What Must I Do To Be Saved? |
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In the book of
Acts, we read that the Philippian jailor came to the apostle Paul
and his companion Silas and asked them, "Sirs, what must I do to be
saved?’’ (Acts 16:29,30 NKJV). They responded to this question by saying,
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your
household" (v.31). Perhaps,
like the Philippian jailor, you are asking that very same question. Maybe
you’ve come to a place in your life that is prompting you to evaluate where you
stand with God. Well, just like Paul and Silas answered, you can be saved by
believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. But what does it
mean to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? It simply means that, by faith, you
put your complete trust and hope in Him for your salvation. You see, the bible
says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and that "the
wages of sin is death" (Ro. 3:23, 6:23a). God’s "standard" to attain eternal
life is perfection, but because of our sinful nature we "fall short" of that
standard. Not only that, but the bible says that the "wages" , or what we earn
because of our sin, is death-which means eternal separation from God. All of us
have already been judged guilty and sentenced by a Holy and Righteous God (Ro.
3:19,20). But wait! It
doesn’t end there. There’s good news. Let’s read what the rest of Romans 6:23
says. “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God has a
“gift” for you and I -eternal life. Not only that, but He has already bridged
the great chasm that has separated us from receiving that gift. The bible says
that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us”, and, “much more then having now been justified by
His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him” (Ro. 5:8,9). In other
words, God loves us so much, even though we are sinners, “that He gave His
only-begotten Son” (John 3:16) so that by His shed blood we can be “justified”
or declared righteous, instead of guilty. Also, instead of getting what we
deserve (our wages), which is God’s wrath and eternal separation from Him, God
saves us from that wrath and gives us eternal life. You see, Jesus
said that His blood would be “shed for many for the remission (or forgiveness)
of sins” (Mt. 26:28). The bible also says that “without the shedding of blood
there is no remission” (Heb. 9:22). Jesus Christ lived a perfect, blameless and
sinless life, making Him the perfect sacrifice to appease the wrath of God on
sin-our own sin (1 Pe.2:24, Gal. 1:4). That means that God will forgive you
because Jesus already paid the “penalty” by shedding His own blood and thereby
“saving” you from God‘s wrath. How do we accept
this awesome and tremendous gift? In other words, how do we “get saved”? Well,
Romans 10:9 says, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”.
To “confess” means that you agree with what God says-that you are a hopelessly
lost sinner in need of a Savior. Confessing Jesus as Lord means that you repent
(or turn away) from a life of sin and submit to Jesus as Ruler of your life.
Believing that God raised Jesus from the dead means that you believe the
sacrifice Jesus made in our place was acceptable to the Father. If you believe
this with your heart and confess it with your mouth, you will be saved. Verse 10
of this great chapter completes this thought by saying, “For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. Perhaps in reading
this you feel a tugging on your heart or a conviction that you need to get right
with God. Maybe you feel as though you don’t want to go on any longer without a
personal relationship with Him. Please listen. This is the most important
decision you will ever make. God wants to settle this issue with you now. The
bible says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of
salvation”. You can be saved right now. Simply tell God,
through prayer, that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness. Tell Him that you
believe by faith that Jesus shed His blood for the forgiveness of your sins and
that He rose from the dead. Tell Him that you willingly turn from your sins and
want Jesus to come into your heart as your personal Lord and Savior. If you have
sincerely prayed that prayer, we praise God and rejoice with you in your new
relationship with Jesus Christ. We encourage you to read the bible and pray
every day to get to know Jesus better. Please fell free
to contact us with any questions or concerns you might have. We would love to
hear from you about what God has done and is doing in your life. We want to help
you to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2
Peter 3:18). Tower To Truth |