What do I need to do, to be saved?

Some of the nuance of this will be covered below or on other pages, but here is my practical perspective on this:

We all can recognize that we live in a good vs evil reality. What the Bible reveals to us is that there is a reason for this: we have a Creator God. God wanted to allow “free will”, so Satan and one third of the angels decided this “free will” option is better; that THEY could do better than God.

We humans have a similar proposal in front of us. Here are the offers:

• God: you basically control nothing except for your thoughts. You are in temporary, flawed bodies, the point of which is to see if you would WANT to follow Me. Is your ego bigger than your desire for goodness? If you choose me, I will send a Helper during your life (the Holy Spirit), and then I’ve got an eternity of positive, productive things planned: join me!
• Satan: you control your own life, so you don’t need any gods. You can control your destiny and I’ll even “help” you out with ascension and afterlife – you can totally trust me, man! Also, you should have an ego, since you are your own god!

In Satan’s offer, we are on our own god. Remember that Satan and his followers are entities that are without God, in any way. Think for a moment what that means: no trust, no love, no safety, no peace, no respect, etc. Specifically, there would be no: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV) – after all, those are things from God. Hell then, and the torment that is there isn’t so much that God actively does things – it’s simply a place that lacks good. Hell would be a place where there is no goodness, no security, no love, no respect, no peace, etc.; it’s the lack of good. So, what Satan is saying is: you can navigate all of that on your own and be your own god – but it has to be without God and His goodness.

In God’s offer, we realize and also acknowledge that we all fall short. We have to recognize that we are sinners and have fallen short, in order to recognize that we need a savior. Then, we find out that we have a savior – and He’s available to us, freely!

In the end, the conclusion I’ve come to is that it just comes down to whether you want to do this life on your own, and have an unimaginably bad time after death. Or, if you want to give up your ways, give up your plans, and CHOOSE to go His way. Although we know that you don’t need to do “good works” to be saved, we do know that you need to acknowledge this offer. But also, the next logical step is you need to “repent” (stop doing things your way, and turn to him) and start actively working with Him. You should WANT to do that.

Do you WANT to give up the bad things in your life? Do you WANT to stop hitting your head against the wall and see what He can do your life, instead?

To be saved, if you agree with this: realize and acknowledge you need a savior. Then, give it up! 100% of your plans and your approach are terrible, compared to what God has. You have to voluntarily stop following your own, stupid plans – acknowledge and accept the gift that has been given to you freely, and then “give your life to Jesus“.

God has a plan for my life?

When it’s said that He has a plan for your life, it is the best plan. Not just a good plan. The best plan that is technically possible. Literally, there is no plan that can exist in the universe, that is better. He invented the universe and is all-knowing, all-powerful. And THAT entity, has a plan for your life, specifically:

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ” –Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

“A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.” –Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;I will guide you with My eye.” –Psalm 32:8 (NKJV)

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” –1 Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV)

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.” –Psalm 37:23-24 (NKJV)

Aren’t you a little curious about what that plan is? The thing is, God is nothing if not respectful and a gentleman. While you say “No thanks, I’ve got my own plan!” – God politely takes a step back and says “Ok cool-cool-cool, let me know if you change your mind!” – where He let’s you and the devil go make your way through this world.

This means that we have this big choice: we can live our lives according to our plans (which Satan actively contributes to, because he has no respect for you), and try to make our way. Or, we can surrender. We can “give our lives to Jesus“, to which God then says “Ok cool! You’re done doing it your way? Man, wait until you see what I have in mind for your life!” – can you even imagine?

Satan has a plan for my life?

Just as God has plans for you, so does Satan. The Enemy has BIG plans for your life too. There is no middle ground, unfortunately. You are either actively working with God or actively (but maybe unknowingly) working with the Enemy. This Enemy has no respect for you and your personal wishes, so he’s not going to respectfully leave you alone. Respect is a fruit of God’s spirit.

