Why does man need salvation? From the beginning of creation, God foreknew that man would disobey Him, (sin) and require salvation, “…the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). and He also knew what He would do to provide for atonement from sin. The  plan of salvation, Jesus’ sacrificial death, was already in mind before Adam and Eve were ever made. Thus in the first of Genesis, God truly could have said “let us…” to Jesus though it would be over four thousand years before Jesus would be born. “For as by one man's disobedience,many were made sinners...” (Romans 5:19) “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23), and David says  “Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5).

From what does mankind need to be saved? God created man in His own image and likeness for the purpose of expressing His love and likeness in the world and of having fellowship with man. Satan interfered and enticed mankind to disobey God’s plan and purpose and brought about the anger and judgement of God upon himself. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” (Romans 6:23). Natural man is at enmity with God his Creator and Maker, and so his life is in a turmoil, filled with troubles, sickness and grief.

How does a person get saved? The Bible Plan of Salvation as given by the Apostles who lived with and studied under Jesus, Himself the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world.

The day the church was born (Acts 2:1-47), the Holy Spirit of God moved upon the first true “believers” in a spectacular way and a crowd of unbelievers was brought together. The Apostle Peter (Acts 2:14-26) then preached the first ever sermon by a man filled with the Holy Spirit. As a result, about three thousand believed as was evidenced by their being “…pricked in their heart,” (Acts 2:37). It is  not possible to feel the convicting power of the Holy Spirit until you have already believed in your own sinfulness, God’s love; Jesus becoming the sacrificial lamb for your sins and mine, and that you can be saved through that faith in Him and not your own earned righteousness.

So true saving faith or belief (First) recognizes the love and Grace (undeserved, unearned favor) of God which made provision for lost humanity to be born anew or again through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. (Second) Belief in that sacrifice and faith that it paid the whole price for your salvation  Nothing you can ever do will ever pay  for that priceless gift. But to the very first people who ever believed a sermon about their own sinfulness and Jesus salvation, "...they were pricked in their hearts and said, Men and brethren what must we do (Acts 2:37). The answer to them as to you today is, (Third) “Repent and (Fourth) be baptized, every one of you for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38). Some three thousand souls did repent and were baptized and added to the church that day. 

How will he benefit from being saved?  There is a confidence, an assurance that "... All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28).  Not only is there assurance of eternal salvation, mansions in glory and streets of gold, assurance that Almighty God recognizes you as His Son or Daughter, but also that "My God shall supply ALL your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus," (Philippians 4:19). And Jesus' own promise, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God ahd His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33). What things? Jesus has just named off in the preceeding verses the human need for shelter, clothing and food. Additional promises assure health and healing within boundaries and peace, and abundant, overflowing joy. 

What are the consequences of failure to get saved?  First and foremost is in the present life in which we are slaves to sins, addictions, bad habits, anger and frustrations that a new creature in Christ Jesus would have deliverance and victory  and liberty in Christ Jesus and His love.  And then there is the warning of a place of eternal judgment, called hell or hades, which is reserved for "the devil and his angels" but is also for those who refuse God's free gift of salvation. Additionally, there are no promises of blessing from God, of His protection or healing, of His wisdom in prospering. No place to put our sure confidence.  In all, the blessings on the saved are far  better than having the curses of God as an unrepentant sinner.

How can a person know for sure that God has saved him or her? You can fool any man on the face of the earth, but you cannot fool God. You may cry "crocodile tears" at the church or crusade altar and not mean it at all, but I will think how you have truly repented because of your tears. He knows when you have truly and sincerely believed His word, accepted the sacrifice Jesus made for you on Calvary, repented of your sins, and buried the old nature symbollically in water baptism in Jesus’ name. So, when your heart is right in His sight, “… ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38). This is a clear and sure sign not only to you personally, but to all who know you from that day forward. You truly become “…a new creature in Christ Jesus. Old things passed away, behold all things become new.” “Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto Me….” (Acts 1:8).

There are a number of different Gospel tracts published by different church organizations which claim to present God’s simple plan of Salvation. Each says something different or presents it in a different way. Perhaps you have signed your name and sent it back to the publishers and received additional literature from them which declares that because you have believed, you are saved and can never be lost again. It is quite true that when a child is born or adopted into a family, he is a member of that family and always will be.  But, as Jesus illustrated with the story of the Prodigal son, 

while the son was in the far country wasting his substance, his father considered him dead, though he was still breathing in the far country. Jesus also did not say that the father sent any servants to check on the wayward son nor to beg him to return home. It was when the prodigal "came to himself" and decided to return to his father in a completely subservient and repentant way that he was welcomed home with great joy and open arms. Notice I did not say alive in the far country, for  he was existing but not really alive.

We must always remember that clear scriptures must always be used to interpret the meaning of the unclear, even if that runs contrary to church doctrines we have always learned or been taught our theology must never take precedence over the clear word of God. Nobody counterfeits anything that is worthless, but the more valuable a thing is, the more likely it is to be copied and the copies will be as near like the genuine as possible so as to fool the unsuspecting. The very fact of so many different ways each one being proclaimed to be THE way proves that Salvation is extremely valuable, and that there is a genuine, as well as the counterfeits or look alikes.

To tell the genuine, you must obey the doctrines taught and preached by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and by the original Apostles. Doctrines that first came along over a hundred years later cannot be genuine.
“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). "For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, so the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." (Romans 5:19) and David says, “Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” (Psalm 51:5). 
“But God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8). “...God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself...” (2 Corinthians 5:19). 

We must also understand that water baptism alone does not save us, nor does faith alone, because if it were not for the love and grace of God, anything we could do or try to do would be useless, worthless. Only the love and grace of God brought about His plan of salvation. “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).  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him  should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16). When those who believed and 

Another instance of a word most frequently misused is the word Dispensation, which, in English, means the passive dispensing of anything. A dispenser, in this case, God dispenses His grace and love to us. The grace, the love of God is there and He does try to help us see him and his love, but we must at least reach out to receive it. it is full and it is free. and we cannot earn it nor do anything to deserve it, but we must follow the directions of the dispenser if we are to receive dispensation of His grace, just as you must reach out and take a towel or a soft drink from the dispenser. “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).