call out to Jesus to save us and we confess Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. This means we are trusting Jesus to save us from our sin (our Saviour) and we are asking Him to be our King and ruler of our life (our Lord).

Prayer to find salvation

Responding to God is as simple as praying a short prayer that expresses our thanks for what He has done, confessing your sin and asking Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour. You can pray this prayer right now.

Heavenly Father,
I thank You that Jesus came and died on the cross for my sin. Right now I ask for Your forgiveness for all of the wrong things I have done in my life. Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God, that You died on the cross for my sin and that God raised you from the dead. Right now I surrender my life to You and I ask you to be my Lord and Saviour. Please guide me and lead me in all I do by the power of Your Holy Spirit and help me to live for Your Kingdom. Amen.

If you have sincerely prayed the prayer above it now means you are in relationship with God, that your sins are forgiven and that you will spend eternity with Him when you die. That is great news!

What next?

I would encourage you to visit my discipleship page to download a free discipleship Bible study. This will help you in your first steps in following Jesus. You can find it here.