How to Inherit Eternal Life through Salvation

easter scene with crown of thorns, hammer and nails with blood on sand

By Brook Ardoin

What is Salvation?

The Bible is not only a Believer’s blueprint to living a righteous life while on earth, but it also gives clear instruction on how to inherit eternal life through Jesus Christ. The Hebrew word for salvation most commonly used is “yasa” which means, “to save, help in distress, rescue, deliver, or set free”. Unto the sinner, salvation is simply to be saved from the righteous judgement of a holy and loving God. The Bible tells us ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). However, God has provided a way of escaping His righteous judgement. Those whom are saved will not face the great wrath of God.

Can Good Works get me into the Kingdom of Heaven?

In a word…NO! No amount of good deeds will secure our place in heaven. It does not matter how kind and loving a person you are, how many candles you light, how many church services you attend, or even how many repetitious prayers you recite. No amount of works in and of ourselves will guarantee our name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Ephesians 2:8 says it is “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.” Isaiah 64:6 says that our righteous deeds are filthy rags.

Only One Name

Since there is nothing we can righteously do within ourselves before God, we must turn to Jesus. What we could not do, Jesus DID. Jesus is perfectly righteous before the Father and He died in our place. We must trust in His sacrifice on the Cross by faith to achieve salvation. Then, if we accept Him, trust in Him, and believe in what He did, the same righteousness of Christ is freely given to us. This is promised in 2 Corinthians 5:21 where it says, “For He [God] made Him [Christ] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

It is only by the name of Jesus that anyone can be saved as written in Acts 2:12; “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we MUST be saved.” Here we see that salvation through Christ is not a “maybe”, it is necessary, a MUST.

The New Birth

In John chapter 3, Jesus was preaching about a new kingdom. Nicodemus heard Him and began questioning Jesus about it. Jesus told him that the only way one could enter this new kingdom was to be “born again”. Jesus said in verse 3, “Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”. Nicodemus then asked Jesus: How can one be born again? Can he enter his mother’s womb again? Jesus answered, “Verily, verily I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit….” (John 3:3-6)

A newborn baby entering its new life is a perfect illustration of someone beginning a new life with God. Another good illustration many of us have seen depicts a butterfly when it first emerges from its cocoon. The transformation from the old to the new is amazing. We are all in a state of spiritual death. Our Father saw that and made a way back into relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”. (Romans 10:13)

How do I get Saved?

Salvation is a free gift from God offered to everyone. From the most generous, loving person, to the worst criminal imaginable, Jesus provided the way for ALL. There are three essential steps to gaining salvation:

Repentance – Repent means to turn back, go in a new direction; to feel or show you are sorry for something bad or wrong you did and you want to do what is right.

We must repent of our sins. Sin separates us from God. If we remain in sin, it can cause eternal separation from Him. We turn to faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Believe – We are not only to believe that Jesus went to the Cross to die and shed His precious blood for us, but that He also rose again from the dead and is alive today.

“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”. (Romans 10:9-10)

Confess – It says, “Confession is made unto salvation”. Here is where action-based faith come in. We confess what we believe. Confession means speaking it out loud so all of heaven and all the powers of the enemy can hear us. The heart is transformed as we give birth to the words by speaking them into the airways. Confess what the Bible says about us – that we are children of God, a new creature in Christ, and that our sins have been washed white as snow…just as if we had never done it. That is the sure justification we have through Jesus Christ.

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:12)

Salvation Prayer

You can make sure you are saved and in right standing with the Lord by getting before Him and praying this prayer:

Father God,

I come before You today and confess that I am a sinner. I have fallen short of Your glory and I am in desperate need of a Savior. Right now, I repent of all my sin. I ask You to forgive me of all my sin. Remove them that I may be whiter than snow. I believe that Jesus Christ is Your only Son, and that He was crucified and shed His blood that I may be free from sin and death. I also believe that Jesus rose from the dead and that He is coming back again. I confess that I am saved and Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I will live for You from this day forward as You show me how. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

Conclusion

In my time I have seen people allow their opportunity to get saved just pass them by because they could not believe that salvation is this simple. The lies of the enemy came right on in, just as they were about to give their heart to the Lord. Can it really be this simple? YES! Jesus did the hard part. Our part is to only believe in faith and receive the free gift He provided in choosing to go to the Cross. Salvation is a simple matter of the heart. Repent, believe, and confess TODAY while there is still time. Our Father has many promises in store for us, but TOMORROW IS NOT one of them. There is nothing in this world that is worth an eternal separation from Him.