How To Be Right With God

We consider this page to be the most important page on our site, for there is nothing, absolutely nothing, more important than being right with God.  That is what the first section of this page details.

Further down in the second section, you can read the short story of how David Wheaton (the host and editor of The Christian Worldview) became right with God.

“What must I do to be saved?” This question was asked to one of the followers of Jesus Christ nearly 2000 years ago and is still just as important and relevant of a question for you today.  Have you ever thought about this question?  Do you know the answer to the question?

I would like you to seriously consider this question today because your response will determine how you will live your life and where you will spend eternity after you die.  So please, read this column carefully in its entirety.

“What must I do to be saved?”  Here is how the follower of Jesus answered the question:  “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

It is a simple response, but what exactly does it mean to “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ”?  And from what do you need to be “saved”?  Let’s answer the latter question first.

SAVED FROM WHAT?

The Bible, which claims to be the inspired word of God (2 Timothy 3:16) and entirely truthful (John 17:17; Psalm 119:160), gives a straightforward answer to what you need to be saved from:  you need to saved from God Himself.

The Bible says that God created and sustains everything in the universe (Genesis 1:1; Job 38:1-41) … including you (Psalm 139:13-16).  It is He who established the unchanging laws of nature and morality.  It is He who has ultimate authority over His creation.  It is He who desires for you to be in a right relationship with Him (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

In addition to being the Creator, God has another title — Judge.  He has established good and righteous laws for our benefit, but sadly you (and I and everyone else) have disobeyed His laws in one way or another: by lying, lusting, gossiping, slandering, envying, coveting, stealing, cheating, using God’s or Jesus’ name as a curse word, or loving someone or something more than God.  Some of God’s laws that we’ve broken are listed in Exodus 20:1-17 (The 10 Commandments) or in Matthew 5 (Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount).  If your violations of God’s laws aren’t resolved on His terms, you will stand before Him as Judge someday.

There will be no injustice in God’s court; no one will get away with any crime against Him; God has seen and recorded in His “books” every single sin ever committed and He will be completely just in pronouncing His sentence.

That is what you need to be saved from: God’s judgment and wrath.  Or to put it the terrifying way one of the final chapters of the Bible does, you need to be saved from God “throwing” you into the “lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

While it is certainly true that God is loving, forgiving, merciful, and gracious — as will be shown in the following sections — the Bible also presents God as being full of wrath against those who break His laws and reject His offer of reconciliation.

While many people wrongly conclude that hell isn’t an actual place, “and if it is, a loving God certainly wouldn’t send anyone there,” the Bible states clearly that God, the just Judge of the universe, has the authority, the power, and the intention of sending all those who reject His Son Jesus Christ there.  Consider the following passages from the Bible:

“He who believes in the Son [Jesus Christ] has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him [God] who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.  And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  This is the second death, the lake of fire.  And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15).

“God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man [Jesus Christ] whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).

The concept of God sending those who reject His Son to a literal hell may seem unlikely, unfair, or even crazy to you.  Yet the Bible plainly and consistently speaks of its reality (Luke 16:19-31; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10) which leaves two options: either hell is real or hell is not real.  Since nothing else in the Bible has ever been proven false — historical events, places, people, prophecies — it would be wise to take the Bible at its word — hell is real.

Being separated from God and punished in hell for eternity should cause everyone to ask, “What can I do to be saved from God sending me there?  The answer is clear: “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

What does that mean though?  Does that simply mean that you believe Jesus existed like some other historical figure, like Plato, Napolean, George Washington, or Alexander the Great, or is there something more to belief than that?

To “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ” is much more than intellectual assent to the fact that He existed; it means that you place your trust, your faith, your expectant hope for being saved in who Jesus is and what He did for you.

WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?

Jesus Christ is without question the most significant person in the history of the world.  The Bible says much about Jesus — that He was born of a virgin woman, that He performed supernatural acts like healing people of diseases and turning water into wine, that He was crucified on a cross and rose from the dead.  Here are a few more things the Bible says about Jesus:

Jesus is the Son of God:

“And the Word [Jesus] became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Jesus is equal with God:

“In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2).  “I and the Father are one” – Jesus (John 10:30).

Jesus is the only way to God:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” – Jesus (John 14:6).

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

“For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

WHAT DID JESUS DO FOR YOU?

Jesus is all of the above and much more.  So what did He do for you that He is calling you to believe in?

Jesus lived a perfect life so that He could offer Himself on the cross in your place as the only sacrifice that would satisfy God’s justice for your sin:

“He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

“The next day he [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

Jesus died so that God could demonstrate His love for sinners and so that God’s just punishment for sin could be placed on Jesus and not on you:

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.  (Romans 5:8-9).

“In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [i.e. satisfying God's justice] for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

“And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22).

Jesus rose from the grave and appeared to hundreds of people so that you would have a living Savior and Lord:

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve.  After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8).

Therefore, to “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ” means to place your trust, your faith, your hope in the person and work of Jesus Christ, whose sinless life and sacrificial death are alone able to reconcile the broken relationship you have created with God as a result of your sins against Him.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

So let’s go back to the very first question and put it all together: What must you do to be saved?

1. You must agree with God that you have sinned against Him and that you deserve judgment for it.  If your crimes against God aren’t settled on His terms, you will have to pay the awful penalty yourself — eternal separation from God in hell.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:10).

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

2. You must repent of your sin, which means that you turn in a new direction away from your sin and commit to following God, relying on Him for the strength to do so.

“Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’ [literally, the good news about Jesus Christ] (Mark 1:14-15).

“God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man [Jesus Christ] whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).

3. You must respond to and receive God’s merciful and gracious offer to save you and place your faith, hope, trust, belief in Jesus Christ’s righteousness and His perfect sacrifice of Himself on the cross as the only payment God will accept for the sin debt you have accrued against Him and the only means of your being reconciled to Him.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.  He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.  For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God” (John 3:16-21).

“The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart — that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  For the Scripture says, “whoever believes on Him will not be disappointed.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek [Gentile]; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:8-13).

4. You must reject any and all of your own supposed good works as completely ineffective to save yourself and mend your separation from God — church attendance, religious activities like communion, baptism, or prayer, charitable giving, personal goodness and kindness, helping the poor and disadvantaged, good intentions, etc.

“Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.  But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:4-5).

5. You must follow Jesus Christ as your Lord (master) by obeying Him and His Words — this is the evidence of one who is saved.

“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin.  And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation [one who satisfies God’s justice] for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.  By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.  The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (1 John 2:1-6).

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

CONCLUSION

Every human being has sinned and thus created a conflict with God — you, me, Mother Theresa, the Pope, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, the apostle Paul, everyone.  You have only two choices in dealing with your sin:

1.) You can choose to accept God’s gracious offer of reconciliation by repenting of your sin and placing your faith in Jesus Christ’s sinless life and atoning death on your behalf as the only way that God’s justice can be satisfied for your sin.

Or…

2.)  You can choose to pay the penalty for your sin yourself by ignoring or rejecting or altering God’s offer of reconciliation through Jesus Christ which will result in someday your being judged guilty by God and sentenced to hell for eternity.

AND FORGET BEING GOOD, YOU MUST BE PERFECT … OR MORE PRECISELY, DECLARED SO BY GOD

No matter how good of a person you think you are right now or how good of a person you plan to be in the future, you can never be good enough to go to heaven because God’s standard is perfect righteousness and you have already failed that standard (and will again).

“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all” (James 2:10).

“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” – Jesus (Matthew 5:48).

“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees [those who were thought to be righteous], you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” – Jesus (Matthew 5:20).

How can anyone ever be perfectly righteous?  No one can … except if God declares you so.

To be forgiven and spend eternity with a sinless God in a sinless place (heaven), you will need to be declared righteous (justified) by God, even though you haven’t been righteous and never will be.  That can only occur when God declares that your past, present, and future sin be credited to Jesus’ account and Jesus’ perfect righteousness be credited to your account.  This “swap” (your sin paid for by Christ and His righteousness credited to you) is how God can judicially declare you righteous and allow you into heaven.

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

“For if by the transgression of the one [Adam, the first sinner], death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.  So then as through one transgression [Adam’s] there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness [Christ’s] there resulted justification of life to all men.  For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:17-19).

A BEFORE AND AFTER PICTURE

The following passage from the New Testament letter to the Ephesians gives a before and after picture of one who believes in Jesus Christ and is saved.

Before picture: dead in sin

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.

God changes the picture…

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

After picture: saved through faith for good works

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:1-10).

