I have witnessed to thousands and met hundreds of professing Christians who are so mixed up about Salvation. There are many misconceptions about how one can be forgiven and go to heaven. We will explore some of them here. I hope this article will open your spiritual eyes. If you are depending on being a better person or counting on baptism, rituals or keeping the law to be saved, you will be disappointed!

A lot of people hear second-hand what God says in the Bible about how to become a Christian, but they do not check their Bible for accuracy. A theological devolution has been under way in religious circles. I read of a pastor who recently moved to a new area where he spoke directly to 800 people about their salvation. Only three admitted they were not Christians! They all knew the religious jargon and claimed to be “saved.” Unfortunately the word “Christian” is so watered down that in order to get the point one must preface it with words like “genuine” or “born again.” I am convinced that not all who claim to be born again are born again! (cf. Matthew 7:21-23)

1. Just believe in God...

Over 80% of Americans claim they believe in God and 74% believe they will go to heaven. Only 0.5% believe they will go to hell. Jesus says in John 14:1,”You believe in God, believe also IN me.” To believe about God and Christ as Savior is head knowledge, but to believe IN Christ as Lord and Savior is heart understanding and Salvation. A tightrope walker was crossing Niagara Falls from Canada to America. The crowd cheered as he arrived on American side. “Do you believe I can do it again and walk back to Canada?” “Yes!” The crowd hollered. He asked a boy, “Climb on my back and let me take you with me.” He quickly shrunk back in horror! What the boy had was just head knowledge.

“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder” (James 2:19). Do the demons believe there is God, that Christ is Savior? Of course, but they are not saved. A new survey by pollster George Barna finds only nine percent of born-again Christians hold a biblical worldview, which includes believing that there is absolute right from wrong, salvation by grace, and a personal God. Studies prove that a high percentage of “born-again” Christians are probably unsaved and do not know it. Only God Himself knows exactly how many people have “accepted” Christ because they were pressured into doing so. Many people are offered the proposition that eternal life is to be obtained by “accepting” Christ and repeating the “sinner’s prayer” and many view that as a deal too good to pass up! One needs to pray with the right heart attitude and understanding or else no amount of repeated praying will do.*

2. Just receive Christ as Savior, but there is no need to repent of your sins...

There are many today who preach it is not necessary to repent of your sins but only to repent of unbelief. It is simple to be saved, but the approach chosen by many is overly simplistic. Neither genuine repentance and sorrow for sins nor turning from sins to the Savior is considered necessary (cf. Luke 13:3, Acts 17:30; 20:21). Many Churches teach erroneously that repentance is a mere change of mind (towards God and sin). They feel that one needs merely to feel differently about sin; one does not need to feel the desire to be changed by God. I believe the historic, biblical position is this: repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of ACTION or behavior. For instance, if a robber says he feels that what he does is wrong and he desires to believe in Christ as Savior but he has no desire to stop robbing, is that shallow repentance? If he is genuinely repentant, he will want to quit robbing and that change of lifestyle is observable. Now he might backslide after he is saved and feel tempted to rob again. Most Bible teachers believe that while Salvation is instantaneous, the time it takes one to search, repent and understand the Gospel may be lengthy. Look up Acts 26:20; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; Ezekiel 18:30, 2 Corinthians 5:17.

3. Depend on good works to get them to heaven...

Millions are working hard and counting on their good works to outweigh their evil works on Judgment Day. There are many variations on this theme including salvation by keeping the law, the 10 commandments, the golden rule, rituals and sacraments and not hurting people...One is not forgiven because of any external religious rituals such as baptism, confirmation, partaking of communion, or church membership. If you are counting on baptism to wash away your sins, may I say kindly that you will go into the water a dry sinner and come up a wet sinner. It is the precious blood of Christ, not water that washes away our sins (cf. 1 Peter 1:18-19).

Isaiah 64:6 says in God’s holy eyes, “All our righteousness (our good works) are like filthy rags.” “A man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16). “For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the Law” (Romans 3:28).

It is the duty of man to do good, but God never says we are to depend on these deeds to be saved. If being good is the condition to get to heaven, HOW good do you have to be? Who is the perfect example? Ephesians 2:8-9 reads, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Salvation means a changed life. Some may say, “But what if he just wants a free ticket to heaven and has no desire to have his life changed?” Then I cannot see scripturally how he is really saved! The next verse, verse 10, in Ephesians 2 continues, “For we are God’s workmanship, created (born again) in Christ Jesus TO DO good works.” So a sinner who is truly saved WILL experience some changes in his life! He will desire to do good works and live for the Lord. Jesus said to the adulterous woman, “Go and sin no more,” not “Go and sin some more.” Christ died not only to save us from the penalty of sin, but also from the power of sin.

Salvation is NOT reformation by self-efforts but transformation by the power of God! It is not turning over a new leaf–acting like a Christian, but rather receiving a new life. When you are converted you turn from going one way and go the opposite. You go from spiritual darkness into light! It is the work of regeneration by God. 2 Corinthians 5:17 reads, “If any man is in Christ he is a new creature. Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

4. Salvation is related to physical birth...

A person does not become a Christian just by being born in a Christian home. You cannot be BORN a Christian. In fact, Jesus taught that you must be born again or RE-BORN to become a Christian (John 3:3).

What really happened on the Cross?

The Bible clearly teaches that all of us have sinned (sins of commission and omission, sins of the heart, the tongue and actions). Our sins separate us from the Holy God. God so loves us, but His Holiness, Righteousness and Justice demands that sins be punished. In His Salvation Plan, He chose to send His only Son, the only sinless man who ever lived, to die on the cross. By doing so, Jesus took our sins upon Himself and God the Father punished His Son instead of punishing us. To prove that He accepted that substitutionary sin offering as valid and sufficient, He brought about the bodily resurrection of His Son from death!

Do you see now, my friends, that you may be sincerely wrong about how to be forgiven and how to get to heaven? Your first step in finding God is to seek, for the Bible says that if you seek Him with all you heart, you will (ultimately) find Him. Realize that the emptiness and boredom in your hear is symptomatic of a deeper spiritual problem. Read the Gospel of John and see Who Christ really is -- the unique Son of God.

(Rev. Raymond Kwong is pastor of the Bible Baptist Church in San Francisco, CA and is a popular conference speaker and news commentator. )