1 And Job again took up his parable, and said,
2 Oh that I were as in the months of old, As in the days when God watched over me;
3 When his lamp shined upon my head, And by his light I walked through darkness;
4 As I was in the ripeness of my days, When the friendship of God was upon my tent;
5 When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were about me;
6 When my steps were washed with butter, And the rock poured me out streams of oil!
7 When I went forth to the gate unto the city, When I prepared my seat in the street,
8 The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the aged rose up and stood;
9 The princes refrained from talking, And laid their hand on their mouth;
10 The voice of the nobles was hushed, And their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
11 For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me; And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me:
12 Because I delivered the poor that cried, The fatherless also, that had none to help him.
13 The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; And I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.
14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: My justice was as a robe and a diadem.
15 I was eyes to the blind, And feet was I to the lame.
16 I was a father to the needy: And the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.
17 And I brake the jaws of the unrighteous, And plucked the prey out of his teeth.
18 Then I said, I shall die in my nest, And I shall multiply my days as the sand:
19 My root is spread out to the waters, And the dew lieth all night upon my branch;
20 My glory is fresh in me, And my bow is renewed in my hand.
21 Unto me men gave ear, and waited, And kept silence for my counsel.
22 After my words they spake not again; And my speech distilled upon them.
23 And they waited for me as for the rain; And they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain.
24 I smiled on them, when they had no confidence; And the light of my countenance they cast not down.
25 I chose out their way, and sat as chief, And dwelt as a king in the army, As one that comforteth the mourners.
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)