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Most “how to” searches expect a list. How to change a tire has steps. So when you type “how to be saved,” part of you is braced for the same thing, and a quiet worry rides along with it: what if I miss a step? What if I say it wrong and it doesn’t count?
Here is something that may let your shoulders drop. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells four different people that they have been saved, and He uses the very same sentence each time. Not one of them followed a list. One of them never said a word. If you want to know how to be saved, watch what happened to those four, because the same Jesus is still the one who does the saving. And if you already know you want to get to know Him, 30 Days Walking with Jesus is free, and Day 1 is ready when you are.
How to Be Saved: The Short Answer the Bible Gives
First, the plain answer, so you are not left guessing. One night in the book of Acts, a frightened jailer asked this question almost word for word. Here is what he heard:
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” (Acts 16:30-31, KJV)
(His whole night is in How to Become a Christian: A Jailer Asked It at Midnight.)
Later, Paul wrote the same answer out for a whole church:
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9, KJV)
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV)
In everyday words: being saved means being rescued, forgiven, and brought home to God. It is a gift. You do not earn it by cleaning yourself up first. You receive it by trusting Jesus, who died and rose again, and by calling on Him.
But “believe” can feel like fog. What does it look like when a real person does it? Luke’s four people show us.
One Sentence, Four People
Four times in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says one sentence to someone. In the Greek that Luke wrote, it is the same five words every time. The King James Bible puts it into English two ways: twice as “thy faith hath saved thee,” and twice as “thy faith hath made thee whole.” Here is who heard it.
A woman who never said a word (Luke 7). The town knew her as “a sinner.” She came into a house where Jesus was eating, stood behind Him weeping, and washed His feet with her tears. Luke does not record her saying one word. Jesus said to her, “Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace” (Luke 7:50, KJV).
A woman who had been sick for twelve years (Luke 8). She had spent everything she had on doctors, and none of them could heal her. She came up behind Jesus in a crowd and touched the border of His garment. When He asked who had touched Him, she came trembling and told Him the whole story. He answered, “Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace” (Luke 8:48, KJV).
A man who came back to say thank you (Luke 17). Ten men with leprosy stood far off and called, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” All ten were cleansed as they went. One turned around, fell at Jesus’ feet, and thanked Him. He was a Samaritan, an outsider. He is the one who heard, “Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole” (Luke 17:19, KJV).
A blind man who would not be quiet (Luke 18). He sat begging by the road near Jericho. When he heard Jesus was passing, he cried, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” People told him to hush, and Luke says he “cried so much the more.” Jesus stopped, had him brought close, and asked what he wanted. Then: “Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee” (Luke 18:42, KJV). Mark gives us his name: Who Was Blind Bartimaeus?
What the Four Had in Common
Look at how different they are. One wept. One reached out a hand. One said thank you. One shouted. If being saved depended on the right words in the right order, these four would not match. The first one used no words at all.
Look at what they were not, too. None of them had cleaned up first. One was called a sinner in front of the whole room. One was an outsider. One was a beggar by the side of the road.
Here is the one thing all four did: they came to Jesus with their need. They came as they were, sure that He could help and hoping that He would. Jesus looked at that and gave it a name. He called it faith.
So faith, in these four stories, is not a feeling you work up or a test you pass. It is bringing your real need to Jesus because you trust Him with it.
Notice, too, how He says it. Not “your faith might save you, if you keep it up.” He says “hath saved.” He speaks of it as something already done.
And the word itself is wide. Jesus uses the same sentence for a woman whose sins were forgiven and a woman whose body was healed. That does not mean every sickness ends the moment you believe. It means the rescue Jesus gives is for the whole person, and it starts now, not only someday. We go deeper into that word in The Greek Word for “Saved” Is the Same Word for Healing.
So What Do You Actually Do?
Do what the four did. Come to Jesus as you are, and tell Him the truth.
You can use your own words. If you don’t have any, the blind man’s are right there in the Bible to borrow: “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.”
Tell Him you need Him. Tell Him you believe He died and rose again, or tell Him you want to believe and need help with that. Ask Him to forgive you and take you in. There is no special wording to get right, because the words are not what save you. He is.
And here is the promise to hold onto when you wonder if it counted:
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13, KJV)
“Whosoever” is a wide word. It has room for you.
The Part People Miss: Every One of Them Got Up and Went
Read the four endings again. “Go in peace.” “Go in peace.” “Arise, go thy way.” And of the blind man, Luke says he “followed him, glorifying God” (Luke 18:43, KJV).
The sentence was never the end of the story. Each time, it is followed by walking. Being saved is not a finish line you cross and then stand on. It is the first step of a life with the One who saved you.
That is good news for tomorrow morning, when the next question shows up: “now what?” The answer is not a harder list. It is getting to know Him. The blind man could do that by following Jesus down the road. You can do the nearest thing to it: open the Gospels and watch what He does, a little each day.
Picture a month of that. You wake up, and the first thought is not “did it count?” You know who you called on, because you have spent thirty mornings watching how He treats people who come to Him: the woman at His feet, the man by the road. You stop grading yourself. You start to know His voice.
A Simple Way to Take the Next Steps
That is why we made 30 Days Walking with Jesus. It walks through the life of Jesus one day at a time, as a beginner-friendly reading plan through the Gospels, in under 10 minutes a day. It includes 30 short devotional videos (each under 60 seconds), 30 full-chapter audio readings, a complete PDF study guide with journal prompts, and 5 quick-reference scripture guides.
And it is free. No payment, no card required, no upsell. You get instant access on any device, and it is yours forever. We made it that way on purpose, because the words of Jesus should not sit behind a paywall.
Four people came to Jesus with nothing but their need, and every one of them left walking. You can come the same way today, and take the first steps tomorrow morning.
Questions People Are Asking
Q: How to be saved according to the Bible?
A: The Bible’s answer is to trust Jesus. Acts 16:31 says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Romans 10:13 adds, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Ephesians 2:8-9 calls being saved “the gift of God: Not of works,” which means it is received by faith, not earned. In practice, you come to Jesus honestly, believe He died and rose again, and ask Him to forgive you and take you in.
Q: Do I have to say a specific prayer to be saved?
A: No. The Bible does not give one required prayer. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says the same sentence, “thy faith hath saved thee,” to people who came to Him in very different ways. A woman in Luke 7 wept at His feet, and Luke records no words from her at all. A blind man in Luke 18 simply cried, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.” What they shared was not a set wording. They each came to Jesus with their need and trusted Him.
Q: How do I know if I am really saved?
A: The Bible points you to a promise, not to a feeling. Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Feelings rise and fall from day to day, but that promise does not change with your mood. If you have come to Jesus and called on Him, you can rest on what the verse says. Spending time in the Gospels, watching how Jesus treats people who come to Him, often helps that trust grow steadier.
Q: Is it too late for me to be saved?
A: The Bible’s word is “whosoever.” Romans 10:13 says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” and it sets no age limit and no list of people who waited too long. In Luke 19:10 Jesus says, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” The people Jesus saved in Luke included a woman the town called a sinner, an outsider, and a roadside beggar. If you are able to call on Him, you can come.
Q: What should I do after I am saved?
A: Start getting to know the One who saved you. In Luke, after Jesus told people “thy faith hath saved thee,” He sent them on with words like “go in peace,” and one man “followed him.” A simple next step is to read the life of Jesus in the Gospels a little each day and talk to God honestly about what you read. The free 30 Days Walking with Jesus plan walks through the Gospels one day at a time in under 10 minutes a day.
