Salvation is received by repenting and coming to Christ, or by believing in the gospel, or by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, or by believing and confessing Jesus Christ as the resurrected Lord.
In times past, many people who met Jesus or heard the gospel made the decision to accept Jesus into their lives to receive salvation. These are some examples of people who met Jesus or heard the gospel and believed to receive salvation:
1. The salvation of Zacchaeus
Jesus Christ entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man called Zacchaeus. He was a rich chief tax collector. And he wanted to see who Jesus was, but because of the crowd, he could not, for he was small in stature. So Zacchaeus ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up, saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurriedly came down and received him with joy. And when the Jews saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to Jesus, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:1-10)
2. The salvation of the criminal on the cross
Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with Jesus. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there the Roman soldiers crucified Him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. One of the criminals who were on the cross railed at Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him and said, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he also added, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:32-43)
3. The salvation of the Ethiopian eunuch
An angel of God appeared to Philip and said, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So Philip arose and went. And behold, an Ethiopian royal treasurer, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading the Scriptures of Isaiah. Then the Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” So Philip ran to the eunuch, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he answered, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” Then he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. The part of the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.”
So the eunuch asked Philip, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?”Then Philip used the same Scripture he was reading to preach Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
So he commanded the chariot to stop. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Holy Spirit took Philip away – he disappeared – such that the eunuch saw him no more, and the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. But Philip appeared at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to the city of Caesarea. (Acts 8:26-40)
4. The salvation of the jailor
While in prison, about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, such that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they answered, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of God to him and to all who were in his house. And he took Paul and Silas the same hour of the night and washed their wounds, and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. Then he brought them up into his house and gave them food. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God. (Acts 16:25-34)
5. The salvation of Cornelius
Cornelius sent for Peter, and while he and his household and Peter were at a meeting, Cornelius said in everyone’s hearing, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ, you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
While Peter was still preaching, the Holy Spirit came upon all who heard the word for they believed it with their heart. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter to the house were amazed because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And Peter commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to remain for some days. (Acts 10:30-48)
6. The salvation of Sergius Paulus
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, Barnabas and Paul went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they preached God’s word in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them. When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet called Bar-Jesus. He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who invited Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas (Bar-Jesus) the magician opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul away from the faith. But Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said to him, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed in Jesus, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the word of God. (Acts 13:4-12)