In the partner post to this one, we saw all that God has done for us so that we can experience his salvation. He forgives our sins, removes our guilt, gives us new life and adopts us into his family.

God has done all this for us, but we don’t automatically experience this salvation. There is something we must do: we need to respond to and receive this free gift. We don’t do these things to earn our salvation. We do them because God has already offered salvation to us in Christ.

There are four important ways the Bible describes our response: repent, believe, confess and be baptised.

1. Repent

When the first church began, Peter preached the first Christian sermon. His listeners were deeply affected by what they heard and asked, “What shall we do?” Peter’s first answer was simple: “Repent” (Acts 2:38).

Everyone has sinned and fallen short of God’s ideal for our lives (Romans 3:23). Deep down, most of us know this. Humanity has turned away from God and chosen its own way. As Isaiah puts it:

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way” (Isaiah 53:6).

To repent means to turn around. It begins with a change of mind: we recognise that we have been going our own way and that God’s way is the right way. But repentance is more than simply changing our minds. It involves an act of the will – choosing to turn from our old way of living and begin learning to live God’s way.

Repentance will often involve genuine sorrow for the things we have done wrong. Paul describes this as ‘godly sorrow’ which leads to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). But repentance is not simply feeling bad about our sins. It is recognising we need to choose a new direction – and walk in it.

God has already provided forgiveness through Jesus’ death on the cross (Ephesians 1:7). As we turn towards him, we begin to experience that forgiveness personally and discover freedom from guilt and the power of sin.

2. Believe

Repentance primarily emphasises turning from our old way of life to God. Faith means turning towards God in Christ (Acts 2:38). Later in the book of Acts, Peter spoke again about both dimensions:

“repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus” (Acts 20:21).

To believe means more than simply agreeing that certain things about Jesus are true. It means putting our trust in him.

We believe that Jesus died for us so that our sins can be forgiven (Romans 5:8). We believe that he rose again from the dead, making new life possible for us (Romans 6:4). And we believe that through Christ we can become God’s children (John 1:12).

But Christian faith is not simply believing a list of truths. It is trusting a person. You begin a relationship with God as your heavenly Father, made known to you through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

The Christian life is therefore a life of faith. We trust what God says because we trust who God is. As Paul, another leader of the early church, puts it:

‘We live by faith, not by sight’ (2 Corinthians 5:7).

3. Confess

The Bible teaches that salvation involves not only an inward response of faith but also an outward confession. Paul writes:

‘If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.’ (Romans 10:9)

To confess means to speak openly about what we believe. We acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and that we have chosen to follow him.

If our repentance and faith are genuine, we will not want to hide our new faith. We will want others to know that we have begun to follow Jesus. For some people, this will feel quite nerve-racking. Our personality, background and circumstances will affect how we do it. But every Christian should be prepared to be open about their faith.

The early Christians certainly were. After being told not to speak about Jesus, Peter and John replied:

“We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).

You may not immediately feel as confident as they did. That’s okay. But don’t be ashamed of Jesus. Tell someone you trust. Tell your family and friends. Begin to live openly as a follower of Christ.

4. Be baptised

We have already seen that one way we confess our faith is by telling others. Baptism is another – a very public, dramatic and visual confession of our faith.

When Peter told people how to respond to the gospel on the day the Church began, he included baptism in his answer:

“Repent and be baptised” (Acts 2:38).

Christian baptism involves being immersed in water and then raised up again. Read more about it and what it symbolises in this post on the importance of baptism.

Baptism is therefore much more than simply getting wet. It is a public declaration: “I belong to Jesus. I have chosen to follow him.” It identifies us with Christ and with his people (Galatians 3:27).

Baptism does not earn our salvation – salvation is received through repentance and faith. As well as being an act of confession it seals and completes something when it is done in genuine faith. Turning to God in repentance and faith is like putting a letter in the envelope. Baptism is like the envelope being sealed.

What happens next?

These are the main ways the New Testament describes our response to God’s offer of salvation: we repent, believe, confess and are baptised.

When we turn to Christ in repentance and faith, we receive the Holy Spirit and become part of God’s family. Peter promised those who responded to his message:

‘You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 2:38).

Paul says that God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts so that we can call God our Father (Galatians 4:6).

We should also actively ask God to fill us with the Holy Spirit and continue to be filled with his presence and power (Luke 11:13; Ephesians 5:18). See the LifePaths post on baptism in the Holy Spirit for more about this.

The essential response to the gospel is repentance and faith – turning from our old way and trusting in Jesus (Acts 20:21). Confession and baptism are important ways we first express and live out that faith. However, there may be unusual circumstances in which someone cannot immediately confess their faith publicly or be baptised, but this does not prevent them from becoming a Christian.

And this is only the beginning.

Becoming a Christian is not the end of the journey but the beginning of a wonderful adventure. God has not simply rescued us from our past; he has invited us into his future. We become part of his great purpose to transform us from the inside out and ultimately to renew the whole of creation (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 8:19–21; Revelation 21:5).

You have learned the first steps. Now the adventure begins.

For reflection and discussion

1. Have you made any of the four responses? Which ones? If none, where do you think you are in terms of closeness to making those steps?
2. What is the difference between simply believing what Jesus has done and actually putting your trust in him?
3. If you have chosen to follow Jesus, how might you become more open about your faith with the people around you?

Putting It Into Practice

1. Turn around: if you have not done this yet but now feel ready, tell God that you are sorry for going your own way and ask for his help to live his way.
2. Trust Jesus: tell God that you trust in what Jesus has done for you and you want to follow him. Faith begins with a simple yes to Jesus.
3. Tell others: if you have already made these steps, think of one person you could tell about your faith. If you have not been baptised, talk to a Christian leader about this.

More from the Bible

Learn and try to remember this verse:

“Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

Remember This:

In conversion, this decision of the will must be expressed in repentance towards God, faith in our Lord Jesus and confession towards men. (Arthur Wallis)

Recommended Resources

Arthur Wallis, Living God’s Way (Kingsway, 1984), Chapter 4

John Stott, Basic Christianity, (IVP, 1958) Chapter 10