This
is a very important question.
Many people would answer this question in many different ways.
Any way that differs from what the Bible says is false.
But what does God require in the Bible for one to be saved?
We must believe in God and in Christ.
Jesus says in John 8:24, ”For if you do not believe that I am He, you
will die in your sins.”
To believe in Jesus is to accept and do all He says.
We must repent.
The Bible says, “The Lord…is longsuffering toward us, not willing
that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter
3:9). It
is either repent or perish.
Repentance is a change of heart and mind to turn away from sin.
It is making up our mind that henceforth we are going to serve God with
all our might and do everything He says.
Without repentance we cannot receive forgiveness and be saved.
We must be willing to confess our belief in Christ to other people.
Jesus says, “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess
before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).
Jesus says, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark
16:16). One
needs help to misunderstand what Jesus says here.
Jesus placed both belief and baptism before salvation.
Also we read in Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said unto them, repent and be
baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of
sins.” Notice
the Bible says that both repentance and baptism come before remission of sins.
Most of the denominational world laughs at God’s word when it says
that baptism is for the remission of one’s sins so one can be saved and go
to Heaven. This
is sad and will cause many people to be eternally lost in Hell.
This lie of Satan says that baptism is not necessary for forgiveness of
sins and to be saved.
Satan says all you have to do to be saved is just “accept Jesus as
your personal Saviour” and say the “sinner’s prayer”.
Satan says it is all right to be baptized after you think you are saved
because even Satan knows one is saved at the point of baptism and not before.
Satan knows that if one is not baptized for the forgiveness of sins to
be saved, he is still has every sin he ever committed and is still lost.
Another lie of Satan says infants are born sinners and must be baptized
in order to be saved.
This again contradicts God’s word.
God says in Ezekiel 18:20, “The soul who sins shall die.
The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the
guilt of the son.”
God says children do not inherit sin from their parents, grandparents,
or any of their forefathers all the way back to Adam.
Infants and little children are innocent and have no sin.
Jesus says, “Unless you are converted and become as little children,
you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
When one who was baptized as an infant becomes accountable, he
doesn’t think he needs to be baptized again to be saved.
Satan knows that when people who were baptized as infants become
accountable and begin to sin, they will be eternally lost if they do not obey
the Lord in baptism.
Our word “baptize” is transliterated from the Greek word baptizo.
Let’s look in the Bible to see how people were baptized.
“Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was
much water there” (John 3:23).
Scriptural baptism, which is immersion, according to the Bible requires
much water, at least enough to immerse a person.
Sprinkling and pouring are unlawful substitutes made by man that will
cause many people to be eternally lost.
Just as Satan has deceived many people down through the ages, he
continues to deceive the vast majority of people today with his lies.
Anything that contradicts or is different from God’s word in the
Bible is another lie of Satan.
God offers salvation to all people, but He conditions that salvation
with obeying the requirements, which He has set forth in His word, the Bible.