What Must I Do to Be Saved

My Dear Readers, this is a letter to you about the plan of Salvation, and how it happened to me. It is only an outline, but these concepts are scattered all through the Bible. This is not a secrit formula, and it has been in the public domain for centuries, and is not under any copyright. And since it belongs to God anyway and no one man , I felt that it is only right that I share these magnificent words with YOU, along with my personal testimony about how I experienced it, regardless of the social conseqences for me.

The first step is to hear the Gospel. One night I felt desperate in my situation, like a jailer in the book of Acts who thought he had lost all his charge, so I was tempted to commit suicide, just like the jailer. But instead of acting on these dangerous feelings, I called a teenage hot line, I was only a teenager at the time. The young man told me that God loved me, and then he read a Bible verse that said, "For God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes shall not die, but have everlasting life." It sounded so wonderful to me, and was comforted, and my life became quite different after that. I knew just who the Son really was and who Bible was talking about, and it was Jesus.

The second step is to believe. After hearing those great words, I slipped up the stairs and back to my darkened room, feeling inside that Jesus was saying to me that He loved me , and that He indeed died for me. I fell to my knees and accepted HIm as Savior. I believed.

The third step is to repent. My life suddeniy began to change. I was no longer interested in worshiping the idols of the East, or anywhere else for that matter, because I just knew that Jesus was the one and only Son. Then my morals an attitudes began to change, right down to my taste in clothes. I no longer wanted to wear sexy, revealing attire. All this happened spontaniously without formal instruction. I repented.

Be baptised. I was baptised by emersion twice, and although I didn't know all the various doctrines surrounding the rite, it was a wonderful experience. The first time, I was baptised by an American Indian evangelist at a wildlife refuge, with buffalo in the distance, It happened while I still serving in the U.S. Army, and there were many witnesses. It was a beautiful day, and it was wonderful. The second time it happened, it was at church, but although I did not understand why I had to be rebaptized, it too was wonderful. And it did not hurt.

So go ahead and take the bold step of obeying the Lord and be baptised. It does not hurt, and it isn't as bad as all the forms of circumcision that other faiths practice. It only makes you feel a little humble, is all.

This wonderful plan does not belong to any specific church or country, This gift is for all the world. Jesus said, "whoever will come, let him come."

So obey and be saved and be happy and have fun!

With Much Love

Shirley