"If you declare 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 profess your faith and are saved."

Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)

God's heart and desire for you is that you would accept His son, Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Savior. We call this "salvation." Perhaps you have heard it described as being "saved." What does this mean? Saved from what? Why do you need to be saved?

Three things are important for you to know:

1. You are a sinner.
2. You cannot save yourself.
3. Only Christ can save you.

The Bible says, "All have sinned" (Romans 3:23 [KJV/NIV]). That includes each and every one of us. The Bible also says, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23 [KJV/NIV]). This kind of death is spiritual and eternal.

We cannot save ourselves from this death by our good works, by church membership, or by trying to be good. The only way to be saved from penalty is to get rid of our sins.

Good news! Jesus provided the way by dying on the Cross. In doing this, He took your place and suffered your punishment. When you ask God to forgive your sins and believe Jesus died for you, God accepts you for Jesus' sake, your sins are forgiven, and Jesus becomes your Savior.

But something else happens... You become a child of God. A child of God? What does that mean? Look at it this way. When you were born as a baby, you received natural life from your parents. Because of this you are like them, you have many of their characteristics.

When Jesus becomes your Savior, He brings to you new life, spiritual life, life from God. The Bible calls this the "new birth" (John 3:3 [KJV/NIV]). By your first birth you became a child of your earthly parents; by your new, or second, birth you become a child of God, your Heavenly Father.

This is important! You will have two natures: (1) The old nature you received when born the first time. This we can call the self-life. (2) The new nature you will receive with the second birth. Since Jesus Christ will live in you by His Holy Spirit, we call this new nature the Christ-life.

As far as your first, or natural, birth is concerned, you may be an adult, a youth, or a child. But as far as your new, or spiritual, birth is concerned, you will be a newborn. You will receive new life, but it is just the beginning.

In the few days after your salvation experience you will begin to grow in your Christ-life. These will be very important days. You will be establishing the pattern for the rest of your life, determining the kind of Christian you will become. As you become a disciple of Jesus, reading the Bible, praying, witnessing, attending church, obeying Scripture, and more, you will begin to mature as a Christian.

Here are some scriptures to read:

John 1:12, John 1:29, John 2:5, John 3:3, John 3:6, John 3:16, John 3:36

The next step you should take following salvation is water baptism. Follow the link below which will take you back to our “Next Steps” page. There, you will find for more information on baptism, joining a group, and discipleship at Calvary.

If you have given your life to Jesus or you have more questions about what it means to become a Christian, we would love to connect with you! Please complete the simple form below and one of our pastors will be in touch with you soon.