Numerous sermons over the years have been preached on this question, What must I do to be saved? With a little reflection, it is obviously an important question. It is among the most important questions that any could ever ask. Knowing God’s answer to this question is significant. The Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas this question after hearing them sing and pray. (Acts 16:30.) The Jews on Pentecost asked the apostles a similar question: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37.) Saul of Tarsus likewise asked, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" (Acts 9:6.) Immediately following these questions, we have the answer by divine inspiration.

Admittedly, there is much that leads up to this point in the above accounts. People do not ask this question until they are convicted of being lost in sin. The jailor saw that Paul and Silas were not the typical prisoners. They were singing and praying, even though they had just been beaten. He wanted to be like them. Saul was a fervent disciple of Phariseeism who thought that his zeal pleased God. Only upon learning his tremendous mistake did he ask the Lord, What wilt thou have me to do? The Jews on Pentecost came to realize how guilty they were for crucifying the Son of God. Only when people come to this significant point in their lives will they even desire to know what to do to be saved. Some will not really care until they are faced with death. Multitudes today do not ask the question because they already know the answer. They have heard it before and just are lukewarm about salvation. They lack faith and commitment.

It is sad in our enlightened world that people who can read will not read the Bible for themselves. Most people depend upon what the preachers say or what they think the answer should be. They do not seek for the inspired answer from God.

If you ask people, Have you obeyed the Gospel?, many will answer something like, I am trying to. They see salvation only in very broad terms, and not in the immediate response that one lost should make to the Gospel. Salvation is both a present reality and a future hope. We obey the Gospel and keeping on obeying our Lord as Christians.

The question asked by the Philippian jailer, by the Jews on Pentecost, and by Saul of Tarsus implied an immediate response. Peter told the Jews to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and they would receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38.) Saul was told to go into the city of Damascus and it would be told him what to do. Ananias did not tell Saul how to live the Christian life, but he told him to arise and be baptized washing away your sins. (Acts 22:16.) The jailer and his family were told to believe in the Lord Jesus. Paul and Silas taught them the word of the Lord. They were baptized just after midnight. (Acts 16:31-33.) This is what a person must do to be saved today. This obedience puts one into Christ, into his spiritual Body the Church. As a newborn babe you continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18.)

Paul made clear this matter of when one is saved by these words. "But God be thanked that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin you became the servants of righteousness." (Rom. 6:17-18.) There is a very definite time when is made free from sin and counted saved in Christ. Paul describes this as the time when one obeys the form of doctrine (death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus). This occurs in one repenting and being baptized.

There are two major parts then to the question, What must I do to be saved? One part is present and immediate; the other is future and relates to living as a Christian. Some see salvation in such general terms that they do not even comprehend the meaning of the words, Obey the Gospel. Yet, we can make just as grievous an error as that. Some place such importance on obeying the Gospel that nothing else is really necessary. Some hasten to come by to be baptized and then they are not seen again. Parents are so anxious for their children to be baptized, but not as concerned about what they do after baptism. Baptism alone does not save anyone. Faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31), repentance (Acts 2:38), and rising to live an obedient life (Matt. 7:21) are essential to salvation presently and eternally. Salvation is a present reality and a future hope.

There are many preachers and teachers telling people what they must do to be saved. Total confusion exists out there in our world. People could know for themselves if they would just read the three examples we have given from Acts.

One of the most persistent false answers given to this tremendous question is to say the sinner’s prayer. At the end of television message, the preacher will say something like this: If you want to receive Christ Jesus into your heart and be saved, pray this prayer with me. "Lord, I know that I am a sinner. I repent of all of my sins. Please come into my heart and save me. I accept you as my Lord and Savior." All of the things said in this prayer are wonderfully good things. I have no objection to what is said here. The problem is that this is not what Peter told the people on Pentecost; it is not what Ananias told Saul of Tarsus who had been praying already for three days; nor is it what Paul and Silas told the jailer.

If you were to do a search on the World Wide Web using the phrase, the sinner’s prayer, you will find thousands of locations. In fact, brother Tommy South wrote to me that he found 11,900 sites for the sinner’s prayer! This is far more than any other answer given to our question. Most people are convinced that this is it. This is the answer to the question. But note that the sinner’s prayer is not found anywhere in the Bible, though it found nearly 12,000 times on the web.

When the lost people asked the apostles what they must do to be saved, would not that have been a good time for them to answer, Say the sinner’s prayer with me?? But that is not what they replied. Why do modern preachers give lost people an answer that is different from what the apostles said? (See Gospel Advocate, "The Sinner’s Prayer," Jerry Robertson, Jr., November 2000, 34-35.)