This passage gives the complete picture: you are dead in sin, God intervenes to save you because of His love and mercy (not giving you what you do deserve – judgment), He brings your salvation to pass by His grace (giving you what you don’t deserve – Christ’s righteousness), and you are called to receive this offer of reconciliation with God by faith alone, not trusting in any righteousness of your own.  Good works will be the evidence — not the means — of your salvation (James 2:26)

Being “saved” or “born again” (John 3:1-8) doesn’t mean your life will become easier.  In fact, you can count on being misunderstood, ostracized, persecuted, and maybe even killed for your faith in Christ.  If the unbelieving world hated Christ, it follows that they will hate His followers (John 15:18-25).  You need to count the cost of being a follower of Jesus.

But having your sins forgiven, being declared righteous, fulfilling the purpose for which you were created (to serve and glorify God), experiencing joy in the midst of turmoil, and inheriting eternal life in heaven far outweigh any temporal trouble.

Now you know the answer to the question: “What must I do to be saved?”  The final question for you is: Will you respond to God’s call in your heart today and receive his loving, merciful, and gracious offer to save you?

Remember, you are sinful and stand condemned before God, the just Judge.  Yet God loves you and desires to save you through His Son Jesus Christ, who is the only One who can mediate the dispute you have created with God.  I’m pleading with you: be reconciled to God today through repenting of your sin and placing your faith for salvation in Jesus Christ.  When you do, God will forgive your sin, He will credit you with Christ’s righteousness, He will indwell you with His Holy Spirit, and He will give you eternal life in heaven.  What could be better and more important than that?!

“Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

Genuine saving faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to be right with God.  If by God’s grace you have received this gift of faith, you must now spend the rest of your life striving to become more like your Savior and Lord Jesus Christ in thought, word, and deed (Romans 8:28-30).  That may sound like a daunting task — and it is — but God promises to give you the power and desire to do so (Philippians 2:12-13) as you draw near to God in prayer and studying His Word.  It will also be important that you become a part of a fellowship of other believers (a church) where God is reverently worshiped and His Word faithfully taught.

Please call or email us with any questions or comments you might have or to share with us your new faith in Jesus Christ.  We would look forward to talking with you more about such things as believer’s baptism, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and a plan to help you grow in your new life following Christ.

All for God’s glory,

David Wheaton
The Christian Worldview

Phone:  1-888-646-2233 toll-free
Email:  feedback@TheChristianWorldview.org

————– David Wheaton’s Faith Story ————

A passage in the Bible perfectly describes the before and after picture of my life:

Before: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

After: But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For 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” (Ephesians 2:1-9).

Speaking of before and after pictures, this picture of me before I became a follower of Jesus Christ is worth a thousand words.
There I am on the cover of Minnesota Monthly. “David Wheaton: A Smashing Success.

What more could a 22 year-old ask for? There they are: fame, fortune, success.

But what makes this magazine cover really interesting is the actual photograph. It can be viewed a number of ways, all perfectly representative of my life at that time:

I appear to be a prisoner behind my racquet. I’m holding a mask in front of my face. The broken strings represent my relationships with God and others. There is no joy in my countenance.

That was me before I came to know Jesus Christ: outward success, but inward conflict.

But why? How could a young man be so internally conflicted and empty when he had already attained what most people in this world seek after?

At the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, Germany in 1991, I experienced an overdose of fame, fortune, and success. I had just won the largest prize money check in tennis history in one of the biggest tournaments of the year and my success was being broadcast all over the world.

But within 15 minutes after one of the biggest moments of my life, all 12,000 fans filed right out of the stadium. I vividly remember experiencing an incredible letdown and thinking how quickly it all came to an end.

I had spent my whole childhood and teenage years practicing tennis, I had played hundreds of matches in junior, collegiate and professional tournaments, I had worked so hard just to qualify for and win this tournament, and now everyone just gets up and leaves. For the first time in my life, the brevity of earthly success hit me hard.

Yes, that week in ‘91 changed my life, but one thing is for certain: I didn’t become a happier person as a result of my big win. As a matter of fact, my life continued to become more filled with internal strife, relationship conflicts with my parents and others, and an emptiness caused by a misguided life purpose. Instead of contentment brought by fame, fortune, and success, deep down I was unhappy and unsettled.

Growing up as the youngest of four children in a close, church-going Christian family, I was clearly taught the Bible and Christian values by my parents. I knew the right way to live, but I felt like I was somehow missing out on what the world had to offer: pursuits that I later learned resulted in a guilty conscience, regret, and spiritually unhealthy relationships.

I may have thought I had a faith of my own, but my life bore very little resemblance to one who knows Jesus Christ. Cultivating a relationship with God through reading the Bible and praying, honoring my parents, and living a holy life were not characteristics of my life. My inner conflict stemmed from knowing God’s way, but living another way according to my own desires.

