These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:13)
Introduction
The eternal life of God is a sure promise to everyone who has accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. God cannot lie and cannot change his mind. If you have given your life to Jesus genuinely; you shall experience the life of God here on earth and make heaven eventually. It is not heaven alone that knows those who shall go to heaven, those who will make heaven also know. If you have never given your life to Jesus , make sure you do so today so that you can also receive the eternal life of God.
What must I do to be saved?
One day Paul and his friends were arrested and dragged to court by a rich man because they cast demon out of his slave girl who was bringing in money to him through divination. The officials tore their clothes and ordered them to be beaten. Thereafter they were put in jail. The jailer put them deep inside the jail and made sure their feet were chained to heavy blocks of wood.
Paul and his friends decided to be praying and praising God right there in the jail and the other prisoners were listening. At midnight, suddenly there was an earthquake which shook the prison to its foundation, all the doors were opened and the chains fell from off the prisoners.
When the jailer woke up and saw the doors open, he wanted to kill himself thinking that all the prisoners would have escaped but Paul called and told him that none of the prisoners had escaped. Immediately he realized that it was the power of God that caused the earthquake, opened the doors, destroyed the chains and kept the prisoners there spell bound though their hands and feet were free to run away; he decided to come to God and asked Paul what must I do to be saved.
If you have never made a decision to surrender your life to God, you should also be inquisitive to know the basic things to do to be saved. They are as follows:
A B C D of Salvation
Acknowledge that you are a sinner. The bible says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. every human being born into this world no matter how religious is a sinner. It doesn’t matter if you have been going to church from birth, had baptism, confirmation e.t.c. If you have never repented and surrendered to God to be saved on a particular day, the bible says you are a sinner.
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not enough to acknowledge that you are a sinner, you must believe that Jesus is the son of God. Believe that he came to this world to die for you; that he rose again on the third day, that he is the only one who can reconcile you with God and save you. You should therefore repent (turn away from your old ways) and tell God that you believe in Jesus and want to follow Him.
Confess that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9). Those things that you believe about him in your heart, confess them with your mouth. The bible says in Rom. 10:10 that with the heart man believes unto righteousness but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. As you are confessing him then accept him as your personal Lord and Saviour.
Desist from your old ways: Sincerely repent of your sins and old ways of life. Make up your mind not to go back to them. As your Saviour he will save you as soon as you pray this prayer and as your Lord, He will expect you to live your life in accordance with his will from this moment.
Assurance of salvation
Now you can be very sure that you are saved. In 1 John 5:13 John the beloved affirms this by saying that those of us that believe in the name of the son of God have eternal life. There is no doubt about it, the eternal life of God is inside you now and you will surely go to heaven if you continue to follow Jesus and his words.
Make sure you pray and read your bible everyday to maintain your relationship with him and know his will. Make the word of God the final authority in your life and be obedient to everything you learn from the word of God.
As you go on in the Christian journey, you are likely to make mistakes sometimes. If you commit a sin mistakenly, quickly confess to God and repent of it immediately. Repentance means that you are sorry for what you have done and you have made up your mind to turn away from it. God will forgive you and restore your relationship with him (1 John 1:9). Since your earthly father doesn’t renounce you as his son or daughter because of some mistakes while relating with him, you can be very sure, committing a sin will not make God to renounce you as His child. You remain his Child as long as you repent of the wrong thing you have done.
Conclusion: If you are not sure you are saved, pray the prayer written as ABC above. If you have given your life to Christ before, then be rest assured that you have the eternal life of God and you shall go to heaven as long as you continue to follow Jesus and his word.