God has a plan for your salvation and He wants to save you today. The steps to salvation are only the beginning of God’s plan for you. What does God want from you; well, in short, He wants everything (Rom. 12:1-2). God wants to give you eternal life, forgiveness, hope, love, and balance in a world turned upside down.

Do not think that these steps are trivial for each is quite profound and are designed by God to bring us to the point that we can say as the apostle Paul said, “For me to live is Christ…” (Phil. 1:21).

As you read these steps, do not take my word for this, open your bible, read each of the verses, and seriously consider what God is saying. Remember that each of these steps are to be done continually throughout the rest of our lives. This is not a onetime event that you can check off and say, “I did it so I must be ok.” This is a way of life that begins at our conversion and continues until death.

Hearing

  • This is the first step because without hearing what God has to say, without hearing what God wants for you, then nothing else is important.
  • John 6:44-45; Rom. 10:14, 17.

Believing

  • This is important because if you do not believe Jesus is the eternal Son of God, then His sacrifice on the cross is of none effect for you.
  • John 3:16; 8:24; Acts 16:31; Rom. 5:1; Heb. 11:6.

Repentance

  • This is perhaps the most difficult step of all.
  • I say it is difficult because it requires that first we admit we are wrong and that God is right and secondly that we change our course of life.
  • Change is never easy but it is possible.
  • Luke 13:1-5; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; 17:30; 2 Cor. 7:10.

Confession

  • We must be willing to stand and confess our faith in Jesus.
  • This is not a confession of sins as some say but an expression of our faith in Jesus.
  • This is extremely important because it is the basis of the evangelism and the Christian life.
  • Matt. 10:32-33; Luke 9:26; Acts 8:36-37; Rom. 10:9-10

Baptism for the Remission of our Sins

  • This is perhaps the most debated steps in God’s plan.
  • People make the remark that there is no power in the water and that is right. The
    power is God’s, it is His power to pronounce us free from sin when we obey His word.
  • This is truly an act of faith that says, “I believe what God has said, not what man has said.”
  • Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 8:36; 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21

Remaining Faithful unto Death

  • The last step in God’s plan of salvation.
  • Every book from Romans to Revelation has a single message, “Don’t give up, Jesus is coming back for His church.”
  • If you could not give up, walk away, be lost, then why does God warn about it?
  • Matt. 7:21; 10:22; Heb. 5:9; 1 John 2:4; Rev. 2:10

Do not look at these steps as works of merit whereby we earn our salvation. We cannot earn our salvation in any way (Eph. 2:8-10). It is the blood of Christ that saves and that alone can atone for our sins (John 1:29; Acts 20:28; Rom. 5:9; Eph. 1:7, 2:13; Col. 1:14; 1 Peter 1:18-23.

We certainly cannot compare what Jesus has done for us and what we do in response to his great act of love. That is exactly what the plan of
salvation is; it is a response, based on God’s word, for what Jesus has done for us.

Will you accept Him today; will you obey his words and submit to his authority in obedience to his plan? Don’t let man or man’s wisdom keep you from receiving God’s blessings for your life.

If you would to have someone contact you about bible correspondence courses or to assist you in obeying God’s plan. Send us an email at centralhaywoodcoc@yahoo.com or leave us a message here and we will respond to as soon as possible.