There are several reasons why preachers tell people to say the sinner’s prayer. 1) It fits easier with mass evangelism, especially television and radio preaching. Arranging for all those listeners to be baptized is difficult. 2) It is something easy and quick to do. Saying this prayer is certainly easy if the person is dying. 3) Baptism is humbling to people, maybe even humiliating to their pride. Praying is more dignified. 4) Baptism has been labeled as a work by those in the faith/works controversy.

Whatever else may be said about the reasons and motivations for this doctrine, one thing is clear. This reply is nowhere found in the Bible. Jesus never told anyone to pray in order to be saved, though there is nothing wrong with it. None of the apostles ever told anyone to say the sinner’s prayer. But the answer given repeatedly in Scripture is the same---believe on the Lord Jesus, repent of sins, confess the name of Jesus Christ, and be baptized into Christ.

One author gave this devastating description of the results of telling people this false doctrine. He wrote, "Modern evangelism has produced a nation of heathen that think they are Christian. And it’s not just the work of liberal churches that don’t teach the Bible as the literal word of God. The fault lies squarely in the lap of modern evangelism. 67% of Americans say that they have made a ‘personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today.’ 67% of Americans know all the right buzz words. They claim to have invited Jesus Christ into their heart. But according to the facts revealed by polling organizations, the vast majority are worst than lost. Evangelists have given them spiritual poison. . . After following up on these new believers you’ll find that perhaps 2% could be called Christian according to Biblical standards." (The Scandal of Modern Evangelism, Patrick MyIntyre, 1.) Later, MyIntyre wrote these haunting words, "After all, a false birth is worse than no birth at all." It is true that we done people a disservice, we have harmed them spiritually, if we do not tell them the truth about salvation. The truth is that the sinner’s prayer does not demand a change of heart and a committed life. It emphasizes an easy believism and easy salvation that is not found in Scripture. The Bible demands a death and resurrection to a new life. Jesus said, "Except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and die, it abides alone. But if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. He that loves his life shall lost it and he that hates his life in this world, shall keep it unto eternal life." (John 12:24-25.)

Another common false answer to the question, What must I do to be saved, is just to believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Some, in denying the need to say the sinner’s prayer, have rejected the need to do anything except to believe.

One author insisted that Paul’s reply to the Jailer was all that is necessary to be saved. (25 Greatest Sermons, ed. Jerry Faldwell, "What Must I Do To Be Saved?, John R. Rice, 258-267.) Paul answered his question by saying, "Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved and thou house." (Acts 16:31.) Rice enumerated some things that one does not need to do to be saved (presently and immediately). He named good works, baptism, church membership, and prayer. Rice combined repentance with faith as if they somehow go together. His real answer is that one must repent and believe on the Lord Jesus. But he also wrote, "We must not make salvation a difficult matter. There is one simple step between us and Jesus. When we trust him, everything is settled. We have repented and have come to Christ. When we have received Him, we have done everything necessary in order to be saved. Take the answer in Acts 16:31 at face value: ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.’" (Rice, 264.) "There is just one plan of salvation: the only step a sinner must take to be saved is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!" (page 263.)

This author is aware that many were baptized in Scripture. Where does baptism belong, in his doctrine? It belongs after one is saved by faith. The reason for this placement of baptism is that the faith/works controversy has caused many to think of baptism of a work. Although the Bible nowhere so calls baptism. It is an act of obedience, but it is not called a work of merit, or a part of the works of the Law of Moses. This placement of baptism after initial salvation still causes such promoters serious problems. Why is it different to require baptism after initial salvation than before? Is baptism afterwards no longer a work? Such is a confusion of theology.

After Paul told the Jailer to believe on the Lord Jesus, he also taught them more fully the word of the Lord. Then the Jailer and his whole house were baptized the same hour of the night. If baptism, the waters thereof, symbolize the washing away of sins, how could the person have any sins to wash away if he is already saved?

In the Scriptures, it is made clear what one lost should do in order to be saved, presently and eternally. This act of obedience does not include the sinner’s prayer, though there is certainly nothing wrong with a penitent person praying before being baptized. Saul of Tarsus spent hours in earnest prayer. Then he was told to arise and be baptized to wash away his sins.

This is not just a peculiar teaching of the church of Christ. This teaching is for all men everywhere. We cannot choose among all the various teachings in our world which we will do in order to be saved. We are saved today the same way the Jailer was, the Jews on Pentecost, and Saul of Tarsus. The same requirements apply to everyone. There is one conversion, one baptism, one Lord, one Body. Have you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered unto you? What did you obey? Were you an adult responding with understanding to the Gospel? Let us not urge little children to obey something that they do not understand. Let us not abuse the Gospel by obeying for wrong motives. It does one very little good to obey the Gospel and walk away from the church and the Christian life. Our response to the Gospel should indicate our willingness to submit in obedience to the Lord. If not, we cannot be saved.