If you haven’t seen it, I’ve come to believe that this Enemy actually has quite a few marketing campaigns to ensnare you. See: What are my choices? The Enemy might entice you with you being your own god, or the universe itself is god, or government is god, or the spirit world is full of gods, etc. Maybe he can take God’s word and corrupt just enough to frustrate believers and/or make it so they won’t be saved (like: works-based religions). Or maybe he convinces you there simply isn’t enough evidence to determine if God even exists? Or maybe he fills you with despair (Nihilism) to the point where you are hopeless, lost, and out of the way. He has all kinds of interesting, novel approaches – anything to keep you distracted from the Truth.

To me, in this training and testing dojo of earth, there is the single path of Truth, versus the countless distractions that the enemy provides. If you are not actively choosing God’s plan, you will be ensnared by one of Satan’s plans.

Give my life to Jesus?

If you’ve lived on this planet for any length of time you know of the depravity, cruelty, lying, etc. In that way of life where everyone is suspicious and skeptical of people’s motive, this concept of giving EVERYTHING to anyone or anything feels foolish. It initially feels wrong because we think that the recipient is, obviously, going to exploit those things.

By giving up our power and control, in this worldly view – we typically lose.

In this way, this concept of “giving my life to Jesus” sounds and feels uncomfortable. I totally get it. Our ego doesn’t like it, and it feels opposite of what we should be doing in a survival sort-of-way, where we gather as much power and as many resources as we can.

But, if we think further about what this offer is and from WHO it is, this takes on a whole new meaning. What we’re talking about here is giving it up to the Creator. The one who literally invented the matrix in which we live. He invented physics. He invented chicken wings. He invented love, and atoms. He is supreme love, supreme goodness, supreme intelligence, etc.

What seems crazy is that this God, the one invented everything and is supremely good, is laying out a offer of: do it on your own, or follow me. Chose!

The
point is, giving in, surrendering, or turning your life over to someone or something feels very uncomfortable – because we’ve been in this battle here on this earth, where that decision results in you losing. But this one exception, is flipped the other way around. You can realize that we can do nothing apart from Him, and if we acknowledge just what an amazing gift it is, it’s ours. At that point, you are saved, where your life and your soul are heading in a fundamentally different direction.

Do I need to be baptized to be saved?

The answer is no. Although it is a great and wonderful thing! We know that we are saved by the grace of Christ Jesus, alone (Ephesians 2:8-9, John 6:28-29).

Baptism is then, an outward expression of what has happened inside of you. When you decide to repent and give your life to Jesus, getting baptized can be a powerful, physical experience for you, your family, and for you church to go through – to really emphasize and amplify the work the Holy Spirit is doing in your life.

What is Sin?

If you are new to Christianity or if you came from it early in life and walked away from the faith, this answer may surprise you. In secular culture, “sin” is made out to be anything that is fun. Where God is made out to be the grumpy parent who doesn’t want anyone to have any fun. Luckily, that is not the case – at all!

Sin is basically anything that hurts you or hurts someone else. Sin is what separates us from God.

Think about it: anything that is considered a sin is something that hurts you or hurts someone else. This is one of the main reasons why God hates sin; it’s because He loves us. It breaks His heart to see us purposefully doing things to damage ourselves or other people.

So then, don’t think of sin as something that gets God mad. Think of sin as something that makes the Devil happy.

Why do people call themselves “saved”?

We can safely assume there is exactly one truth, and that is the Bible. If you are not yet sold on that idea, please see: Facts & Logic.

If the Bible is true, then we can believe in it. We can take it at its’ word.

The promise in that book is that:

1. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ” –John 3:16 (NKJV)
2. “So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”” –Acts 16:31 (NKJV)
3. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” –Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV)
4. “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” –John 14:6 (NKJV)
5. “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” –1 Corinthians 15:1-2 (NKJV)
6. “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” –Ephesians 1:13-14 (NKJV)

So if you make the decision to stop trying to run your life, if you want to stop sinning and if you want God in your life – that’s where it starts. He has an amazing plan for your life – in fact, quite literally the best plan that is possible. There is God’s amazing, literally-perfect plan for you – and then there is your plan, which is much worse than that. When you reconcile this in your head and decide you want His plan, then consider praying something like this:

“Dear Lord – I don’t want to do things my way anymore. I need a savior. Please forgive me for how I’ve been living, I want to do better. I want to be able to get away from my sin and I want to live out the plan you have for my life. I accept your free gift of salvation. I appreciate your mercy and grace. I give my life to you. I invite the Holy Spirit in. Please help me hear what I need to hear and help me see what I need to see. Please show me the way! In Jesus’ name I pray”

Or:

“Dear Lord – I know I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe You died in my place and rose from the grave to make me new and to prepare me to live in your presence forever. Come into my life, take control of my life, forgive my sins and save me. I know it is through You alone that I can have salvation, and I accept your free gift of eternal life. In Jesus’ name I pray”

It’s really as simple as that.

However, as you can see, that is still kind of a big deal – because of the implications. If you are new to this concept, your ego and the the demons that are assigned to you probably just winced! Yes, in our culture of “you are the main character” and self-love, this is a very radical concept to submit to the Higher Power. But if we can overcome our ego to make this move, it will irreversibly change the rest of our lives for the good. Seeing now the gravity of what a person needs to do – this is why baptism becomes important, because it’s a physical event to commemorate what’s going on in your spiritual life.

Back to the original question, the Bible is truth. You can take it at its’ word. It promises you are saved if you believe in Jesus and turn away from sin. If you do that, you can confidently say “I am saved!”

Can I just keep sinning and get a free “reset” every day?

The answer is no. God does not suffer fools and He does not like to be tested.

“Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ”” –Mathew 4:7

It seems to me that although God is already unbelievably forgiving and shows us amazing grace – He has his limits. If we continually sin, and repeatedly refuse to repent:

“He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” –Proverbs 29:1

Now, this was talking about the Jewish people failing to keep “the law” (or actively rebelling), but it gives us insight into God’s perspective.

Is there unforgivable sin?

The offer being made to you is an amazing one. We come to Jesus as we are, with whatever baggage we have. In fact, throughout the Bible God used people with sin and flaws of all sorts.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ” –Romans 8:28

Whatever you’ve done, it doesn’t matter. He’s only interested in if you want to move forward together, with Him.

There is though, importantly, one “unforgiveable” sin – that is blaspheming the Holy Spirit:

“‘Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation’— because they said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.'” –Mark 3:28

So, aside from that one unforgiveable sin, no matter what you’ve done, it’s not too far, it’s not too much. God takes you, as you are, right now.

What’s the big deal with pre-marital Sex?

While on the topic of sin, I thought there was one more thing in particular that should be spiked-out. Why is God so against casual sex, pornography, homosexuality, etc.? Well, I recently ran across a pretty clear explanation of this from Ben Stuart in his series called “Single, Dating, Engaged, Married” which is also available in book form.

The gist though is: what does modern culture recommend?

1. Find someone that you find attractive.
2. Have sex with them. This releases oxytocin, a very strong hormone that makes you feel chemically bonded with a person.
3. Find out you are not very compatible.
4. Break up. It’s heart-wrenching and painful because of the chemical bond.
5. Do this cycle over-and-over through your 20’s and maybe into your 30’s and beyond. This steals our joy and hardens our hearts.

Practically, this is kind of a bad plan. It’s going to end in pain to one or more humans (which is a sin) almost every time. What then does God propose?

1. Find someone that you find attractive.
2. Find out if you are compatible.
3. Build up a relationship. (date)
4. Prepare to wed – go through a big project where you really test your compatibility.
5. After getting married, have lots of sex (chemically sealing the relationship)

In comparison, this sounds a lot smarter, doesn’t it? I mean, if at any phase you need to break it off – you’ll both be a bit sad. But it won’t destroy you. And better, if you do make it all the way to the end, you chemically bond with someone you KNOW you are very compatible with.

This concept is called: dating with intention. If you are not dating with intention, you are dating for fun. It’s argued that human beings and human emotions should not be used for “fun” – human emotions are super delicate and fragile!

So, if you’ve never heard the case for abstinence or the case for saving sex for marriage – this is one succinct way to put it. Here is that 6-part series on this, on YouTube: