How to be saved
Introduction
Do you want to be saved? That is a loaded question, isn’t it. Unfortunately, the answer for many is “No”. There are those who think it is a moot point, believing that there isn’t even anyone to do the saving. Others think they need no saving at all. But for the elect, the chosen, those who have heard the call from God, this is a very real issue.
Some naturally do what they need to do in order to be saved. I was like that. I was led by the Spirit and just did it without knowing what I was doing. Others are thinking about it, contemplating it and aren’t sure. Still more do get saved and then wonder “what just happened?” like I did. This article and accompanying video are for these who want understanding and want to know what it means to be saved and how to do it.
Watch the video for a more dynamic presentation of this material. PowerPoint Slides are here.
Now the teaching.
What does it mean to be saved?
In a previous video, I went into detail of what it means to be saved. I highly recommend you watch it as it probably does not mean what you think. In any event, I will summarize the main points here.
Being saved:
There are two kingdoms
Kingdom of Darkness ruled by Satan
Kingdom of Light ruled by Jesus
There are 3 instances of being saved
God pulls you out of the Kingdom of Darkness and into the Light on Earth
Your soul goes to Heaven when your spirit separates from your body
Your body, soul and spirit are reunited in the New Jerusalem on Earth at the End
For proof of these bullet points, go to the other article. For the remainder of this article, when we refer to being saved, we mean the first bullet point of being plucked out of the Kingdom of Darkness.
Believe in Jesus
You have probably heard it said that to be saved, you need to “believe in Jesus” and then to say a special prayer. In a way, this is correct, though not entirely complete or enlightening. In this section, I will show exactly what God’s book of truth says you need to do to be saved.
The truth about “believing in Jesus”
What does it mean to believe in Jesus? Believe what about him? If you are like me, you find this frustratingly vague. Doesn’t it feel like a lot of Christianese is vague? I can’t stand it. God is not the God of confusion. I will show you here the verses that this vague statement is referring to.
Believe in Jesus
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. - John 3:16-17
I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.” - John 8:24
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. - John 3:36
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. - John 3:18
Comments:
Four times the Apostle John says “believe in Jesus”
He equates believing in Jesus with gaining eternal life
Likewise, not believing in Jesus means you are condemned by the wrath of God
It still doesn’t tell us what believing in Jesus means. Lucky for us, he further refined his statement in other places.
Believe in the Name of Jesus
John and Luke explain it in more detail in these 5 verses. Note what they add.
To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” - Acts 10:43
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, - John 1:12
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:12
But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. - John 20:31
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. - 1 John 5:13
Comments:
Do you see that they added “name” to it – Believe in the name of Jesus
So, believing in Jesus is believing in his name
Note that John is also author of three of these, so clearly in his mind he equates “believe in Jesus” to “believe in the name of Jesus”
Still vague or confusing? The next group gets much more specific
Belief Applied
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. - Romans 10:9-10
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. - Mark 16:16
Comments:
Now we have 3 specific details tied to “believing”
Believe that God raised Jesus from the dead
Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord (King)
Be baptized
Summary of believing in Jesus
I believe that the phrase “believe in Jesus” is shorthand for “believe in the name of Jesus”, and that they are synonymous.
I also teach that the third grouping (Believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and be baptized) are the specific working out of believing in the name of Jesus. I will explain what I mean by that in the next section.
What does it mean to believe in the name of Jesus
When we begin to discuss “the name” of Jesus, we move into an area of teaching generally referred to as Authority teaching. There is a lot to cover in that subject and we don’t have time, so I will give you the related highlights here.
When you see “in the name”, translate that in your head as delegated authority. Name = Authority. For example, when you pray in the name of Jesus, you are praying to God using Jesus’ authority. When I pray for healing of someone in the name of Jesus, I am praying using his delegated authority. If you are familiar with the concept of Power of Attorney, it is like that. In simple terms, you are acting as if you were him having been granted permission to do so.
Therefore, believing in the name of Jesus means that you believe in your heart in the authority and power that he has been granted him by the Father. Subsequently, you are then led to believe in what he can do with that authority.
Here are some verses to back this up.
Authority of Jesus
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. - Matthew 28:18
17 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. - John 17:1-2
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Philippians 2:9-11
Comments:
All authority in Heaven and Earth and over all flesh is bestowed upon Jesus
The name of Jesus is exalted above every name and everyone will confess he is King
Now let’s look at what Jesus can do with that authority.
Power of Jesus
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:12
Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. - John 14:13
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. - 1 Corinthians 6:11
Comments:
The name of Jesus saves us
The name of Jesus is used when we ask God for things
The name of Jesus, washes, sanctifies, and justifies us
As you can see, since we are talking about the power and authority of Jesus, we are really talking about him being King and exorcising that power. See the explanation of that below.
Being Saved
Jesus is King
Since Jesus is King, he has a Kingdom (Kingdom of Light) and dominion over Heaven and Earth.
Remember what I said earlier about the Kingdom of Darkness? If you are unwilling to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord, then you are effectively declaring he is not your King. Therefore, by default, you cannot be in his kingdom and so therefore are in the Kingdom of Darkness under Satan’s rulership.
