SALVATION – what is is and what is next

 You have heard the Gospel, the Good News of Salvation! You have believed in Jesus Christ and asked Him to be your Savior. Hopefully, you have talked to someone about salvation, and they have shown you, out of the Bible, some of the verses that tell what we must do to be saved. They answered any questions you had, and then you prayed:

1. Admitting the fact that you are a sinner;

2. Telling God you believe that Jesus, God the Son, died for your sin and rose from the dead;

3. Asking God to forgive your sin for Christ’s sake, and

4. Asking Jesus to be your Savior and to give you a new heart.

The following has been written to help you understand more about the decision of salvation you made and the next steps you should be taking to follow the Lord and to strengthen your faith as you grow more like Christ each day.

FIRST

It is very important that you know it is not a prayer that saves you. There isn’t some magic formula or a secret password that will open the gates of Heaven for you.

No, it is not the prayer that saves you, but the change which occurs inside of you, in your heart or spirit, when you pray.

Salvation is not just a belief in Jesus Christ, but it is trusting your eternal life to Him. It is putting your life in His hands to keep and change and direct. It is opening your spirit and mind to the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, to come into your life and to give you a new heart and spirit–a clean, holy spirit.

Why is this important? It may be you have “prayed” because a friend did or perhaps you prayed to be “saved” from some problem: an illness, a financial problem, a bad relationship, a desperate situation like a car accident or war, etc. Perhaps the thought of death and hell scared you–and if a prayer would keep you out of hell, well, you did not mind praying. There could be other reasons why you prayed, but you know you have no genuine desire to change and there is no commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. “If He can keep me out of hell, then that is okay–but I do not want Him telling me what to do. If that is your attitude, then you are not saved. God looks on the heart, and your words do not fool Him!  We do not want you to think that because you have said a prayer, been baptized, or joined a church that these actions can save you. It is true belief in Jesus Christ and a resulting change in your spirit, heart, and mind that saves you.

Some illustrations might make it clearer to you:

Salvation is like being married.

Think about marriage. The Bible calls the church the “Bride of Christ” and compares salvation to being married. The desire to be married does not make you married, nor does the desire to be saved make you saved. To be married you must commit yourself to the one you love in a formal and legal way before an authority with witnesses. Your marriage is not official until you say “I do” before a preacher. To be saved, you must pray to God. He is the Authority. Jesus is waiting for you just as the groom waits at the front of the church. There Jesus says, “I am willing to take this person as one of my people.” You respond by saying, “I take the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior.” When you do this, you enter into a “COVENANT” –the Covenant of Salvation. Just as in marriage you promise to “forsake all others” so that this one will be the most special person in your life, in salvation you forsake “all others” [all other gods, good works, organizations, etc.] as a way to be saved or as your master, and Jesus Christ is given the most special place in your love and affections. After all, Jesus Christ died for you!

As you left the place of prayer, you should have had a sense that Jesus Christ was with you, just as newlyweds leave the church together! You should have had a sense of beginning a new life with Jesus Christ just like newlyweds go on to build a new life together. You should have had a sense that things will begin to change and to be different because of your relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, just as life changes for newlyweds. Everyone feels differently when they get married. Some are happy, some are scared, some are numb, some are dazed, and some feel sick! Feelings do not matter much, as long as you go through the ceremony and make that commitment which binds you to the other person. The word “commitment” sums it up. You have committed yourself to Jesus Christ and entered into a personal relationship with Him. As a bride trusts herself to her husband to provide for her and to protect her, and as she follows him where his work leads him–so you have committed yourself to Jesus Christ.

Salvation is like joining the Army.

When you sign up and take the oath of service, you are voluntarily surrendering your personal freedom to the officers of the Army. You might not know all that is involved, but you do know that you no longer have control over your life. You have given that to the Army so they can train you and discipline you and make you into a good soldier. You have given them the right to use you in the fight for the things you love and believe in. In order to do this, they can tell you everything from what to wear to where you must live. When you get saved, you join the Lord’s Army and He is Commander-in-Chief. You may not understand everything that’s involved, but you are voluntarily giving Jesus Christ the right to control your life. If you meant business about salvation, you have the same feeling a new recruit has–a sense that you are in the Army and things are going to be different as the officers begin to remake you into a soldier.

Those words describe belief that acts in trust and commitment. If you meant business when you prayed, then you, too, will sense you have begun a new life in which Jesus Christ is all important.

SECOND

Now, if you are really saved, there should be a question in your mind, “What do I do next?”

1. If you really mean to live for Christ, the first thing you should do is be baptized. In the Book of Acts you will find this is the first thing new believers did because Jesus had commanded it. And this is where you should begin. What is baptism? Well, baptism is many things…

… Baptism is a public testimony of your decision to trust Christ as your Savior. “Secret believers” never amount to much. If you are saved, you will not mind others knowing you are a Christian.

… Baptism is an object lesson about salvation. We believe in baptism by immersion. That means you get dipped all the way under the water. This shows we have joined ourselves with Jesus Christ. After He died on the cross, His body was put in a tomb. When we are dipped under the water, we are saying we died with Christ on the cross and were buried with Him. The penalty for sin (death) has been paid for us! We are dead as far as God’s Law is concerned. We are dead to our old life! And then, just as Christ was raised from the dead and came out of the grave, we come up out of the water to live a new life–a life filled with the Holy Spirit and God’s sustaining grace!

… Baptism also teaches us how to have victory over sin. This is found in Romans 6: our old nature died with Jesus on the cross and by faith we “reckon” (believe, act on) this spiritual truth. So even though old thoughts may persist (they have to be replaced, Romans 12:1-2) and old habits may exert a physical “pressure” (they have to be replaced, Ephesians 4:20-5:11), we are no longer held by their power. We have a New Power in the person of God, the Holy Spirit. When we find ourselves tempted, we “yield” ourselves to the Holy Spirit, call upon Him to enable us to resist, and then we obey–do what the Bible commands. Before we are saved we are under the law of God which only condemns–tells us we are wrong. After we are saved, we are under Grace–God Himself gives us the power to do what the Law says. This is the way of victory over sin.

… Baptism is the Bible way of joining the church. If you are really saved you will want to belong to a church.

2. The next thing you should do–and this will be different for different people–is quit those thing you know are sin! For example, if you have been smoking or drinking or talking in a way that does not honor God and His creation…quit! If your old friends are doing things you know are wrong, then stay away from them! Make new friends with real Christians, those who want to live to please Jesus Christ.

3. Get into a good church. Find a church which believes the Bible and seeks to obey all the Bible. There are plenty of churches but do they encourage you to talk, dress, work, study, live like a Christian? Do they encourage you to witness? Is “having fun” the main attraction? Is the life they teach just a clean life, like any respectable person would live, with the Gospel tacked on? Is there real concern and pressure to do right? A good church will preach and teach the Bible and challenge you to do more for Christ! You will not grow as a Christian without the preaching and fellowship you get in a good church. Attend all the services…Sunday School, Sunday Morning, Sunday Evening, Wednesday night, and any special programs!

4. Read your Bible and pray. Scripture will seem strange at first, and you may not understand a lot. (It is good to start with the Gospel of John and the Book of First John.) But keep reading and ask God to help you understand. Ask other Christians about things you do not understand. Try to share with other Christians what you do understand and seek to put it into practice.

If you meant business, you will want to do these things. You may try, fail, and make mistakes; but you will not quit! No turning back!