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WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

In the toolbox we have a tool titled “Salvation, the complete look from Genesis to Revelation” which addresses the subject of salvation over the entire plan of God and we highly recommend that all believers who are interested refer to that for a more complete understanding of salvation. We have been asked to produce a tool specifically for right now, presently. So, this tool will address one specific time period or age: in between Christ’s shed blood on the cross and the “catching out” or rapture. This is also called the age of grace, which is in between the 69th and 70th weeks of Israel’s prophetic time, the time in which you and I live. So, specifically, if we are asked the question, “What must I do to be saved?” how do you and I respond? My brethren, don’t rely on what someone else might tell them; you and I need to be able to confidently and accurately give them the God breathed words He has given to us for the salvation of all mankind, as the apostle Paul said to Titus, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men.” (Titus 2:11) Think about it - if you can’t tell someone what they must do to be saved, how do you know that you are? What makes you believe that you are? And if you are a born again believer, an ambassador of Jesus Christ, you should be able to accurately give someone the gospel of their salvation.

Why Do We Need Salvation?

God told Adam in Gen. 2:17 to not eat from a specific tree or, “…you will surely die.” After the woman was created from Adam, Satan went to her saying, in Gen. 3:4, “You will not surely die.” God told Adam one thing and Satan told Eve the exact opposite. Eve was deceived and ate from the tree, while Adam knowingly and willingly rebelled against the command given to him by God himself. Adam and Eve committed sin by transgressing or turning from God’s command to not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 3; Romans 5:12-18; 1 Tim. 2:14; 2 Cor. 5:17-21; Acts 17:30-31). As a result, they died spiritually and were spiritually separated from God by their sin or rebellion against Him. In reference to Israel entering the kingdom, this is why Jesus told Nicodemus, “unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3) and the apostles, in the epistles, teach the body of Christ that when we believe the gospel (God’s message to mankind) we are born again, spiritually, and transferred into the kingdom spiritually (Colossians 1:13). God must judge all sin and because man is now spiritually dead and separated from Him, He must now judge us (mankind) and we are held accountable for the sin we have committed and must pay the penalty for it.

What Are We Saved From?

As far as we know, by the Scriptures (see two examples in Acts 17:26; 1 Cor. 15:44ff), Adam and Eve were the only people on the planet at the time and therefore represented mankind as a whole and demonstrated how man would continually “turn from God” and rebel (sin) against Him. This is called the sin nature, which is a leaning toward or an inclination to produce sin (James 1:14-15), and every man since Adam and Eve (except the heavenly Adam) has sinned, thus separating every member of mankind from the righteous and holy God. Because of this, God’s wrath (judgment) now abides on all men for the penalty of their sin and man now needs a Savior to rescue him from the wrath of God, as man is now in a state of condemnation and in danger of perishing, which includes eternal separation from God. But God, in His love and mercy, has provided a way to be reconciled back to Himself by way of the Savior, Jesus Christ, and He now requires that man repent, which is change our mind and turn to God. Note: repentance is not confession of our sin. Acts 17:30 says, “….God…now he commands all people everywhere to repent.” So, now that mankind has been commanded to repent, we know what He wants. How do we do it? See Acts 3:19, 17:30-31, 26:18-20; 1 Thess. 1:9-10.

Because earthly man needs a Savior, God sent one – Jesus, the man from heaven (1 Cor. 15:45-49), who died on a cross for the sins of the entire world, was buried and raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures, from the dead to eternal life. This is the gospel or good news that sin can now be wiped away, removed, totally forgiven and the message that God gave to mankind after the shed blood and resurrection of Christ. For the gospel of grace see Acts 2:23-24, 3:15, 4:10-12, 5:30, 10:39-40, 13:28-30, 13:39, 14:26-30, 26:20; Romans 1:1-6,16-17; 1 Cor. 15:2-4.

So, What Must I Do to be Saved?

God wants all men to come to repentance and be saved (see Acts 17:30; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Tim. 2:3-4 and 1 Tim. 4:10). But there is no testimony, work, act, admission, prayer, confession, attendance as a member of any certain denominational congregation, walking the aisle, kneeling at a so-called altar, asking Jesus into your heart or sorrowful feeling that anyone can say or do to obey the command of God to repent, because that is not what it means or what one unsaved is told or directed to do. It means change our mind and turn to God. Remember, the man turned to Satan from God and God now requires man to turn back to Him. So how do we repent? The answer is: when we hear the gospel message of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, we have a choice to make - believe the gospel message or reject it. By believing it we turn to and believe God’s testimony of His Son (the gospel) and put our faith in Him that He will save us from our sins. When we put our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross, we have obeyed God’s command to repent and God saves us from His wrath and gives us eternal life with Him; thus, the references in the epistles to the “obedient” and the “disobedient.” If you will look up all of the following passages and read them carefully, there will be no doubt whatsoever in your mind that we “…have been saved by grace through faith,... not by works…” (Eph. 2:8-9) and as you study the Scriptures you will find more because we did not list them all. For salvation by belief/faith, please see Acts 2:41, 4:4, 5:14, 9:42, 10:43, 13:38-39, 15:7-8, 16:29-34, 20:21, 26:15-18; Romans 1:5, 1:16-17, 3:21-29 (note verses 22,26,28), all of Chapter 4 through 5:2, 9:30-31, 10:4; 1 Cor. 1:21 and read 1 Cor. 15:1-4 where we see the gospel and in verse 11, “this is what you believed.”; Galatians 2:15-16, 3:1-5, 3:22-26; Eph. 1:13, 2:8; Phil. 1:28-29, 3:9; 2 Thess. 2:13-15; 1 Tim; 1:16; Heb. 10:39; 1 Peter 1:7-9, 1:21; 1 John 5:13.

Now that we understand why God commands men to repent and how to do it, it becomes crystal clear why Paul and Silas answered the question by a Philippian jailer, “...Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30) with this response, “...Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.” (Acts 16:31). This, my brethren, is the answer in the simplest form it can be stated and scripturally accurate to tell anyone who has heard the gospel and has interest enough to ask the question. Ephesians 1:13-14 says, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.”

This is salvation and how we are saved from the wrath of God that He is going to pour out on all the unrepentant people of the world, those who do not believe or trust in Jesus the Christ, and the end punishment for their sin is eternal separation from God in the lake of burning sulfur.

We pray this will be helpful to you as we all grow together in the Lord. Grace be with you.