The Most Important Decision You Will Ever Make
(more helpful information at the end of this page)
The most important decision any person can make is whether or not to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. But you might be wondering—what exactly does that mean?
What Does It Mean to Accept Christ?
CompellingTruth.org explains it this way:
Accepting Jesus as your personal Savior means understanding who He is, what it means to be saved, and making a personal decision to follow Him. The Bible teaches that Jesus is more than just a good person—He is God in human form, who came to live on earth (John 1:1). He lived, taught, performed miracles, suffered, died, and was resurrected to prove He is Lord.
As the apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4:
"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures."
A Savior is someone who rescues, redeems, and saves others. Jesus is the Savior of the world—He rescues us from sin and eternal punishment when we trust in Him by faith. He paid the price for our sins through His death on the cross. Because He has the power to forgive sins, He offers salvation to all who believe in Him.
To accept Jesus as your personal Savior is to acknowledge who He is and believe in Him. As John 1:12 says:
"But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God."
And John 3:16 adds:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."
Are you ready to place your faith in Jesus Christ and receive the free gift of eternal life? If so, you can make that decision right now. There is no required prayer, but if you’d like guidance, you can pray something like this:
"Dear God, I recognize that I am a sinner and that I cannot reach heaven by my own good deeds. I place my faith in Jesus Christ, who died for my sins and rose from the dead to give me eternal life. Please forgive my sins and help me to live for You. Thank You for saving me and giving me eternal life."
Learn More
Pastor JD Farag explains salvation in this video:
What does the bible say about Jesus? 100 Truths about Jesus
Here is a series that will help you know what to do now that you are a believer in Christ:
This is the most important decision you will EVER make! All of us will live forever, but this decision will determine your location - heaven or hell. How can you know where you will go when you die?
Here is a more detailed explanation of the ABCs of salvation:
Just as important, none of us know for sure when we will die, so we shouldn't put off the decision to accept Christ. Once you die, there is no more choice.
On this page, I am going to present the Gospel and the ABCs of salvation.
What is the Gospel?
Gospel means "good news." Your debt has been paid, the death penalty has been paid, you are free.
Here's the Gospel of Jesus Christ: That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 - The apostle Paul tells us what the gospel is: "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. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
Jesus brought in a little child as a living object lesson to show who enters the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18:3 - Jesus said: "Unless you become like this little child you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."
THE PROBLEM OF SIN
Why does someone need salvation? Many have heard that if they believe in Jesus they will be saved. Saved from what? The Bible provides the answer to these questions and also promises, "that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life". John 3:15
In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, we learn how the universe, and all that is in it, was created. God created it out of nothing. As we read along we discover that He made the earth and populated it with all the animals, plants, and man. Man was special because he received a spirit and soul from God. Everything was perfect.
God revealed to the first humans, Adam and Eve, that He is a holy God that has no evil in Him. His nature is goodness and light. He also gave Adam and Eve the ability to make choices, referred to as free will. He set them in a beautiful garden called Eden and provided them with all they needed. They were "innocent" in that they had not disobeyed God. He gave them one specific command, not to eat from one specific tree in the garden called "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die".
However, Adam and Eve disobeyed God by choosing to eat from the forbidden tree. When they disobeyed, it was called "sin" and man's nature became evil. From that time forward, mankind has had an evil nature and it has been passed down through childbirth to all of us. God said, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". Romans 3:23
Because God is holy, we cannot have a relationship with Him because God will not tolerate sin.
GOD'S SOLUTION TO SIN IS JESUS
Not only does God hate sin, He demands that death is the punishment for sin. Not just a physical death, but a spiritual death that separates the sinner from God. If man is evil and his sin prevents him from having a relationship with God, how can we ever know or fellowship with God?
As pointed out earlier, God is holy. God also is a God of love. Despite the fact we are sinners and condemned to die, He still loves us. And because of His love He has provided a way to have a relationship with Him for all of eternity. The following illustration may help make this clearer.
Imagine this: You are standing in a courtroom and you are on trial for your life. If you are convicted, you will be sentenced to death. You are led into the courtroom in front of the judge to hear the decision. The judge bangs down his gavel and declares "YOU are GUILTY!" You are sentenced to death. But wait! Something miraculous happens.
