What must I do to be Saved?
In another place Paul said: "Repent therefore
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, …" Acts 3:19
Jesus Himself, in Mark 1:15 said: "The
time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in
the gospel."
These two things are necessary if you are to
be saved, if you are to have a place in the kingdom of God. The two things are
to repent of your sins, and to have faith in Jesus Christ as your Saviour. To
repent is to turn around from rebelling against God and to turn to Him. Having
faith is to trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour from sin and its consequences.
If you do both these things with a sincere heart, and evidence them in your
life, you will be saved.
Why do you need to be saved? Though it is not
popular in this day, nevertheless the Bible teaches that all people, including
you, are facing God's judgement due to sin. Jesus said: "Do not marvel at
this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His
voice and come forth; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and
those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." John
5:28,29 And the Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death. The justice of
God demands that sin is punished.
And the fearful thing is that no person has
done good, all sin continually. We read in Romans 3:23 "..for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God…", and in Romans 3:10
"As it is written: 'There is none righteous, no, not one.' "
So, the Bible teaches that all people are
sinners - but your own experience also testifies to it. As you consider your
own life and the world around you, you must admit that sin and wickedness
abounds, even in your own life. Consider again the words of Jesus: "You
have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever
murders will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you that whoever is
angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the
judgment." This is the standard that Christ sets - perfect holiness in
order to enter the kingdom of heaven.
If this is the case, then no one can be
saved. Since everyone is a sinner, all will be condemned. What hope is there?
But Paul said "Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and you will be saved….". There is hope.
This hope is that Jesus Christ died to pay
the penalty for sin. He took the wages of sin, - death. When He was crucified
on the cross, He endured the wrath of God, and took upon Himself the judgement
due to sinners. He lived a life without any sin, yet died an agonizing death as
judgement for sin. And He rose again from the grave, demonstrating His power
over death and sin.
There is salvation. And it is freely offered
by Christ to all. Jesus said: "Come to Me, all you who labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28. He offers
this salvation.
What must you do to be saved? Repent, and
believe the Gospel. Repent of your sin, confessing to God that you fall
short of His holiness. Turn from that sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe
that Christ gave His life for You to pay the penalty for your sin. Believe the
Scriptures - for it is written:
"…whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the
world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He
who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and
men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." John
3:15-19
“Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright
© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved."