Paul identified the necessary steps and requirements for getting saved in Romans chapter 10. Talking about his message of salvation, Paul said, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4). By this, Paul meant that believing in Christ was the purpose of him preaching the gospel and the end result of an individual getting saved. Believing in Christ means that you trust in him as being able and willing to save you from the effects of sin and death. Paul stated, “But the righteousness based on faith says, ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend to heaven?”’ (that is to bring Christ down) ‘or “Who will descend into the abyss?”’ (that is to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. Paul said that you must not only confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, but you must also believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead in order to be saved.

The two step process of confessing and believing in Christ is dependent upon faith. It says in Hebrews 11:1 that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Conviction means that there is sufficient proof to persuade you that something is the truth (G1650). At the end of his gospel, John stated that the purpose of his book was “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God” (John 20:31). John specifically referred to the many signs that Jesus did in the presence of his disciples as the basis for believing in Christ and getting saved.

Paul described the process of getting saved as calling on the name of the Lord. Paul said, “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing riches on all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:10-13). The phrase calls on means “to invoke, pray to, worship” and is spoken of in this verse as communication with God (G1941).

Paul went on to explain that calling on the name of the Lord is dependent upon someone preaching the gospel. Paul asked:

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:14-17)

Paul argued that a person cannot get saved without having first heard the gospel. Paul said that faith comes from hearing the word of Christ. The Greek word that is translated word, rhema (hrayˊ-mah) means “an utterance (individual, collective or special); by implication a matter or topic (especially of narration, command or dispute)…Particularly a word as uttered by a living voice; a saying, speech or discourse” (G4487).

Jesus said many things to his disciples and the crowds that followed him, but not everything that came out of Jesus’ mouth was considered to be a rhema. “In the New Testament, rhema often takes on a particular meaning from its adjuncts or context: charge, accusation (Matthew 5:11; 18:16; 27:14; 2 Corinthians 13:1). Prediction, prophecy (2 Peter 3:2; Jude 17). Also, the saying of God (Revelation 17:17). Promise of God (Luke 2:29; Hebrews 6:5). Command (Luke 5:5; Hebrews 1:3; 11:3). Also Matthew 4:4: Luke 4:4, where rhema is used in metonymy for everything which God decrees. Teaching, precept, doctrine (Luke 3:2; John 3:37; 5:47; 6:63, 68; 8:47; 10:21; 12:47, 48; 14:10; 15:7; 17:8; Acts 5:20; 10:22, 37; Romans 10:17; Ephesians 5:26; 6:17; 1 Peter 1:25)” (G4487). One instance where Luke used rhema in connection with believing was Mary’s discovery of the empty tomb on Easter morning. Luke tells us:

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened. (Luke 24:1-12)

Luke made note of the fact that Mary and the other women remembered Jesus’ words, but then he said of the apostles, “these words (rhema) seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them” (Luke 24:11). When two men told Jesus about this on the road to Emmaus, Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26).

Jesus told a man named Zacchaeus that “the Son of Man came to seek and to save those who are lost” (Luke 19:10, NLT). Jesus explained what it meant to be lost using several parables, the most notable of which is the Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11-31). At the end of this parable, the older son, who had remained faithful to his father, was angry because the lost son’s return was being celebrated by everyone in the household. Luke tells us, “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’ His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’” (Luke 15:28-31, NLT). The older son had done what his father expected him to, but his heart was filled with hatred toward his brother and contempt for his father. The younger son, on the other hand, recognized his deliberate rebellion against his father and returned to him with a humble attitude of submission (Luke 15:18-19).  

The father of the lost son referred to his son as being dead and “now returned to life” after he had come back home to him. Getting saved means that we return to a former state of well-being. Jesus used the term born again to refer to the process of getting saved (John 3:3) or what is sometimes referred to as conversion. “The process called conversion or turning to God is in reality a re-turning or a turning back again to Him from whom sin has separated us, but whose we are by virtue of creation, preservation and redemption” (H7725). Paul concluded his discussion of getting saved with an example of the difference between those who get saved and those who don’t. Quoting from the prophet Isaiah, Paul stated on behalf of God, “’I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.’ But of Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people’” (Romans 10:20-21). According to Paul, the only difference between those who get saved and those who don’t is a willingness to respond to our heavenly Father’s invitation to join the celebration.