If you’re asking this question, chances are you understand that there is something you need to be saved from.

The Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). There are no exceptions; all humanity has sinned, and therefore, all are under God’s wrath (Romans 1:18) and subject to the punishment of eternal death in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8).

That’s the bad news. But the good news is that we can be freed from this condemnation and enter eternal life. Because God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, and sent Him to die on a cross as a payment for our sins. God raised Him from the dead, and He will come again to judge the living and the dead. Until then, we are in an hour of grace, when “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved (Joel 2:32).

But how might you call on God to be saved? The Bible consistently ties three elements together: Repentance, Confession, and Belief.

1. Repentance

This word means a change of mind, like you’re walking in one direction and turn around to walk the opposite way. In the Bible, this means you turn away from your sin and turn to God. This isn’t about getting all cleaned up before you come to Jesus, but it means you come to Jesus knowing that you are dedicating not just one moment, but your whole life to Him. “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15).

2. Confession

This word means giving a verbal acknowledgement of the truth, and the central truth we confess is that Jesus is Lord. This means acknowledging that Jesus is truly God and that He reigns. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

3. Belief

This word means that what you confess with your mouth you hold true in your heart. This is about trusting in Jesus to save you, not in your own efforts or in anything else. It means affirming in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:10).

This is how you can be saved. It’s not about outweighing your bad deeds with good ones, and it’s not about completing some sort of ritual to make you worthy. It’s about repenting of your sin, confessing that Jesus is Lord, and believing that He was raised from the dead. This is the beauty of the Gospel, that it is “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).