Before we can respond to God, in obedience to the gospel, we must realize our lost spiritual condition. Romans 3:23 tells us “…for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” Since we are sinners we must realize that we cannot earn our salvation. Salvation is a gift from God to man, made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross. “For by grace you are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” ( Eph 2:8).
(1) Hear the Gospel. In order to obey the gospel, a man must first hear and understand the gospel (Romans 10:14).
(2) Believe the Gospel. He then must believe in his heart, what he has heard, to be true. “He that cometh to God must believe that he is…”(Heb 11:6).
(3) Repent of past sins. God now “commands men everywhere that they should repent” (Acts 17:30).
(4) Confess Jesus as Lord. One must in his heart believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God and confess His name. (Acts 8:36-37).
(5) Baptism for remission of sins. Jesus said in Mark 16:16: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."