This is what Paul is trying to explain in Romans 10 when he says confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord to be saved. Follow along:
Believe in Jesus, which means
Believe in the Name of Jesus, which means
Believe in the Authority of Jesus.
The Authority of Jesus is as King over Heaven and Earth, therefore
Confess with your mouth that he is your king, so that you can
Be saved.
This is what I always teach people. Rather than saying “believe in Jesus”, I quote them Romans 10:9-10, to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead. I believe this effectively covers what you need to do.
So just to be thorough, let us look at the part of “to believe God raised him from the dead”.
Jesus conquered death
To say that you must believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, in my teaching is just another reference to the authority. Jesus has authority over death, and subsequently, over Hell and Satan. Here are some verses.
And the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. - Revelation 1:18
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. - Hebrews 2:14-15
We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. – Romans 6:9
Also, using simple logic, a “dead” king can’t do much for you, can he? You need a living King to do all this. Hence, you must believe that he is risen from the dead, else what would be the point? It is one of those de facto beliefs. If you believe he is your King, then you must also necessarily believe he is alive and didn’t die on the cross
Baptism
Let me finish up with the verse from Mark that “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved”. I don’t stress baptism to people. Like I said, I tell people “confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead,”. Why?
Look at it from “who does what”.
You – Confess and Believe
Jesus – Baptize you
Do you see now? Baptism is something you receive, not do. If you do your part, then Jesus does his. It is another one of God’s conditional promises. So, I teach people to do their part and trust God to do His.
So what specifically does God do? Good question.
When you submit to Jesus, he sends the Holy Spirit of God and inserts it into you. This is what marks you as a child of light, or a citizen in the Kingdom of Light and guarantees your entrance into Heaven when you “die”. This baptism of spirit is the actual “saving” moment. You are not “saved” until you receive the Spirit. Here are some verses.
For John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” - Acts 1:5
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. - Matthew 3:11
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. - John 15:26
21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, 22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. - 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
Summary
To close it up, one can say that to be saved, one needs to:
Believe in Jesus
Confess Him as one’s King or Lord
Believe God resurrected Him from the dead
Be baptized in the Spirit
How do we do these steps in a practical way?
How to enter the Kingdom of Light
Truth is a really high percentage of people just do it naturally, without thought or planning. Obviously, God’s Spirit assists them and leads them in what to do. But God also leads other to be more methodical about it. If you are one of those, then this last section is for you.
First you must believe. There is no getting around that. If you don’t and continue with the next part, it won’t count. You must believe!
Assuming you do believe enough, then you need to do a public confession that He is your King. Almost all evangelists will want to lead a person to making a prayer when they convert. Many even have a written statement they will want you to do. My advice is just stick to the basics. Confess that He is your King, meaning you submit to His rule and will do what He says. I would also recommend confessing your sins and asking for forgiveness under the blood of Christ while at it, but it is not a requirement. You may ask that He baptize you in the Holy Spirit, but again it is not required. I tend to be pretty verbose when conversing with Him, but you should do it your way.
After this, your part is done.
How do I know it worked
You may ask yourself how do you know if it worked? How do you know if you are saved? These are valid questions. On the one hand, this is where faith comes in play. You believe in the things you cannot see. However, God actually gives us clues so that we can test ourselves. The following is a short list of ways listed in the bible to identify your salvation status.
I am able to display one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (especially speaking in tongues):
Gifts: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, various kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues (1 Corinthians 12)
I have the fruit of the Spirit:
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5: 22 23)
The word of the cross is not folly to me? (1 Corinthians 1:18, 2.6)
I confess that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 4:15)
I say that Jesus is Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3)
I believe that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 5:1)
I walk in the same way Jesus walked (1 John 2:6)
I keep his commandments (1 John 3:24)
I abide in the teaching of Christ (2 John 1:9)
In addition to those biblical tests, I would add that there should be a change in your life. You should become more like Christ and stop sinning so much. Sin, especially the really bad ones like sexual immorality should become repulsive to you.
If you keep on going and there is zero change in you and you keep committing the same old bad sins without any kind of negative reaction to it, then you probably aren’t saved. Just being honest with you.
When you are “in Christ”, the Holy Spirit works on you to help prevent you from doing these things. You might “fall” once in a while and do something you shouldn't and the Spirit will let you know about it. You confess, repent and move on. But someone who is truly saved simply cannot habitually and continuously keep committing terrible sins. This grieves Him and He won’t let you.
So, like I said, if you are doing these things and don’t feel Him trying to stop you, then He may not be in you which means you aren’t really saved. Or He might, but you are so far into darkness you are loosing touch with Him. You don’t want to be in this situation. If you sense you might be, go to Him and talk about it.
Becoming saved is not a question of saying the magic words and the cave door opens up to let you in. It is about your relationship with Him.
I’ll stop here. We could go on, but I think we have hammered this one home enough.
I would like to leave you with this final thought.
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, - Hebrews 1:3