The judge says, "you are guilty and deserve death. But my Son has agreed to be your substitute and will die for you instead. In fact he has already died, and I will accept His death as payment for all your crimes. All you have to do is to accept what I have said as FACT, and BELIEVE that your crimes have been paid for, and TRUST Me that this is true. If you accept this offer, you will live with Me and my Son forever. Will you accept this?".
What an offer! If you accept this offer, then not only are your crimes paid for, but you are totally forgiven and can live with the Judge and his Son forever. This is EXACTLY what God offers you.
It's as simple as A - B - C.
What are the ABCs?
Pastor JD Farag of Calvary Chapel Kaneohe explains them in this video. If you prefer reading to watching there are more detailed explanations after the video.
A - ADMIT YOU ARE A SINNER
This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out.
Romans 3:10
As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one."
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven).
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
B - BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART THAT JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR YOUR SINS, WAS BURIED, AND THAT GOD RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD.
This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was.
Romans 10:9-10
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
C - CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD.
Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords, and the King of kings.
Romans 10:9-10
For “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
Romans 10:13
For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Romans 14:11
For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God."
WHAT TO DO NEXT
Know this:
1. You need to be saved.
"There is no one righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10 quoting Ecclesiastes 7:20)
2. You can not save yourself.
"For by grace you have been saved, by faith, and that faith is not of yourselves; it is a gift of God; not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
3. God loves us enough to provide salvation.
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
4. By faith, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
"And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved." (Acts 16:31)
"If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
WHAT TO PRAY
Prayer is talking to Jesus. It's as simple as that. You don't need fancy words, you don't need any rituals. Simply talk to Him like you would talk to a friend.
Here is an example of what to pray:
Dear Lord Jesus, I understand that I am a sinner and I ask You for forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins so that I could receive Your forgiveness and have eternal life. I ask You to come into my life right now and become my personal Savior. From this day forward, Lord, I give you control of my life. Make me a new person and help me to live for You.Amen
You can have confidence in who Jesus is and what He has done for you:
John 3:16-18
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son".
Acts 4:12
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved".
How can I have assurance of my salvation?
The assurance of salvation is, simply put, knowing for sure that you are saved. Many Christians throughout history have written about their struggles in being assured of their salvation. The problem is that many followers of Jesus Christ look for the assurance of salvation in the wrong places.
We tend to seek assurance of salvation in the things God is doing in our lives, in our spiritual growth, in the good works and obedience to God’s Word that is evident in our Christian walk. While these things can be evidence of salvation, they are not what we should base the assurance of our salvation on. Rather, we should find the assurance of our salvation in the objective truth of God’s Word. We should have confident trust that we are saved based on the promises God has declared, not because of our subjective experiences.
How can you have assurance of salvation? Consider 1 John 5:11–13: “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (emphasis added). Who is it that has the Son? It is those who have believed in Him (John 1:12). If you have Jesus, you have life. Not temporary life, but eternal. And, according to 1 John 5:13, you can know that you have this eternal life.
God wants us to have assurance of our salvation. We should not live our Christian lives wondering and worrying each day whether we are truly saved. That is why the Bible makes the plan of salvation so clear. Believe in Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Acts 16:31). Do you believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty for your sins and rose again from the dead (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21)? Do you trust Him alone for salvation? If your answer to these questions is “yes,” you are saved! Assurance means freedom from doubt. By taking God’s Word to heart, you can have no doubt about the reality of your eternal salvation.
Jesus Himself assures those who believe in Him: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:28–29). Eternal life is just that—eternal. There is no one, not even yourself, who can take Christ’s God-given gift of salvation away from you.
Take joy in what God’s Word is saying to you: instead of doubting, we can live with confidence! We can have the assurance from Christ’s own Word that our salvation will never be in question. Our assurance of salvation is based on the perfect and complete salvation God has provided for us through Jesus Christ. Are you trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? If the answer is “yes,” rest assured, you are saved.
The above information was copied and complied from the following websites:
https://abcs-of-salvation.org
http://abcsalvation.com
https://www.gotquestions.org/assurance-salvation.html