How to be Saved...

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."  II Peter 3:9

If you've been wondering what it really means to be saved, you've come to the right place. What you typically find on a page like this is a simple prayer, preceded by instructions to pray it, followed by an assurance that you are now saved. But according to the Word of God, there are a few things that one needs to understand first in order to be saved: ALL humans are born sinners. That is, we are born with a fallen nature which is prone to commit what God calls sinful acts. We do bad things by nature. There is no way to fix this problem on our own. In fact, we don't really even know or believe that we are in this state until God opens our eyes to see. God has determined that ALL sinners must pay for their rebellion against Him. (That means all of humanity must perish.) But God has also provided one and only one way of escape from His judgment and wrath. God sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world as the God-man. Jesus gave His life as payment for the sin of man in order to satisfy God's justice. God will forgive the sin debt of all who accept the sacrifice Jesus made on their behalf. To be forgiven means that you are no longer under the wrath of God--your debt has been paid and you are free! But that's not all! God will also change the nature of those who put their faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. He gives them a brand new life, with a heart that longs to live righteously. And ultimately, all the saved will be made perfect and live with God in eternity. Please read the article below so that you have a good understanding of what you just read. If after reading the article you want to be saved, read the section below called Prayer for Salvation.

You MUST Be Born Again A phrase often spoken when people become unhappy with their life is “I’d give anything if I could just start over.”  We all know that humanly speaking starting over is impossible. We can make a change of direction and change our future to one degree or another—but the past is set. It has shaped us into who we are. We may be able to break a few old habits, move to another town, or even change our physical appearance. But whatever we did in the past remains true, and the consequences of our past will continue to affect our future. It’s not within our power to truly change who we are. But God has made available to us the impossible! He literally offers us the opportunity to “start over!”  He has offered humanity one, and only one, opportunity to change who we are! The change is so drastic that God calls it a new birth. It’s free of charge. We receive it through faith by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In order to receive this new birth we must be willing to let our old “self” die. If not, we’d only be fooling ourselves about truly starting over. Old habits die hard, and the consequences of our past may linger on for generations to come. But the new birth is nonetheless real! “Therefore, IF any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."  2Cor. 5:17  For some reason people seem to be under the impression that when we are born again we are born full-grown. This is not true. Like a child, we must grow up again. When a person truly receives the new birth, they must begin their life over again. Just as they spent their previous life learning the ways of the sinful nature, they must now spend their new life learning the ways of God. If you are not to the point of being willing to give up your old life then you don’t really mean, “I wish I could start over.” After all, the old life has brought you to the point of dissatisfaction that caused you to want to start over, so why hold on to it. “What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death."  Romans 6:21  Any attempt to retain some of our old life only hinders the growth of our new life. Many today have the idea that they are not that bad. They are willing to admit a few weaknesses and failures, but nothing bad enough to require such a radical change as being born again. The idea seems to be that all we need for acceptance into the kingdom of God is forgiveness for a few mistakes we may have made and to break a few bad habits. This line of thinking is a deception. It is rooted in self-righteousness and works based salvation. This lie fails to recognize that God says we are born into the fallen human race. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their nature became defiled—they became sinners. All people born after them were by nature sinners. This created an impassible chasm between God and humanity—a chasm that only God himself can overcome. God is the source of our physical life (our first birth) and He is the source of our spiritual life (our second birth). God speaks plainly concerning what we are before our new birth. “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." Ephesians 2:1-3.  And Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Our problem is not simply the bad things we do. We must ask why we do bad things. Our real problem is that we are born with a sinful nature—that is a nature prone to do bad things. We are all natural born sinners who in a matter of time will begin expressing ourselves in sinful acts. This sinful nature cannot be “repaired.” We must receive a new nature—a nature bent on righteousness rather than sin. We must be born again. We inherit our sinful nature by virtue of being human. But God makes it possible for us to be partakers of the divine nature through regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Once we are born again we begin the process of learning the ways of God in keeping with the new nature He has given us. You may ask, “Is anyone exempt from this?” No, not according to Romans 3:9-18.  "What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentikes, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace they have not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes."  This describes the sad truth of the pitifully helpless condition in which humanity finds itself. That is why we call the message of Jesus Christ “the Gospel,” which means “Good News!” Jesus told a very religious man named Nicodemus that one could not even see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. The new birth does cost one thing—death of the old self. Have you truly begun your new life in Christ yet? Or have you simply tried to patch up the old one? Prayer for Salvation If you truly believe what you've read, you can be saved! First, you must believe that you indeed need a savior. Second, you must believe that Jesus is the Savior—God's only means of salvation. Third, you must believe, with all your heart, that God accepts Jesus' death on your behalf. Romans 10:9-13 says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."  If you truly believe these things, you may now pray to God for salvation. In your own words, confess to Him your sinful condition and your need for a Savior. Then ask Him to forgive your sin and apply Jesus' blood to your account. Ask Him to give you the new birth by sending the Holy Spirit into your heart, and to take control of your life from here on out. You see, you cannot have Him as Savior without also accepting Him as Lord. Lord means master—the One you must obey. But don't worry; He will enable you to obey Him. And remember, salvation is a free gift. Your obedience doesn't earn your salvation at all. Obedience is simply the natural response of having received the Holy Spirit into your heart. Next, you need to find a local church to help you learn and grow in the ways of God. This is vital to your spiritual well-being. Just as a newborn baby needs its parents, newborn Christians also need a family to love them and take care of them. Pray to God and ask Him to lead you to the church He wants you to be a part of. 1Corinthians 12:18, "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him." If you have any questions or would like someone to pray with you, please contact Rev. J.G. Kramer at, Email: email@alightinthedark.org **All scripture references are taken from the KJV.