What It Takes To Be Saved

All scripture references, unless otherwise noted, are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
In Matthew 28:18-20  the Lord Jesus said to His apostles, "...All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." Matthew 28:19 has been the pivotal verse of scripture, used down through the church age by most church denominations, as the proper wording when a convert is to be baptized. But a close look at the verse reveals that it was not a command to be baptized. No one was baptized when Jesus gave His command to the apostles. Rather it was a command to the apostles to go and baptize those who would believe their words. (See Matthew 10:40 and John 13:20)

Matthew gave only one account of what is known as "The Great Commission." In Mark 16:15-18, Mark wrote that the Lord Jesus said, "...Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." For those who think that baptism is not essential to salvation, they need to look again at what Jesus said in verse 16, e.g., "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved..." 

Luke also gave an account of the command of the Lord Jesus. In Luke 24:46-49 the Lord Jesus,"said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." Finally the Apostle John wrote in John 20:21-23, "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." 

So the sum of the matter is this, it takes repentance from sin in one's life  and  faith in what the Lord Jesus did at Calvary. (See Acts 17:30 and Acts 20:20-21) It takes baptism in Jesus name (See Acts 4:12 and 1st Peter 3:21), and it takes the baptism of the Holy Ghost or Spirit (See John 7:37-39 and Romans 8:9).  If you have never repented of your sins and put your faith in the Lord Jesus for what He did at Calvary do so now. Then find someone to baptize you in Jesus' name to have your sins forgiven and God has promised to fill you with His Holy Spirit, just like He did those early disciples on the Day of Pentecost. (See Acts 2:1-4 and Acts 2:38)