Updated January 2011

Dear John:

There are four things that are involved in the process of salvation:

1. First, the person must hear the Gospel

2. Second, the person must believe on the message of the Gospel

3. Third, when God sees in the person's heart they have had saving faith in the Gospel He gives him or her the Holy Spirit automatically as a result.

4. Fourth, since we cannot see in a person's heart, we come to know a person is saved by their works that follow: confessing with their mouth Jesus as Savior and Lord, evidence of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives, obedience to Jesus' commands to be baptized in water and His other commands.

Peter:

Acts 15:7 "Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel."

Paul:

Ephesians 1:13, "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. . ."

What is the Gospel. Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 "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."

Peter:

Acts 15:7 "Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the Gospel and believe."

Paul:

Ephesians 1:13-14 "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believe. . ." Peter wrote in Acts 10:43 "‘Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.’"

God testifies:

2 Timothy 2:19 "Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His.’"

Peter testifies:

Acts 10:43-44, 47 "‘Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.’ While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.

Acts 15:8-11 "And God, who knows-the-heart, bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. . . . But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are."

Paul testifies:

Ephesians 1:13-14 "In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory."

Peter and Paul are in agreement. We then personalize this by receiving Jesus Christ into our hearts as Savior and Lord:

Jesus:

Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him, and will dine with him, and he with Me."

John:

John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name."

Paul:

Colossians 1:27 "Christ in you, the hope of glory."
2 Corinthians 13:5 "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?"

God the Father:

1 John 5:11-12 "And the witness of God is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life."

Therefore, salvation from our sins does not come when we are baptized, or when we receive the Holy Spirit; salvation from our sins comes when we believe on the Gospel: Jesus Christ and His death and shed blood on the cross for our sins. When God sees that we have saving faith in the Gospel in our hearts, He then confirms that we do by automatically giving us His Holy Spirit.

Would you like to be saved? Pray this prayer right now and Jesus will come into your heart and save you and give you automatically His indwelling Holy Spirit:

Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and repent of my known sins. I ask You now to come into my heart as Savior from my sins and as Lord of my life. Heavenly Father, thank You for forgiving my sins through Your Son’s death and shed blood on the cross and that I now have eternal life. Now take control of my life, and through Your Holy Spirit lead me into your will and plan for my life; in Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth’s name, amen.

If you just prayed this prayer and meant what you prayed, then know you are saved, have eternal life, the indwelling Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit and that you will go to heaven. If you did just pray this prayer then go to this link where you will find articles that will give you assurance of salvation, explain to you how to relate to Jesus in prayer for the answers to your needs, how to know what is truly Jesus' voice, how to know what is His will and plan for your life and how to succeed in that will and plan.

How do we know if a person has been saved? How do we know if a person has truly believed on the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The Bible tells us that only God knows those who are truly His. This is because salvation takes place in the heart. When? When we believe on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How do we know if a person has truly believed on the Gospel? How do we know if they are truly saved? First, by the confession of a person's mouth. The Apostle Paul wrote:

Romans 10:9-10 "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."

The only way we know if a person has been saved and is born again is when that person confesses with their mouth unashamedly Jesus as Lord, when the person confesses Jesus as Savior from their sins and as Lord of their life.

Jesus commanded:

Matthew 28:18-20 "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. GO THEREFORE and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:19 "Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His.’"

The Apostle Peter only baptized believers after he saw evidence they were already saved and had God's Holy Spirit:

Acts 10:43-44, 47 "‘Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through Jesus name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.’ While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message.... Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy-Spirit just as we did, can he?"

What is the evidence of a person coming to Christ besides this? Are there any other evidences? Yes! The Apostle John testifies:

1 John 2:3-4 "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."

The writer of the Book of Hebrews tells us:

Hebrews 3:7-8 "Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, ‘Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness.’"

If a person has truly come to saving faith in Jesus, John tells us it will be evidenced by their obedience to Jesus’ commands to them which first will involve what is clearly written in the New Testament and second what Jesus commands us to do individually by His Holy Spirit.

In light of these facts, what then is involved in the process of Salvation in the Gospel of Jesus Christ? We administer Jesus' salvation to others by first preaching the Gospel, preaching Jesus' death and shed blood on the cross for their sins and then His physical resurrection from the dead on the third day as absolute proof. Second, the person then makes a choice to believe on the Gospel and he or she gives evidence of their saving faith through their mouth confession of Jesus as Savior and Lord and through their personalizing this by receiving Jesus Christ into their heart as Savior from their sins and as Lord of their lives. Third, in confirmation of the saving faith they already have in the Gospel, God gives them His Holy Spirit. Finally, Fourth, in evidence of the salvation they already have through their mouth confession and the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives they are then candidates for water baptism in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

