This is just one of the ways the question was asked in our New Testament Bibles. Others included, "What shall we do?", and "Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?" The question was asked in different ways, but in every case, the ones asking realized they were sinners and needed to be forgiven by God if they were going to be saved.
Our best hope in being saved, to attaining eternal life, is to look at the examples in the Bible and follow their pattern. There are ten occurrences in the Bible of a person or persons being saved. They are all in the book of Acts. The pattern shown by these examples is this:
Hear the gospel - In every case of persons being saved in the Bible, someone was there proclaiming the good message (gospel) of Jesus Christ to them. The message of His perfect life, His sacrificial death on the cross, His resurrection from the dead for the purpose of providing forgiveness for our sins was told to the listener. (See Acts 2:37, Romans 1:16, Romans 10:13-17, Luke 11:28)
Believe in Jesus - Once someone heard the truth about Jesus, he was compelled to decide whether to believe it or reject it. The Bible describes those who believed the message as being "cut to the quick" or "pricked in their heart". In other words, the message spurred in them the desire to respond to the one who had given His life for them. (See John 3:15-16, John 6:68, Acts 8:35-37, Acts 16:29-31)
Repent - The gospel of Jesus, when properly received, caused one realize that they were living their life contrary to the way God would want them. Those who beleived in Jesus were commanded to repent, or turn from, their old way of life and embrace a new life following Jesus' teachings. (See Luke 13:3, Acts 2:37-38, Acts 17:30-31)
Confess Jesus, the Son of God - It was a difficult time to be follower of Jesus during the 1st century. Many people's families would disown them, or even worse, one could be tortured and killed for such an allegiance to the Lord. The one who would be a Christian had to be willing to confess that allegiance to Him before others, no matter the consequences. A good example of this confession is found in Acts 8 where the Ethiopian eunuch says, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." (See Acts 8:35-37, Matthew 10:32-33, Romans 10:9-10)
Be Baptized Into Christ - The moment a person went from being spiritually dead in their sins to beginning their new life with Christ was when they submitted to His command to be baptized. This was a complete bodily immersion in water described in several Bible passages as a "burial". It's described that way because, for one reason, it was the moment a person joined in Christ's death and was raised up to live a new life. (See Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Romans 6:3-6, Colossians 2:12 and 3:26-27, 1 Peter 3:21)
Live faithfully until death - Being baptized marked the beginning of the believer's new life in Christ, not the end. Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 28:19-20, "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." Notice the two different commands to teach. First, to make disciples required that they be taught those things we've already discussed above. Second, after the person responded in obedience to those things, the teaching was to continue so they could be obedient to all of Jesus teachings. The Bible teaches that the one who would become a Christian and then fall back into their old life in the world was worse than the one who never became a Christian! (See John 15:6, Hebrews 10:26-29, 1 Timothy 4:16, 2 Pet 2:20-22, Revelation 2:10)
If we can help you in any way, whether it is understanding these things better, or making a response to the gospel of Jesus, please contact us via any of the methods provided on the About Us page. We hope to hear from you!