1 O Jehovah, rebuke me not in thy wrath; Neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, And thy hand presseth me sore.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine indignation; Neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin.
4 For mine iniquities are gone over my head: As a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds are loathsome and corrupt, Because of my foolishness.
6 I am pained and bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my loins are filled with burning; And there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am faint and sore bruised: I have groaned by reason of the disquietness of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before thee; And my groaning is not hid from thee.
10 My heart throbbeth, my strength faileth me: As for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.
11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague; And my kinsmen stand afar off.
12 They also that seek after my life lay snares for me; And they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, And meditate deceits all the day long.
13 But I, as a deaf man, hear not; And I am as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
14 Yea, I am as a man that heareth not, And in whose mouth are no reproofs.
15 For in thee, O Jehovah, do I hope: Thou wilt answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, Lest they rejoice over me: When my foot slippeth, they magnify themselves against me.
17 For I am ready to fall, And my sorrow is continually before me.
18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.
19 But mine enemies are lively, and are strong; And they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
20 They also that render evil for good Are adversaries unto me, because I follow the thing that is good.
21 Forsake me not, O Jehovah: O my God, be not far from me.
22 Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation.
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)