What must I do to be saved? This question was first asked by a jailer at Ephesus, who witnessed an earthquake that freed Paul and Silas. Paul and Silas were the Church's first official evangelists, who had been falsely arrested and beaten and left in his charge. The earthquake came as the climax to a midnight prison cell prayer and praise meeting and it spurred the jailer to consider the condition of his soul.

"What must I do to be saved?" is asked by thousands today as people consider their souls' circumstances. I remember asking that question in my heart many years ago. I still remember the answer I received. Clearly, as though sent by the Holy Spirit Himself, the question came back to me, "Saved from what?" From what did I want to be saved? What was flashing fear and dread through my soul at night? I knew in a instant from what I wanted to be saved. I wanted to saved from the awful dread of judgment for the sins I had committed. Not that I had a history of dark or dastardly sins. I had some petty larceny experiences but nothing that would have put me at odds with the civil authorities. I had found lying to be a convenient, if sparsely used, aid in times of distress. Yet I knew a rebellion and discord with God that kept my soul tumultuous.

I wanted to be saved from dread--that fearful looking forward to judgment. And that is what I told the Spirit who had raised the question in my heart, "Saved from what?" The Spirit raised another question for me to ponder, "So, if I turn off the guilt and fear so that you no longer live in dread of judgment, will that satisfy your need?" Somehow I instantly saw what the Spirit meant--was I better off going to Hell and not dreading it? Or was I better off when I was aware of the impending destruction awaiting me?

"No!, No!," I cried back to the Spirit who had awakened me in ways I had never dreamed before. "I want to be saved from more than the fear and the dread of Hell. I want to be saved from Hell. I want to be saved from going to Hell. I do not want to go to Hell. I want to be saved from the judgment and condemnation of my sin only because the judgment and condemnation of sin is what sends me to Hell."

"Is that so?" Replied the Spirit who now had my full direct attention. "You may consider that done, if that is what you desire. 'You are,' the Spirit continued to explain to me, 'saved by Grace through Faith' as was clearly taught to you from the Bible since you were a child. You must simply want it so much you are willing to take forgiveness by way of your repentance."

I set out to undo, as best I could, the wrongs I had done and the hurts I had inflicted. This was much harder than I could have believed. The joys and peace that followed were also more than I could have imagined.

There were also more conversations with the Spirit that occurred in my heart as I sought to find more about the spiritual experience I was living. The Spirit continued to raise questions for me to ponder. If I am saved from guilt, not because the guilt is harmful, but, because of the judgment the guilt told me I was under, it is the judgment I had to fear not the guilt. If judgment was the problem, then the solution was not just forgiveness but also prevention. Judgment comes from sin. If I could control the sin, I thought, I could eliminate the judgment. If I could eliminate the judgment, then I would wipe out all of the guilt and fear and dread. The Spirit reminded me of the words of Simeon when he prophesied about the Lord Jesus when the baby Jesus was placed in his aged arms on the day Jesus was presented at the temple when He was one week old, "He shall save his people from their sins".

"So that is it," I suddenly comprehended what was so clearly revealed in the Bible. Jesus came to save us from our sins. He came to make the sinner into the saint. He came to change the heart. Jesus came to make a new creature of me so that the I, who so liked the pleasures of sin but hated the judgment for sin, could have power not to sin. Fear of judgment and guilt could not change my heart, but Jesus did. No longer do I struggle with guilt. I cling to his promises that I can be "more than a conqueror" over sin. Sin no longer has dominion over me or my desires.

One day it dawned on me that "I AM Saved!" I had done what I must do to be saved. I had turned from my wicked ways. I had obeyed. I had believed. None of those had saved me. I had learned to hear and to listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. My learning and listening had help me grow, but that had not saved me. No, it was Jesus. When I let Him, he came into my heart and recreated me so that I was a new creature who had the power to live above sin.

Don't get me wrong. I have not become divine. I still make my share of mistakes. My judgment is still faulty. But my motives have been sanctified and at times I am surprised at what a change Jesus made in my life. Best of all I know I am saved from sin.