In the midst of my outward success and inner conflict, God allowed two things to occur in my life:

1. He let me experience the emptiness and vanity of what the world seeks.
2. He brought me to the low point of understanding my own sinfulness and need for a Savior.

A couple years after my big win, I began to earnestly read the Bible and study some of the biblical principles presented in a Christian seminar I had attended that year. Finally, the rose-colored glasses came off my eyes and I saw my own sinfulness.

During this time of intense study and soul searching, I confessed and repented of my sin to God and trusted in His Son, Jesus Christ as both the Savior and Lord of my life.

My life began to change immediately, though not easily. Difficult choices needed to be made between my old way of living versus God’s way. Previously, I could not reform myself from my sinful thoughts, actions, and relationships. Now, these sinful habits were being overcome through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit reminding me to obey God’s Word.

God was changing me from the inside out. These positive changes in my life gave me great motivation to continue following Jesus Christ.

During the last twelve years, a few practical things have helped nurture and deepen my relationship with Jesus Christ:

1. A daily time with God reading the Bible and praying.
2. Honoring the God-given authorities in my life.
3. Spending time with like-minded Christian friends.
4. Avoiding anything that would offend my Savior.

Please don’t get the idea that I’m perfect or sinless. But God’s goal for every Christian is that they become more like His Son, Jesus Christ. I try to keep this as my calling.

These last ten years of being a committed believer in Jesus Christ have given me the most important thing in life—something fame, fortune, success and the “passing pleasures of sin” could never offer: a sense of joy and contentment to be in a right relationship with the God of the universe when I put my head on the pillow each night. That is truly priceless.

As someone once said: “Life without Christ is a hopeless end; life with Christ is an endless hope.”

How to Communicate God’s Offer of Salvation

How do you talk to someone about the good news of Jesus Christ? 

Start by asking the person, “Have you ever heard about God’s offer of salvation?” or “Has anyone ever shown you the plan of salvation?”  The answer is usually “No, no one has ever shown it to me.”  I then ask, “Would you like me to take you through it?”  The answer is almost always “Yes.” 

I have found it is best, if possible, to give the plan of salvation in a quiet place with the telephone off the hook so there are no interruptions.  You are giving the person the most important message of how they can have eternal life with God in heaven.  It is the greatest life-changing, life-transforming truth there is.  You don’t want to be rushed or hurried as going through the plan will take about 30 to 40 minutes.   

It is so important to use the Bible because it is the Word of God – not your words – that convicts the sinner of sin.  I never put pressure on anyone or argue.  If the person gets off on a rabbit trail (e.g. “What about people in Africa who have never heard about Jesus” or “If God is good, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world”, etc.), I tell them, “Let’s go through the plan for now and then we’ll discuss those questions later.” 

I begin by sitting down at my dining room table with the Bible and some paper.  I write the first spiritual law “God loves you and offers you a wonderful life” on the page with the verse reference John 3:16 below it.  I then ask the person to read the passage putting his/her name in place of “the world” and “whosoever” to make it personal so that he/she understands right at the beginning that God loves him/her and that Christ died for his/her sins.  I continue by turning to John 10:10 asking after he/she has read the verse out loud: “Are you living the kind of abundant life Christ is talking about here?” 

And then I go on to the second point in the plan, always having the person read the verse aloud and then helping him/her understand what it means.   

When we get to the end of the plan after John 3:1-8, John 1:12-13 and Revelation 3:20 have been read and explained, I then ask, “Would you like to receive Christ as your Savior and Lord?”  If the answer is “yes”, I explain repentance which is a change of mind toward God, sin and self.  It’s going one way in life (your own way), agreeing with God that you are a sinner, and asking Him to help you turn in a whole new direction His way.  I tell him/her to pray in his/her own words telling God that “I know I have sinned against you and repent of my sin; I want to ask Christ to come into my life to be on the throne of my life and to be my Savior and Lord of my life.” 

When the person prays the “sinner’s prayer”, then I ask, “Did you really mean that?”  If the answer is yes, then I go to 1 John 5:10-13 to give them assurance of salvation because Satan will always bring doubt into the person’s mind later.  I emphasize the word “know” in verse 13 and underline it as I write it down. 

I always give the person the paper with the plan of salvation I wrote down during the time we were together and tell him/her to go over it again when he/she gets home so that he really understands it.  I tell him this is only the beginning of a new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and now he/she needs to begin to grow spiritually as a new believer in Christ.  “As a newborn baby, desire the milk of the Word that you may grow” (1 Peter 2:2).

