1 Call now; is there any that will answer thee? And to which of the holy ones wilt thou turn?
2 For vexation killeth the foolish man, And jealousy slayeth the silly one.
3 I have seen the foolish taking root: But suddenly I cursed his habitation.
4 His children are far from safety, And they are crushed in the gate, Neither is there any to deliver them:
5 Whose harvest the hungry eateth up, And taketh it even out of the thorns; And the snare gapeth for their substance.
6 For affliction cometh not forth from the dust, Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground;
7 But man is born unto trouble, As the sparks fly upward.
8 But as for me, I would seek unto God, And unto God would I commit my cause;
9 Who doeth great things and unsearchable, Marvellous things without number:
10 Who giveth rain upon the earth, And sendeth waters upon the fields;
11 So that he setteth up on high those that are low, And those that mourn are exalted to safety.
12 He frustrateth the devices of the crafty, So that their hands cannot perform their enterprise.
13 He taketh the wise in their own craftiness; And the counsel of the cunning is carried headlong.
14 They meet with darkness in the day-time, And grope at noonday as in the night.
15 But he saveth from the sword of their mouth, Even the needy from the hand of the mighty.
16 So the poor hath hope, And iniquity stoppeth her mouth.
17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: Therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.
18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up; He woundeth, and his hands make whole.
19 He will deliver thee in six troubles; Yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.
20 In famine he will redeem thee from death; And in war from the power of the sword.
21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue; Neither shalt thou be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
22 At destruction and dearth thou shalt laugh; Neither shalt thou be afraid of the beasts of the earth.
23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field; And the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
24 And thou shalt know that thy tent is in peace; And thou shalt visit thy fold, and shalt miss nothing.
25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, And thine offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, Like as a shock of grain cometh in in its season.
27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; Hear it, and know thou it for thy good.
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)