|
WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?
Why should we concern ourselves with this question? Why do
we need to be ‘saved’ in the first place?
We can try to fill our lives with all sort of stuff without
ever satisfying the deepest aspirations of our soul. We can only find meaning
and satisfaction in a living relationship with God, our Maker.
Why is it then that many people do not experience this joy?
The short answer is sin. Sin separates us from God, the source and delight of
life, and brings upon us his displeasure. Thankfully we can be saved from sin
and be reconciled to God. He himself reaches out to us with his amazing grace
and forgiveness.
But how can we know God and receive his love? We should not
waste our time exploring human religions because the Bible warns us that ‘the
world through its wisdom did not know God.’ Rather, we should seek God’s message
for us recorded in his book, the Holy Bible.
This article briefly explains God’s plan of salvation. Please
read it attentively and prayerfully. May the Lord Jesus help you understand the
gospel message. Don’t give rest to your soul before you know God’s answer to the
most pressing question: ‘What must I do to be saved?’
Our
Problem We need to be saved because we have sinned against
God.
We are under obligation to love, obey and worship God our
Creator. Instead we have rebelled against his rule and acted according to our
whims. We have broken every one of his commandments. Whenever we sin we defy
God, saying, in effect: ‘Though I know what is right in your sight, I choose to
disregard you. I will do whatever I want. I will not submit to your rule!’ Even
so, we are accountable to God, and one day we will appear before him for
judgment. Jesus has warned us that sinners will be cast into Hell.
Our bad conduct is symptomatic of a deeper problem - a bad
heart. Just as the earthworm hides away from the light and burrows deep in the
darkness of the ground, even so we naturally flee from the brightness of the
glory of God’s majesty. ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who
understands; there is none who seeks after God’ (Romans 3:10, 11). Our heart is
so bad that we will never come to Christ for salvation unless God draws us by
his grace. ‘No one can come to me,’ said Jesus, ‘unless the Father who sent me
draws him’ (John 6:44).
These truths are overwhelming. One may object, ‘I’m not that
bad! I made a few mistakes, but to say that I deserve Hell is ridiculous. I do
not have a bad heart. I am a good person.’ However it is dangerous to take that
attitude, for in so doing we would be contradicting God’s verdict. When we agree
with God and admit our sinfulness and guilt is the first step to freedom.
False Hopes The Bible warns us that salvation cannot be
obtained by our efforts or through anyone other than Jesus Christ.
Not by the Law
When we stand before God, why should he allow us into Heaven?
Will he accept us because we had tried to obey his commandments and live a
reasonably good life?
No, the commandments cannot save us because we did not obey
them as we should. ‘For by works of the law no human being will be justified in
his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin’ (Romans 3:20). Like a
mirror the law exposes the spiritual filth in our heart, but it cannot clean us.
We need mercy and grace because justice, by itself, would be our damnation.
Freedom cannot be obtained from Mount Sinai; forgiveness can only be found at
Calvary.
No Other Name
The apostle Peter says that Jesus Christ is the only Saviour:
‘Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven
given among men by whom we must be saved’ (Acts 4:12). Yet some people also call
the name of Mary, and by so doing they show that they are not fully satisfied
with Christ as their Saviour.
We dare not speak a single word against Mary, the blessed
mother of the Lord. If we truly respect her, we should not attribute to her a
role that belongs to Christ alone. She is not the mediator of our salvation.
Mary did not die on the cross to make satisfaction for our sins. Jesus alone
did. ‘For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ
Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all’ (1 Timothy 2:5, 6). Thus we cannot
invoke the name of Mary along with the name of Jesus. We should call on his
name, and he will most certainly save us.
Our Saviour So, back to our original
question, ‘What must I do to be saved?’ The Bible answers plainly: ‘Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved’ (Acts 16:30-31). Christ Jesus
invites us, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest’ (Matthew 11:28). But who is Jesus, and what has he done that we should
entrust ourselves to him? The Scripture gives several compelling reasons.
Jesus is the Appointed Saviour
We should trust in Jesus because he is ‘the Christ’ – the one
appointed by God the Father to be the Saviour of the world. Jesus fulfilled the
prophecies about the promised Saviour written in the Old Testament. Moreover
Jesus performed countless miracles. He healed all sorts of diseases, restoring
the sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, strength to the paralytic. He even
called the dead back to life. When asked if he were the Christ, Jesus responded:
‘The works which the Father has given me to finish—the very works that I do—bear
witness of me, that the Father has sent me’ (John 5:36).
Jesus is the Eternal Son of God
Jesus, the son of Mary, is not merely human. He is the
eternal Son of God. Everything was made by him and he upholds the universe by
his power. Jesus has absolute authority over all creation and is the author of
life. Jesus knows all things and is everywhere present. Jesus is God. On one
occasion Jesus confessed: ‘I and my Father are one.’ His hearers understood the
implications of such a statement. They retorted, ‘You, being a man, make
yourself God’ (John 10:29-39). They supposed he was blaspheming and accordingly
they wanted to kill him; others believed his claims and worshiped him.
