How do I get saved and grow in Christ?

Justification is the FIRST step in being saved. It starts by hearing the grace gospel. What is the gospel? It is to come to the understanding that without Christ, you have no hope and you have fallen short of God's righteousness because you are a sinner and at enmity with God. It is then to know that because of God's love for you, Christ died for you and through His death, burial, and resurrection, you have a way to come into right standing with God. Having heard these things, it is a matter of choosing to believe in Christ, and trust that His cross work has the power to save you. It is to understand that because of your decision to trust in God's Son, He will justify you and seal you unto that day of redemption.

Understand that your choice to trust in Christ sets in motion a transaction in heaven that permanently and utterly saves you. All this is God's work, that once done, due to your decision to trust Jesus Christ, is irreversible and sealed. God cannot go against His own word and decree.

Assuming the above, at this point, your salvation is settled. It is DONE! What remains now is to grow in the knowledge of Christ. God's Word is the ONLY thing that can renew your mind and produce a solid foundation of faith and stability in you. This is achieved by getting the Word into you and developing an understanding of God's Word. You start in Romans, and you work your way through the curriculum of Paul's letters. (Romans to Philemon). These letters will lead you from salvation into an education to learn Christ and God's purpose and will for you.

God's Word is the MOST IMPORTANT thing in your life at this point. Just read the Romans to Philemon. Get it into you and allow the Word to start to settle in you. The understanding will come later. For now, just focus on filling your mind with Hs Word. Read it, sing it, meditate on it, quote it, think about it, study it, dream it. Let it saturate every corner of your mind.

Getting the Word into your mind, and then gaining an understanding and application of it is the ONLY thing that is going to settle you and help you become stable and grounded in your faith. It will prevent you from being tossed to-and-fro by every wind of doctrine and false advice and crafty teachings of men.

With regards to the fruit of the Spirit, let me tell you that you cannot force these fruit to be present in your life. You have no power in the flesh to produce these fruit. It is the fruit that comes from obedient application of the Word that lives within you. If you don't have the Word within you, there is no fruit to produce. It comes from an outflow of the Word into your life. Also, it starts slow. It cannot be rushed. It cannot be forced. It is something that will come naturally from within you when it is fully ready. You cannot hasten it because you cannot control it. All you can do is get the Word into you and allow it to do its work within you. Over time, it will develop and strengthen and then one day you will see the fruit coming out of you without you even trying. That's how it works. It is produced by the Word in you. The Word is the KEY to salvation and a growing and stable Christian life.