How to get saved: What must I do to be saved?
When a jailer in Philippi asked Paul and Silas this exact question, they answered, "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). To get saved, you turn from your own way, trust that Jesus died for your sins and rose again, and follow Him as Lord. Salvation isn't earned by being good or religious - it's a free gift that God gives through Jesus. And it isn't just a prayer you say once; it's the start of a new life with Him.
If you're asking this question for yourself, take your time with what follows. It is the most important question you will ever ask.
The human condition - created for God, separated by sin
God created humanity with profound dignity, in His own image and likeness (Gen 1:26). Yet Scripture makes clear that being human is more than biological life - we are spirit, soul and body - designed for fellowship with God. Without Christ, however, the human spirit stands separated from God because of sin. Though physically alive, a person apart from Christ remains spiritually dead and cut off from the life God intended. Only the Holy Spirit - who gives life - can restore what sin has fractured. Salvation is God's response to this alienation, bringing life from above into what was spiritually dead.
Jesus taught us, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (Joh 3:6). Salvation is not about self-improvement or turning over a new leaf. It begins with a profound inner work of God - a spiritual rebirth in which a person is made new from the inside out. This change goes far beyond behavior or external reform. In salvation, God Himself imparting His life to the believer and reshapes their identity, future and relationship with Him. To be saved is to receive a life that did not exist before.
This is exactly why Jesus came. At the start of His ministry, He stood up in the synagogue in Nazareth and read out His mission:
The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed.
Jesus didn't come to help good people become a little better. He came for people who are trapped, blind and unable to set themselves free - and spiritually, that describes every one of us.
What did Jesus teach about salvation?
The clearest teaching on salvation comes from Jesus Himself in His conversation with Nicodemus in John 3. Nicodemus - a respected religious leader - came to Jesus seeking truth. Jesus surprised him by saying, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (Joh 3:3).
Nicodemus is puzzled. How can a person already grown be born again? Jesus explains that He is not speaking of a natural birth, but of a work accomplished by God's Spirit saying, "I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (Joh 3:5-6).
Later in the same discourse, Jesus revealed the heart of the Gospel, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (Joh 3:16).
It is a spiritual rebirth brought about by God's Spirit and received through faith in Jesus Christ.
Salvation cannot be achieved through human effort, lineage or religious striving - that is akin to a dirty rag being used to clean a dirty dish - it is impossible. Salvation can only come through the spiritual birth brought about by the Holy Spirit.
No amount of good works or moral effort will get you to heaven - it is only the sacrifice of Jesus.
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."
Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"
Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not know these things? Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen and you do not receive Our witness. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God"
What does it mean to be saved?
To be saved is to receive greater than reform or better behavior; it is to receive a new nature. The apostle Paul explains this decisive change, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor 5:17). This transformation is immediate and radical - old life passes away and a new life begins.
Salvation is not about joining a church or adopting a religious label - it is about the Holy Spirit entering the human heart, breaking sin's dominion, awakening faith and drawing you into relationship with God. The apostle John affirms this gift of grace, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God… born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (Joh 1:12–13). Salvation is given to those who receive Christ, not earned by human effort.
Paul explains that the mark of someone who truly belongs to Christ is that God's Spirit lives in them:
You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
In other words, being saved isn't just something you said or decided once. It's Christ living in you by His Spirit - and that new life shows itself in a new way of living.
What should I do to be saved?
Though the new birth is God's work, God calls each of us to respond. Jesus summed up that response in the very first words of His preaching:
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe in the gospel!"
Responding to Jesus means:
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Acknowledge your need for salvation - recognize that sin separates you from God and that you cannot bridge that gap on your own (Rom 3:23, Rom 6:23).
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Turn from sin (repent) - admit to God that you have gone your own way. Confess your sin - above all the sin of rejecting His Son (Joh 16:8–9), along with anger, hatred and anything else that opposes His will - and turn your heart toward Him (1 Joh 1:9). Repentance is a change of direction: you stop living for yourself and start living for God.
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Believe in Jesus - trust that Jesus died for your sins, was raised from the dead and offers you eternal life by grace through faith (Eph 2:8–9).
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Receive Christ as Lord and Savior - invite Him into your life, submitting to His rule and trust Him with your future. Scripture promises, "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Rom 10:13), and God cannot lie (Num 23:19). Tell Him that Jesus is your Lord, that you believe He died for you and that God raised Him from the dead.
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Follow Him - from that day on, walk with Jesus. Read His words, obey what He says, and let Him lead your life. This isn't an extra step for "serious" Christians - it's what receiving Him as Lord means.
Salvation is a free gift, received by faith, not earned by works.
Paul summed up the message we put our trust in like this:
Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and in which you stand firm. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
Notice what Paul says: the Corinthians received the gospel, they stand in it, and they are saved as they hold firmly to it. Faith isn't a moment you look back on. It's something you keep living in.
Jesus' words to Nicodemus are universal: "You must be born again" (Joh 3:7).
No amount of religion, morality or good intentions are enough!
The problem of sin goes too deep for human solutions. We need a new heart, a new nature, a new life - and this is what Christ offers. The invitation is open to all: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Cor 5:17)
You now have to make a personal choice - what will you do?
Is saying a prayer enough to be saved?
Many people have been told that becoming a Christian means repeating a short prayer, and that once they've said it, they're done. Praying to God can be a real and sincere way to turn to Him. But the Bible never treats the words themselves as what saves you. What matters is whether you have actually turned to Jesus and begun to follow Him.
Jesus Himself warned, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matt 7:21).
Jesus said "follow Me"
When Jesus called His first disciples, He never asked them to repeat a prayer and then go back to their old lives. He said two words - "Follow Me" - and they did:
- Peter and Andrew were fishing when Jesus said, "Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." They left their nets at once (Mark 1:17–18).
- Matthew was sitting at his tax booth. "Follow Me," Jesus told him, "and Matthew got up and followed Him" (Matt 9:9).
- A rich young man asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him, "Come, follow Me" - but he went away sad, because he wasn't willing to let go of what he had (Mark 10:21–22).
Jesus makes the same call to everyone: "If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me" (Luke 9:23). Notice the word daily. Following Jesus isn't a single moment - it's a new direction for the rest of your life.
Jesus is the way
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
A way is something you walk on. Jesus isn't a door you step through once and then leave behind - He is the path itself. The earliest Christians were even known as followers of "the Way" (Acts 9:2).
So if you have prayed to receive Christ, that's a wonderful beginning. Now keep walking with Him. To see what that looks like day to day, read what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?
Living as someone who is saved
True Christian life - walking in the new identity given at salvation - is evidenced not by perfection but by a renewed heart that desires what God desires, resists what God forbids and loves what God loves. This ongoing transformation is carried out by the same Holy Spirit who brought the believer into new life. Much like in the natural, we know an apple tree is an apple tree by the fruit it bears, so it is with being born again - you bear the fruit of Jesus Christ! The Bible points to several signs:
- A growing likeness to Christ in character and actions
- A new love for God and His Word
- A desire to obey God and turn from sin
- A love and compassion for people to help them
- An inner witness of the Holy Spirit, assuring us of God's love
- A desire to share the Gospel, to heal the sick and cast out darkness - this is fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus
These are not the cause of new birth, but the fruit of it - signs that God's life is at work within us.
The new birth is not the end, but the beginning of the Christian journey. Just as a newborn grows and matures, so believers are called to grow in grace, knowledge and Christlikeness. The Holy Spirit continues to work in us, transforming us. The new birth provides an unshakeable foundation. We are no longer slaves to fear or sin, but beloved sons and daughters. The same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives in us, empowering us to walk in newness of life (Rom 8:11)
Suggested additional resources
- I'm a good person and good deeds will get me to heaven
- How do we know Jesus is God and not just another prophet?
- How do we know Jesus was crucified?
- How do we know Jesus rose from the dead?
- Why worry about eternity if life after death can't be proved?
- Because Jesus lives, I can face tomorrow
FAQ - what must I do to be saved?
What must I do to be saved?
The Bible's answer is simple: 'Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved' (Acts 16:31). Jesus called people to 'repent and believe in the gospel' (Mark 1:15) - to turn from going their own way, trust that He died for their sins and rose again, and follow Him as Lord. Salvation is a free gift from God, not something we earn.
What does it mean to be saved?
To be saved is to be rescued from sin and its consequences and brought back into a relationship with God. It is more than forgiveness or better behavior: God gives you new life by His Spirit and makes you a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Anyone who has the Spirit of Christ belongs to Him (Romans 8:9).
Is saying a prayer enough to be saved?
A prayer can be a sincere way to turn to God, but the words alone don't save you. When Jesus called His first disciples, He said 'Follow Me' (Mark 1:17), and He calls everyone to deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23). To be saved is to have Christ living in you by His Spirit (Romans 8:9-10) and to begin a new life of following Him.
What does it mean to repent?
To repent is to change direction. It means admitting to God that you have lived your own way, turning away from sin, and turning toward Jesus to follow Him instead. Repentance isn't cleaning yourself up before you come to God - it's coming to Him because you can't clean yourself up.
Can I be saved if I have done terrible things?
Yes. Jesus said He came to proclaim liberty to the captives and to release the oppressed (Luke 4:18). No sin is too great for the death of Jesus to cover. Salvation doesn't depend on how good you have been, but on what Jesus has done for you and whether you turn to Him.
How can I know I am saved?
Salvation rests on God's promise, not on your feelings: 'Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved' (Romans 10:13). Over time, the new life God gives shows itself - a growing love for Jesus, a desire to obey Him, turning from sin and love for other people. These don't earn salvation; they are the fruit of it.
Want to know more? Want to know more about what Scripture says about the New Man and the authority that Jesus has given you today?