Jesus Takes Away Sin
Since we are guilty of breaking God’s law, we deserve
punishment and death. Jesus became a man to suffer and die in the place of his
people. ‘He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon him.’ Jesus, the sinless
one, suffered and died for the sins of his people. ‘The LORD has laid on him the
iniquity of us all’ (Isaiah 53:5-6). He took their punishment so that they can
be reconciled to God.
Jesus is Alive
If Jesus were a fake and a liar, death would have sealed his
doom. But Jesus rose from the dead, hallelujah! The apostles and many others
testified that they saw him alive after his passion. The Holy Spirit confirmed
their witness by granting them the power to perform signs and wonders, as
recorded in the pages of the New Testament. Everything he had taught is true: he
is the Christ, the Deliverer sent from Heaven, the Son of God, equal with the
Father. He who died, now lives forever and ever. The Bible does not call us to
believe merely in an ideal, a philosophical system or a religion. God’s Word
invites us to come to a living Saviour.
Jesus is Kind
When Jesus lived among us, he welcomed all people. Children
and old people, leaders and ordinary folks, the sick and poor, as well as
‘sinners’ all came to him, and he didn’t turn anyone away. Millions of people
still come to him and they gladly testify that the Lord Jesus has embraced them
in his loving arms. His promise is true to us as well: ‘The one who comes to me
I will by no means cast out’ (John 6:37).
Jesus is Coming Again
In his first advent, Jesus came in humility, poverty and
weakness. A day is coming when the Lord will come back in power and glory. What
will he be to me when he returns? Will he be the Judge who condemns and casts me
away from him to suffer everlasting punishment in Hell? Or will he be my Saviour
and everlasting joy? It all depends on how I respond to him in this life.
Come to Christ
To receive forgiveness and eternal life from the Lord Jesus,
we must repent and trust in him. It would be vain to simply admit our guilt if
we do not repent. Again, it would be pointless to know about the love and power
of Christ if we do not rely on him for our salvation. The message of the gospel
is ‘repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Acts 20:21).
Genuine repentance is conceived in a broken heart. We have
every reason to be sorrowful considering how often we have challenged God by our
sinful deeds. We ought to admit before God that he is right to condemn you, and
that we deserve the punishment of Hell. Yet repentance is much more than sorrow.
We repent when we turn our back on sin and return to the Lord. ‘Let the wicked
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the
LORD, and he will have mercy on him; and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon’ (Isaiah 55:7).
Moreover we must believe in him. True faith is a complete
trust in the Lord Jesus. We ought to take heart and go to him. We should not
attempt to present our merits but simply go just the way we are, with all our
guilt and shame. We should call on his name and ask for mercy and forgiveness,
believing that the blood he shed on the cross is able to cleanse us from all
sin. ‘Save me Lord. I have no confidence in myself, in anyone or in anything
else. In you alone I trust the salvation of my soul.’
Jesus is calling, ‘Come to me!’
Many years ago I came to Christ and entrusted my soul to his
care. I was thirsty, now my soul is fully satisfied in Jesus. That is why I
encourage you to come to the Saviour too. Come with a repentant heart,
confidently trusting in him. You will find rest for your soul.
A Personal Word
Friend, you may still have doubts and questions about the way
of salvation. I encourage you to keep praying and searching the Scriptures. I am
willing to help you, so please don’t hesitate to write and discuss any questions
and concerns you might have.
Perhaps, you now understand the gospel and the Lord has
granted you repentance and faith in Christ Jesus. You do not depend anymore on
anything you do, your own goodness, any saint or religion. Now you rely by faith
on the Lord Jesus Christ alone. I rejoice with you and praise God for his
wonderful grace. This is the beginning of an exciting journey -- the end is even
better, Heaven! As a Christian, you desire to follow the Lord and to please him
in all things. The Christian life is not a bed of roses. The Lord gives us joy
unspeakable, but his wise providence also leads us through much sorrow and pain.
That is the way we grow and mature.
I encourage you to read the Bible every day with an attitude
of reverence. God is speaking to you -- listen well! Go daily to a private
place, and open your heart to God, our heavenly Father. Thank and praise him;
confess your sins and pray for yourself and others.
As a member of the body of Christ, the church, it is your
privilege to join a local Christian assembly. We need one another. The Lord
wants you to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and thereafter to partake
of the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of his sacrifice for us. Moreover, the
teaching and preaching of the Word is invaluable for every Christian to grow in
the grace and knowledge of Christ.
The Lord bless you and keep you. |
