I'm reading this
http://www.christianforums.com/faq.php?faq=gospel#faq_christian
Specifically the 'Receiving Him Now' part at the bottom.
So if I pray that, in all sincerity, honesty and earnestness, then I'm saved?
Yes and no.
The things in that prayer are things that you do need to acknowledge in order to be saved, but being born again isn't about saying a prayer and no prayer is a magic mantra that saves you just by repeating it.
Many years ago, I lived in a house that backed up to a pasture where a man kept sheep.
I remember I would sit on my back porch and watch them, thinking how beautiful they were with their white fleece.
This was my practice for a long time until, when the winter came, it started to snow.
As the snow began to pile up, I noticed something very peculiar about the sheep. As the snow came down, I could now see the sheep in contrast to the white snow.
Against the bright, completely white snow, I realized that these sheep weren't really white at all. In fact, they were filthy! The sheep didn't change. The difference was that I now had an objective standard that was pure white to judge them by.
In the same way, we go about our lives believing that we're good. That we're not sinners and, if we are, then at least we can take comfort in the fact that we're not as bad as those people next door.
But when our lives and our sin are held up to the objective standard of God's holiness, then we see that we're just like those sheep. We find that, standing against the backdrop of his righteousness, our sins make us filthy and guilty before God.
The first step to Biblical salvation is to repent of your sins and your rebellion against God. Examine your life and your sins in light of God's objective standard of holiness. When you do, you'll be horrified by them.
Realize that they seperate you from God and make you an enemy of God.
Call out to Jesus and believe by faith that He is the Unblemished Lamb offered as a sacrifice to forgive your sins. Acknowledge that Jesus Christ paid your debt for you. Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that He is Lord and you will be saved.
Question is, what happens tomorrow if I, say, stub my toe and swear, maybe using His name? Am I back to square one? Or do I apologise in silent prayer and vow to try harder next time?
Then you repent and ask God to teach you to honor Him and to not commit that sin again. Everyone sins. Every Christian sins.
However, the Bible makes a big distinction between someone who is saved, but who sins in a momentary moral lapse, and one who lives a lifestyle of willful disobedience.:
Once you're born again, nothing can break your union with the Lord, but you can break your communion with Him.
Think of it this way:
Imagine that a relationship with God is like being in a room with Him.
Now imagine that every unrepented of sin is like a brick. You take His name in vain here. You tell a little lie there.
Brick. Brick.
You gossip once. You commit adultery in your heart.
Brick. Brick. Brick. Brick.
Before long, you notice that all of these bricks are starting to form a wall. There you are, and there is the wall. But, on the other side of the wall now, is God. He is still there. He's still in that relationship-room with you.
He's still talking to you. Only now, you can't hear Him because you've built a wall between the two of you. You try to pray, but it seems as though none of your prayers can get through the wall.
The only way to tear down the wall and rebuild the relationship is through repentance.
Also, should I read the whole Bible before I even think of giving my life to Christ? I mean, I need to know what I'm about to do, right?
The whole Bible? No.
I would suggest that you take about fifteen to twenty minutes to read the Gospel of John and then Romans 5-7 for starters.
