What Must I Do To Be Saved?

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

WHAT DID GOD DO ABOUT THIS SITUATION?

THE PLAN OF SALVATION

A long time ago, a Roman Jailer asked of the Apostle Paul the most important question that could ever be asked, "What must I do to be saved?"

Paul’s answer was immediate, to the point, clear, and concise. He said:

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:30-31.)

That’s how simple that it actually is.

A man named Nicodemus pretty much asked Jesus the same question. Jesus answered him by saying, "You must be born again"

(John. 3:1-8).

ALL ARE SINNERS

The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that "All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God."

That means that all are sinners, actually born that way, in des-perate need of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, there are no exceptions to this. That means you and me, and all others for that matter.

Paul also said in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death!"

So, that means that unless something is done about this terrible situation, that all will be eternally lost. However, God did not leave things there. He loves us, every one of us. It is His Desire that "Not any should perish, but that all should come unto repentance" (II Pet. 3:9).

The Scripture plainly says, "And God so loved the world (so loved sinners, and that means you) that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life" (John. 3:16).

What does that mean?

Man as a sinner could not save himself. In other words, such was and is impossible; consequently, God literally became man, came into this world born of the Virgin Mary, and then died on Calvary to pay the price for man’s Redemption. As should be obvious, the price was high. But thank God, it was everlastingly paid by Jesus Christ, that "WHOSOEVER WILL, MAY COMEAND TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY" (Rev. 22:17).

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST?

Paul says:

"If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto Righteous-ness; and with the mouth, confession is made unto Salvation" (Rom. 10:9-10).

To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is more than just giving mental assent that He is the Son of God. Millions do that and aren’t saved.

When the Scripture speaks of one believing, it simply means that one accepts Who Jesus is, which is the Son of God, and what He has done, which refers to Him dying on Calvary, in effect taking our place, in order that we might be saved.

It means to accept Him, and Him Alone as your Saviour, resolv-ing to make Him the Lord of your life, and to follow Him with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength as long as you live.

SUBSTITUTION AND IDENTIFICATION

As we have already stated, man being eternally lost and help-less to save himself, God had to provide a means of Salvation whereby sinful man could be made righteous. He did that by pro-viding His Own Son, Who gave His Life on Calvary, thereby pay-ing the terrible price which we could not pay. That price was His Own Precious Shed Blood.

He became our Substitute.

What does that mean?

It means He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. There was a terrible sin debt owing due to man’s fallen condition. As stated, that refers to every single human being, none excepted. With no way to save ourselves, God had to provide a Saviour, which He did. It was done simply because He loves us so much

(John. 3:16).

Jesus being the Substitute, if we identify with Him, which means to accept what He did at Calvary’s Cross on our behalf, we will be saved. It is that simple!

He became our Substitute, and upon our identification with Him, we are rewarded with Eternal Life (Rom. 6:23).

FAITH AND NOT WORKS

The only thing required to obtain this glorious and wonderful Salvation is to simply believe on Christ, exactly as Paul said, which means to have Faith in Him.

What does that mean?

It is actually very simple. The Lord made it this way in order that all may have equal Opportunity.

It simply means that you believe or have faith in what He did, and accept it for yourself on a personal basis. That’s all that God requires. But of course, to believe and have faith, even as we have already said, means to accept the Lord as your Saviour and, as well, to make Him the Lord of your life.