1 Man, that is born of a woman, Is of few days, and full of trouble.
2 He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: He fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
3 And dost thou open thine eyes upon such a one, And bringest me into judgment with thee?
4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one.
5 Seeing his days are determined, The number of his months is with thee, And thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
6 Look away from him, that he may rest, Till he shall accomplish, as a hireling, his day.
7 For there is hope of a tree, If it be cut down, that it will sprout again, And that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
8 Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, And the stock thereof die in the ground;
9 Yet through the scent of water it will bud, And put forth boughs like a plant.
10 But man dieth, and is laid low: Yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
11 As the waters fail from the sea, And the river wasteth and drieth up;
12 So man lieth down and riseth not: Till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, Nor be roused out of their sleep.
13 Oh that thou wouldest hide me in Sheol, That thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, That thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me!
14 If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my warfare would I wait, Till my release should come.
15 Thou wouldest call, and I would answer thee: Thou wouldest have a desire to the work of thy hands.
16 But now thou numberest my steps: Dost thou not watch over my sin?
17 My transgression is sealed up in a bag, And thou fastenest up mine iniquity.
18 But the mountain falling cometh to nought; And the rock is removed out of its place;
19 The waters wear the stones; The overflowings thereof wash away the dust of the earth: So thou destroyest the hope of man.
20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth; Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
21 His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; And they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of them.
22 But his flesh upon him hath pain, And his soul within him mourneth.
You Must Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17
You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
You Must Believe
Hebrews 11:6
You must believe and have faith in God because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)
You Must Repent
Acts 3:19
You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)
You Must Confess
Romans 10:9
You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)
You Must Be Baptized
Acts 2:38
Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You Must Be Faithful Unto Death
Revelation 2:10
Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)