Many people think all they have to do is say a prayer of salvation and that’s it, they are going to heaven. Let me show you with the Word, that is not true.
Romans 10:9 Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. AMPC
Many think this; that they say it and believe and they are saved. And that is correct, but the believing part is the stickler. If you believe, if you adhere to, trusting and relying on the truth. Many don’t actually believe, they just say that they do. If you believe then you will act as though you believe.
James 2:17 So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead). AMPC
Confirmed —if you believe, then you will have actions of obedience to back up what you believe. You will trust Jesus in your life with your actions of obedience to Him to say that you believe; your source of faith being the Word of God and His voice. When you hear the Word and act on the Word, then you will qualify for salvation.
Jesus said His sheep know His voice and they follow Him. Therefore it’s our part to take the time to hear Him so we can follow Him.
Romans 10:10 For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation. AMPC
I like this confirmation for clarification. Many would say they believe but their talk as well as their actions are no way confirming what they say they believe. If we believe we will be confessing openly —Jesus. We will talk about Jesus all the time if we believe. We will not hide that we are in relationship with Him and in fact, we will be so in love with Him we won’t be able to contain ourselves. Forgiveness won’t be a problem, we won’t gossip or judge. We will do all Jesus taught us to do because we believe in Him.
Many times what happens instead of believing is that we get weary. We lose our trust in Jesus because we get distracted. If we don’t continue to make it our objective to hear Him ( to look at Him) —we will fall. Faith comes from hearing the Word, thus we have to hear it on purpose to confirm our faith in Him (Romans 10:17). That alone, hearing the Word to get that Word in our heart is an act of faith. If you believe in Jesus you will take the initiative to hear Him. You will make it your quest to develop your relationship with Him by fellowshipping with Him. How can we value His opinion if we haven’t fellowship with Him to know His heart?
Therefore we have to look to Him and trust what He said will bring us into salvation. Do whatever He tells you to do and then we won't have to figure things out ourselves. He will do the figuring out, all you and I have to do is make it our stance to follow Him.
Romans 10:11 The Scripture says, No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed. AMPC
You will never be disappointed if you trust Him—I can attest to that. Things get tough to believe sometimes, but if you press in you will see the promise come to pass. In fact I want to mention right here that if you don’t see His promises come to pass, that means you have doubted somewhere. You have to check with Him to find out where you have missed—ask Him.
If you miss it, if you don't obey Him, you are not considered to be one who believes. Then remember, if you don’t believe you won't be following Him and if you don't follow Him you won't be saved.
Jesus said My sheep know My voice and they follow Me and I will give them salvation.
John 10:27 The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages. [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.] And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand. AMPC
Romans 10:12 [No one] for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord over all [of us] and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him [in faith]. 13 For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved. AMPC
It Doesn't matter who you are but that you call on Him. It matters if you believe or not. If you believe then you will follow Him and you will be saved!
—Follow Him
Revelation 14:4 These are they who have not defiled themselves by relations with women, for they are [pure as] virgins. These are they who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These are they who have been ransomed (purchased, redeemed) from among men as the first-fruits for God and the Lamb. AMPC
—Heed His Voice
Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him, and he [will eat] with Me. AMPC