I tell him/her the importance of getting a good study Bible (like the MacArthur Study Bible, call 1-800-55-GRACE) and to get started reading the Bible daily. Discipleship begins by helping the new believer get started in the Christian life.  It may take many months, sometimes years, but to see someone believe in Christ and grow in Christ is more important than anything else you do in life.  Some people require more time and help than others.  It is teaching someone else the right way to live and all of the Word of God that you have learned since you became a Christian.  It’s good for you because it keeps you on your toes and motivates and encourages you to grow yourself.

In the beginning when you first start using the plan, it may seem hard you because you have not done it before.  But the more you do it the more you will learn, as in anything else, “practice makes perfect.”  As you see one trust in Christ and grow in Christ, you will develop a love and special relationship with that person that is of a parent and child.  A “spiritual daughter or son in Christ” has a special place in your heart as a physical child does and you should let him/her know you are there to help him/her, until he/she is ready to be spiritually self-sufficient.  Tell him/her you will pray for him/her.  It isn’t enough to lead someone to Christ & then “drop” him/her.  The more you give the plan, the easier it will be for you and the time will come when you will “love to tell the story of Jesus & His love.” Until you have memorized the plan, it will help if you write the progression of verses in your Bible’s margins (i.e. write John 10:10 near John 3:16, Romans 3:23 near John 10:10, etc.) so that you know which verse follows the verse you are reading.

Remember, God knows who He has chosen and will save and this is His supernatural work.  You may be “planting the seed” or “watering the seed” that someone else has planted or watered, but “God will give the increase.”  It ultimately comes down to God’s grace and His sovereignty.  Don’t worry about the result or not explaining everything perfectly.  Just try to make it as clear as you can so that the person is not confused.  The problem with so many well-meaning Christians is that they don’t what to say or do or they try to act and sound religious or mystical.  Stick to the plan, let the Word do its work, and make it about Christ and not about you!

The Plan of Salvation 

(Also known as The Four Spiritual Laws written by Campus Crusade for Christ founder, Bill Bright, and laid out here as Mary Jane Wheaton often uses them with those who want to hear about Jesus Christ.)

1.  God loves you and offers you a wonderful plan for your life.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that if “David” (have the person say his/her name here) believes on Him, “David” (put his name here again) will not perish but will have everlasting life.” 

You want to personalize the verse so the person can see Christ died for him.

Ask ‘what do you think the word “believe” means?  (It means to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.)

John 10:10 ”I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.”

Christ died so that you might have an abundant life – peace with God and the peace of God.  Also John 14:27.

2.  Man is sinful and separated from God because of his sin.

Romans 3: 23  “All (emphasize “all”) have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

We are all sinners; we all come short of the glory of God.

Define sin.  “We all like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way.” Isaiah 53:6  Sin is going your own way.  The letter “i” in the word sin is our problem.  I am on the throne of my life; everything revolves around me.  It’s all about me.

                                                          God
                                                     —————-      
                                                          Man  

The line represents the sin barrier between God and mankind.  When I give the third point of the plan, I draw a vertical line down through the horizontal line to illustrate the cross – God reaching down to man in Christ dying on the Cross for our sins.  Man tries good works to reach God – living a good life, going to church, being baptized or having babies baptized, giving money to charity, taking communion, praying, doing good deeds, etc.  God does not accept our good works as payment for our sin(read Isa. 64:6, “all of our righteousness are filthy rags in His sight”).  Read Romans 4:4 and Ephesians 2:8-9.  “For by grace (unmerited favor) are you saved by faith, not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast.  

We don’t “work” for a gift; salvation is a gift of God.  We can’t earn it and don’t deserve it.  It does not become a gift until we receive it…by faith.   

Romans 6:23 ”The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

You “work” to earn “wagers” – what you earn is spiritual death (Eph. 2:1).  The gift of God cannot be earned or worked for.  Eternal life is given to us when we put our faith or trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior & Lord.

3.  Jesus Christ is God’s provision for our sin.

Romans 5:8 ”But God proved His love for us, in that while we yet were sinners, Christ died for us.

Christ took all of our sins on Himself when He died on the cross and at the same time transfers His perfect righteousness to our account so God’s justice and wrath can be satisfied.  We cannot save ourselves; only He could do that.  

John 14:6 ”I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except through me.” 

Jesus Christ is the ONLY way, the ONLY truth, and the ONLY life. When we acknowledge that we are a sinner and repent (change our mind toward sin, self and God) of our sin and turn to Christ to save us from our sin and put our faith and trust in Him, then God forgives our sin.