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Often times Christians will not get involved in aggressive one on one evangelism because their concept of Evangelism is what they see on the TV. They think that in order for salvation in a person to take place the person has to have a dramatic encounter of the Holy Spirit with loud crying and tears with great visible evidence of conversion and salvation taking place. Some times when people come forward in a church and receive Jesus and are saved there are great visible evidences of their coming to saving faith in Jesus. For example an alcoholic or a drug addict or someone who is demon possessed and cries out to Jesus for deliverance from their sin and bondage. Jesus responds by instantly delivering them and it is evident for all to see as the person jumps up and down and says "I’m delivered! I am saved! Thank you Jesus! Thank You Jesus!" Yes, some people do get saved this way. However, in most peoples’ cases who come to saving faith in Jesus, the experience is very quiet and very uneventful. To give you an example of what I am talking about, several years ago I led a man by the name of Bogdan Laza to saving faith in Jesus Christ on the internet. He came into a Christian chat room asking for help on an issue. I asked him if he was saved, had he been born again. He didn’t know what that meant, so I explained it to him and then asked him if he would like to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. He said he did and I lead him through the sinners prayer. Afterwards when he left, a woman in the room said to me "I don’t think he really understood what he was doing." I wasn’t sure either, but the next day Bog Instant messaged me on the internet and shared with me how he was free of the darkness in his life and how Jesus was in his life and had saved him. After that he went through my discipleship training program and then eventually through my Evangelism Training Program and has since led many people to saving faith in Jesus himself. Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:19 as we already cited "Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His.’" We were wrong, his conversion was genuine. Why did we doubt it? Because we didn’t see any immediate outward evidence of his salvation in Jesus. However, Jesus said in Luke 17:20-21 "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.’" Jesus said that when a person comes to saving faith in Him, it will not be something we can see with our eyes, because it takes place in the persons heart where we cannot see. This is why Paul says only the Lord knows those who are his. Only God can see in a person’s heart and when they have saving faith in the Gospel. We could not see in Bog’s heart to start with so we did not know if his coming to Christ was truly understood and genuine. However, Jesus said in Matthew 7:19 "So then, you will know them by their fruits." His fruits that followed in the days that followed showed us it was a genuine conversion.

After Bog had gone through our training program of Evangelism and began to share the Gospel with his fellow High School students, he tried to get the other Christians on campus to join him. They wouldn’t work with him because they had a TV mentality about what was supposed to happen in bringing a person to Christ. However, he finally got two of his fellow Christian students to agree to go out with him and just watch him share the Gospel with students. When they went out they came to two girls sitting at a table. My friend Bog approached these two girls and asked them if they would give him their reaction to the presentation of the Gospel presented through a salvation tract he was using titled "What Is Eternal Life?" They agreed and he went through the tract with them explaining to them what it meant to be a Christian and how to become one. Finally when he was done, he asked them if they would like to receive Jesus as Savior from their sins and as Lord of their lives? They said they would and he led them into prayer and they received Jesus into their hearts as Savior from their sins and as Lord of their lives. He then gave them assurance of salvation as it is presented on page 13 of the Salvation Tract and then gave each of them a copy of my book titled Jesus Is The Answer to Your Needs. This book explains to a new Christian how to grow in their new relationship with Jesus and about the importance Christian fellowship and becoming a part of a church. The book gives assurance of salvation, it explains to a new Christian how to relate to Jesus in prayer for answers to their needs, how to know what is truly Jesus’ voice, how to know His will and plan for their lives, and then how to succeed in that purpose and plan.

As he and his two friends parted from the two girls, he asked his friends what they thought. One of his friends said he didn’t believe anything happened, that their commitments weren’t genuine. However, The next day Bog looked up these girls and asked them how they were doing and one of them said "Bog, thank you for bringing me to Jesus. I was ready for this and just needed someone to show me what to do. Thank you for bringing me to saving faith in Jesus!" Bog shared with his friend what the girl said and said he should come over and meet her. He refused because of his stereotyped concept of what he believed needed to happen in order for a person to be saved, which was strong outward evidence and show. What does Jesus say about this in the Bible? I think it was more he simply did not want to be convinced about his part in going out on campus and sharing the Gospel with people and wanted to stay convinced this could only take place in the church. Does Jesus have anything to say about this man’s attitude about these two girls salvation in Him? Yes He does! Jesus said in Luke 17:20-21 "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.’" The evidence of their salvation came through their mouth confession and evidence of having the Holy Spirit in their lives which was their assurance of salvation in Jesus. Paul wrote about one of the functions of the Holy Spirit:

Romans 8:15-16 "For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a Spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."

Why were these two girls able to come to Christ? Because Bog in obedience to Jesus as a Christian took time during his lunch hour at school to share with them what it meant to be a Christian and how to become one. You do not need to be an educated minister and have a Church to bring people to Jesus, you just need to share Jesus’ love and forgiveness with men and women. When you do that, the Holy Spirit, as he did with these two girls, will confirm your words to them and if you are faithful, in time you will see men and women come to saving faith in Jesus.

