1 Hear, my sons, the instruction of a father, And attend to know understanding:
2 For I give you good doctrine; Forsake ye not my law.
3 For I was a son unto my father, Tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
4 And he taught me, and said unto me: Let thy heart retain my words; Keep my commandments, and live;
5 Get wisdom, get understanding; Forget not, neither decline from the words of my mouth;
6 Forsake her not, and she will preserve thee; Love her, and she will keep thee.
7 Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom; Yea, with all thy getting get understanding.
8 Exalt her, and she will promote thee; She will bring thee to honor, when thou dost embrace her.
9 She will give to thy head a chaplet of grace; A crown of beauty will she deliver to thee.
10 Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; And the years of thy life shall be many.
11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in paths of uprightness.
12 When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; And if thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.
13 Take fast hold of instruction; Let her not go: Keep her; For she is thy life.
14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, And walk not in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it; Turn from it, and pass on.
16 For they sleep not, except they do evil; And their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, That shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: They know not at what they stumble.
20 My son, attend to my words; Incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21 Let them not depart from thine eyes; Keep them in the midst of thy heart.
22 For they are life unto those that find them, And health to all their flesh.
23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; For out of it are the issues of life.
24 Put away from thee a wayward mouth, And perverse lips put far from thee.
25 Let thine eyes look right on, And let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
26 Make level the path of thy feet, And let all thy ways be established.
27 Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: Remove thy foot from evil.
You Must Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17
You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
You Must Believe
Hebrews 11:6
You must believe and have faith in God because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)
You Must Repent
Acts 3:19
You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)
You Must Confess
Romans 10:9
You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)
You Must Be Baptized
Acts 2:38
Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You Must Be Faithful Unto Death
Revelation 2:10
Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)