4.  We must receive Christ by personal invitation.

Read John 3:1-8 

Nicodemus, a religious man came to Jesus at night.  He was “religious”.  Religion is a system of human works where man puts his/her trust for salvation in his/her faith PLUS his/her own religious exercises such as going to church, praying the rosary, confessing sins to a priest, giving money, baptism, etc.  Satan is the father of religion – millions and millions of people have gone to hell trusting in a system of works or their own religious works.  The Bible makes it very clear that God does not want and does not accept our good works for salvation.  Christ did all of the work for us on the Cross (“It is finished”).  We are not to try to add to His finished work on the Cross.  It’s faith alone in Christ alone by His grace alone…plus nothing.  We can add nothing to His finished work on the Cross. 

Nicodemus asked Christ how to inherit eternal life. Christ said, “you must be born again.”

Nicodemus, the religious man, immediately thought Christ meant physical birth: “One goes back into one’s mother’s womb and is born again?”  He was spiritually blind and dead, as are all religious people because they are trusting in themselves and their own religious deeds. 

Christ told Nicodemus that this is a spiritual birth.  You must be born of water (the Word of God is the cleansing agent that God uses to bring a person to faith in Christ (Titus 3:5,6) and the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit is the 2nd agent God uses, along with the Word of God, to bring the sinner to Christ). Nicodemus doesn’t get it.  Again, he is religious and can’t understand what Christ is telling him.

“The wind blows where it goes, no one knows where it comes from or where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit,” Jesus replied.  You can’t see or feel Christ   You must believe in Christ by faith – He is the object of our faith.

John 1:12  “As many as received Him, to them He gives the authority or right to become a son of God, even to those who believe in His name.”

Notice it says, we “become” a child of God.  We are not born a child of God and do not become a child of God any other way but by coming to the foot of the Cross in simple faith.

Again, “believe” means putting all of your faith in Christ alone.  At the moment you acknowledge you are a sinner and need Christ to save you from your sins and ask Him to be your Savior & Lord, you are “born again.”  You are spiritually born, just as in a moment of time you were physically born.

Revelation 3:20 says, “I stand at the door and knock; if any man hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and sup with him and he with Me.”

Christ stands at the door of your life; He wants to come into your life to be your Savior.  Would you like to ask him to come in?

I then draw a circle with a throne in the center.  I write an “I” on the throne and explain that everything in your life revolves around you.

Christ wants to be on the throne of your life.  If you invite Him into your life, He will be on the throne and not you.

Do you understand the plan of salvation and how it applies to you?  Would you like to receive Christ into your life now?”  If so, tell God you know you have sinned and you are sorry for your sin and want Jesus Christ to be your Savior and Lord.  When you do that, in that moment of time, you will be born again.  You will begin a new life in Christ and you will have eternal life.  That means you will go to heaven when you die.  But if you have never been born again, John 3:36 says: “He that believes on the Son has everlasting life; he that does not believe will not see life but the wrath of God abides on him.”  There are serious consequences to rejection of Christ, one of them being everlasting punishment in hell (the person needs to know the consequences of rejection). 

You cannot and will not have an abundant life apart from knowing Christ personally.  I never put pressure on a person after giving the plan of salvation.  This is God’s work, not mine.  All I need to do is explain the plan of salvation as clearly as I can so the person understands and leave the results to God’s will.  There is no arm twisting on my part.  I can just rest in knowing I communicated the gospel, literally the “good news” and now it’s between that person & God.  It’s not about me.  I always say, “Don’t get your eyes on me; I am just here to tell you about Christ and what He did for you.”

After the person prays, I go to I John 5:10-13 and ask, “Where is Christ now?”  If the person prayed to invite Christ into his heart, I give him 1 John 5:13: “These things are written that you may KNOW (not think or feel) that you have eternal life.  That is assurance of salvation.

Also, I draw a picture of a train: the engine (FACTS, or the Word of God), coal car (FAITH) and the caboose (FEELINGS) and explain we need the facts of God’s Word plus our faith (that too, is a gift of God – Ephesians 2:8-9).  We do not need feelings.  Some people may feel relief, great joy and happiness while someone else may feel nothing.  Feelings have nothing to do with it.  It is putting your faith, your trust, your hope in what the Bible says.  The Bible is the truth and the final authority…not my words.  It is all based on the truth of the Word.

For His glory, Mary Jane Wheaton