This brings up another reason why many Christians will not get involved in aggressive one on one evangelism which is unless they see a person come to saving faith in Jesus the moment they share Jesus with them, they think "Oh, this is not my gift, this is not my calling!" The end result is they get quickly discouraged and give up. My friend Bog had shared Christ for several weeks without seeing any results; and then he witnessed to these two girls and they came to saving faith in Jesus. Not everyone you share Jesus with the first time will come to Christ. This is because a person coming to saving faith in Jesus is a process. First, you plant the seed of God’s word. You share the Gospel with someone and they say "Thank you, but no I am not interested in accepting Christ." That is okay because in that situation you have planted the seed of God’s word. You have done what Jesus has asked you to do. What does Jesus ask us to do? He asks us to share His love and forgiveness with others, he asks us to explain to others what it means to be a Christian and how to become one. What doesn’t he ask us to do? He doesn’t ask us to make the person accept that what we are saying is true and that they need to accept Jesus right now! No, that is the job and work of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convince people that what we have shared with them is true and that they need to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord. However, this work of the Holy Spirit is a process and takes time, it does not happen over night. People have many false assumptions about Jesus and the Gospel that the Holy Spirit has to overcome in their hearts and minds. However, if we don’t go out and share Jesus with men and women, the Holy Spirit can’t even began to do his part in the process of salvation. Our part in the process of salvation is sharing the Word of God with them, the Holy Spirits job is to convince them that what we are saying is true. Paul wrote in Galatians 6:9 "And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary." God’s promise to us is that if we will go out and use our free time during the week to share Jesus with others and not get discouraged when a person does not accept Jesus immediately, that in due time we will reap a harvest.

I did some regular daily evangelism on some colleges in my home town. One year I went through the whole Fall semester and didn’t see but one or two people come to Jesus; but when the second semester started, one morning in my quiet time, the Lord said to me "Dale, it is time for a harvest!" That next week I lead six people to saving faith in Jesus. Paul wrote in Galatians 6:9 "And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary."

Why did these two girls come to Christ that day when Bog shared the Gospel with them? Was it because Bog was an elegant speaker, was it because of the way he delivered it? No. Others before Bog had ministered to these two girls the love of Jesus Christ and His salvation for them, others previously planted the seed of God’s word into their hearts. As time went on, the Holy Spirit convinced them of the truthfulness of the Gospel, the Word of God, and their need to receive Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Finally, God’s Word in them became ripe and they were ready to give their lives to Jesus and just needed someone to show them what to do. Bog and his two friends came up and shared the salvation tract with them, and they prayed the prayer of salvation and received Jesus into their hearts as Savior and Lord. Jesus said in,

John 4:35-38 "Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to You, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already he who reaps is receiving wages, and is gathering fruit for life eternal; that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows, and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

Brothers and Sisters, Jesus needs you to help him reach the lost with the message of His love and forgiveness. He needs you to go out and sow the seed of God’s word in the hearts of men and women so His Holy Spirit can quicken to them the truthfulness of your message and their need of receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t see immediate results, because you are sowing, watering, weeding and fertilizing. If you are faithful with your weekly use of time and go out on your campuses and door to door and share the Gospel with men and women, Jesus’ promise to you is in time you will reap a harvest. Also, don’t let the devil lie to you and tell you, you are wasting your time. When you share Jesus love and forgiveness with others, you are never wasting your time, you are sowing, watering, fertilizing and weeding; then when the hearts are ripe you will have a harvest. Evangelism is not a lot of fanfare and excitement and signs to be beheld. Evangelism is quietly explaining to someone what it means to be a Christian and how to become one. Jesus said in Luke 17:20-21 "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.’" However Paul wrote in,

Romans 10:13-15 "For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!’"

Brothers and sisters, if we don’t take some of our free time during the week to share Jesus’ love and forgiveness with others, men and women won’t hear the Gospel, they won’t believe on the Gospel and they won’t be saved. Won’t you allow Jesus to use you to share His love and forgiveness with others? The most loving thing you can do is share the love of Jesus Christ and His forgiveness with others. What does Jesus want you to do? First, He wants you to PRAY and commit your free time to Him to share the love of Jesus Christ with Men. Second, if you have not already done so, you need to go through a TRAINING PROGRAM IN EVANGELISM and learn how to lovingly present the Gospel to Men, like the one that is on our website. Third, Once you are trained, you need to MAKE A COVENANT WITH JESUS to spend a certain amount of your time in a week to go out and share the love of Jesus Christ with men. Unless Jesus tells you otherwise, I recommend 2 to 4 hours a week to start with which is only 2.4% of your total time in a week. The Bible teaches that he who is faithful in little will be faithful in much.

Would You like to pray right now and commit your free time to Jesus to share His love and forgiveness with men? If you would, then pray this prayer with me:

Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that Heaven is forever and that this life is only temporary. For this reason I commit my life to invest in Your Kingdom by using my free time to share the love of Jesus Christ with men and for study and training to that end. I do this by faith and trust You to lead me into what I need to know and do in Your Name Jesus, amen.

Now go to the Basic Training Program of Evangelism titled Evangelism: The Time Is Now! and begin your Evangelism Training.