How to be Saved
(John 3 : 1 - 16)

 

Proverbs 11:30 says "He that winneth souls is wise."

Below is an organized way of discovering what Jesus had to say about salvation.  It is taken directly from the Bible.
 
Please see the bottom of this page for quoted Bible references
     
  1. If you were to die today, are you 100% sure that you would go to heaven?
  2. If you were to stand before God and He asked you,
    3. "Why should I let you into my Heaven?"
    What would you say?
  3. Here is how you (and others) can know.
    4. Be 100% (not maybe, not kind of, not 99.9% but 100%)
    sure that you are going to Heaven when you die!
     

This is an actual Bible story of a man named Nicodemus ... a man who was very religious and very righteous ... and his discussion with Jesus Christ.

Realize that no one can be saved and go to Heaven by their own righteousness.
- Very zealous
- Fast two days a weeks
- Always tithed their part
- Pray two hours in the synagogue, every day
- Memorize the first five books of the Bible ... word for word.
- They believed and kept the Law of Moses (The 10 Commandments).
 
"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:10
"The Three Swimmers"
Once upon a time there were three professional swimmers. These men had carefully conditioned their bodies to swim across a very large channel of water. During the months of intense preparation for this celebrated event, thesemen became very close friends. Much publicity was made of this event. Because the men were in such excellent condition and since they were professional swimmers, no consideration was given to safety or rescue measures.
 
The day of the big event finally arrived. A great crowd of people, including reporters, were present. They gathered on the bank of this channel of water and in the midst of cheers of people, dove in.
 
Everything went well for a long while. All three swimmers reached the mid-point in stride. Shortly thereafter, one of the swimmers became very weary and began to struggle. After struggling for a brief while, thisman tragically succumbed to the water and fatigue and disappeared under the water. The crowd was horrified. His two companions were heart broken, but they were struggling themselves. There was nothing they could do inthe middle of this channel to save their friend.
 
Approximately three-fourths of the way across, a second swimmer began to experience severe fatigue. He also was struggling and eventually succumbed to fatigue and the water and disappeared out of sight. Now there was only one, heart-broken, but determined swimmer.
 
This swimmer miraculously went on. He now was within several feet of the shore. But unbelievable exhaustion and the pull of the current had taken its toll. He struggled to persevere, but within several feet of the shoreline, he succumbs and also goes under and drowns.
 
I want to ask you a very sincere question: "Which one of these three men would you rather be?" (Think carefully about your answer)
 
Obviously, all three men ended in the same condition. This story is an example of all the righteous deeds and all the religious deeds of men and women who are attempting to reach Heaven by their human efforts. Even if you go further than others and do more than others, in the end we would all come short (John 3:13). It will matter very little how much better we are than others when we are all burning in hell.
 
That is not necessary, for God has built a bridge across this great channel. He built that bridge in the shape of a cross. On that cross one day, 2000 years ago, He put His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die and shed His blood, so that we can have the forgiveness of sin and be reconciled with a Holy God and be prepared to have an eternal home in Heaven with Him (John 3:14-16).

 

Galatians 2:16
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
 
Isaiah 64:6
"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
 
 
This story teaches us that no one can be saved and go to Heaven through man-made religions.
 
This story clearly teaches us that no one can experience the Christian Life without being Born Again.
  • This is illustrated by the fact that Nicodemus was a a righteous man and a religious man, yet he came to Jesus seeking something more. He knew that he had done everything his religion said but it did not satisfy (vs. 1-2).
- Why do you think he came to Jesus?
      He was seeking for something "more" than what his "religion" offered him.
- Why do you think he came by night?
      P - R - I - D - E
  • In verse 3, "see" is the Hebrew word "eido" (i'-do) that means "to perceive" or "to experience". There is no way that anyone can ever experience the abundant, victorious life without a new birth. No matter how sincere, no matter how religious, and righteous, the victorious Christian life is the result of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
John 4:14
"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
 
Salvation is a point-in-time definite experience. (read verses 5 and 6)
 
The word translated, "water", is the Greek word "hudor" (hoo'-dore) which refers to the breaking of the water in a woman's tomb in the birth process. That is why Jesus said in verse 6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Just like we have a physical birthday, we must have a spiritual birthday or we will not enter Heaven (verse 5).
- When is your birthdate?
- When is your spiritual birthdate?
- Why can many people immediately tell you their birthday, but not their spiritual birthday?

 

This story teaches us that it is absolutely essential "To Be Born Again" to enter Heaven (verse 5)
 
  • Three (3) times in this passage Jesus declares the absolute necessity of a new birth in order to be saved (verses 3, 5 & 7). If something is important, you repeat it. This is so important to God that He had Jesus say it three times!
  • Furthermore, if man could have been saved by his own righteousness or his own man-made religions, Jesus would never have left Heaven and went to the cross (read verses 13-16).
  • Remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
  • Jesus suffered greatly ... he was beaten, kicked, spit upon, whipped with shards of glass and stone, a prickly crown of thorns placed upon his forehead ... then he had to carry his cross, have crude nails (size of railroad stakes) hammered through his hands and feet, and then his side was pierced with a spear.
  • If we could reach Heaven on our own, why did God allow his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer and sacrifice his life, in order to pay for ours?
Galatians 2:21 "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
It is God's Will that ALL should be saved and Born Again (read John 3:14-16)
The very reason that Jesus came and died was so that men would not have to perish but that they might be saved. If there had been any other way for man to be saved without the cross, Christ would have never gone to the cross. If we could have been saved by being sincere and if it did not matter what a person believed, Jesus would have never gone to the cross.
We know that this new birth is God's desire:
  • because of what He gave ... His own Son;
  • because of who it is offered to ... "whosoever" ...
  • because of how easy He made it ... "believeth".
Being Born Again changes a person's life (read verse 6).
 
  • In II Corinthians 5:17, the Word of God states "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
 
  • The word translated "born", is a Greek word "gennao" (ghen-nah'-o), meaning to re-generate or re-gened. When a person is Born Again, "they are re-gened". The seed of God comes to be in that person and that is why is says in I John 3:9 "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." Yes, they will have to grow through the milk of the Word and by exercise and by patience, but if a person is born again, they will be changed.
  • Each of us have our Earthly father's genes in us. This shows in the color of our skin, the color (or lack of) hair, the color of our eyes, the build of our bodies, etc. The same thing is true if we have the genes of God in us. We're going to become like God. Philippians 1:6 "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:"
CONCLUSION
  • Do not assume that religious people have been born again. Just because a person is righteous and just because a person is religious does not mean that person has been born again.
- Nicodemus is a good example of this.
- So is the apostle Paul in Philippians 3:6-8
- So are the Jews in Romans 10:1-3
  • Furthermore, Jesus makes it very plain in Matthew 7:21-23 that multitudes will stand on the day of judgment expecting to be accepted and will be turned away because they have never truly been born again.
 
Here is a suggested prayer:
"Dear Jesus, I realize today that I cannot get to Heaven by my works nor by my religion. I trust you ONLY as my hope of Heaven. Come into my life right now; save me forever; and change me into your likeness. Thank you for loving me and dying for me. Amen!"
 
Are you 100% sure?
  • Did you really mean that prayer? Were you really sincere?
  • Did you ask Jesus into your heart?
  • What did he promise he would do if you asked him to save you?
For whosoever (this means YOU!) shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:9-13
  • Then according to the Bible, where is Jesus right now?  If you said in your heart, you're right!

 

Okay ... now what do I do? What do I need to know?

  What you need to do after you are saved ...