The
Church
Course
4 of 4
What
Must I Do To Be Saved?
The Bible was written to tell man how to be saved. God’s Plan of Salvation is essentially the theme of the Bible. We may ask, “Salvation from what?” Why do we need to be saved and how does God bring about this salvation? These are the questions that this lesson will answer.
We
need salvation because of sin. What is sin? “Whoever
commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1
John 3:4). In other words, we sin when we transgress
the law that God has given. 1
Corinthians 9:21 teaches that we are “under
law toward Christ.” 
When
God created Adam and Eve, He put them in the Garden of Eden to live there
and to take care of it (Genesis
2:15). Then God gave them a restriction: “And
the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you
may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you
shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”
(Genesis
2:16-17). Thus, God laid down His law, and gave the consequences
of transgressing it. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve did eat
of the forbidden tree and, therefore, sinned (Genesis
3:1-6).
Sin
is so terrible because it causes death. “For
the wages of sin is death” (Romans
6:23). First, physical death is the result of sin. Because
Adam and Eve sinned, physical death entered the world and now all men
will die. This is not God’s fault, it is man’s. Secondly, and of far greater
consequence, is that sin causes spiritual death. Death is
a separation. When we die physically, the spirit is separated
from the body (James
2:26). When we die spiritually, we are separated from
God. “Behold,
the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy,
that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you
from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He
will not hear” (Isaiah
59:1-2). It is important to remember that sin involves
personal responsibility. Ezekiel
18:4 tells us, “Behold,
all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the
son is Mine; The
soul who sins shall die.”
It is imperative that all people realize and admit that they have sinned. Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Every accountable person has transgressed God’s law and is therefore lost in their sins. This is not because we inherit the sins of our parents. “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20). Nor has God made us so that we have to sin. Every action we take is our own choice, and this is why God holds us accountable for what we do. It is vital understand this; otherwise we will not realize our lost condition and come to God for salvation.
Do
not despair; there is an answer to the problem of sin. God
has made available a way to be forgiven. The answer to the
problem of sin is Jesus Christ. Through Christ our sins can
be forgiven and we can regain the fellowship with God that we had lost
due to sin. This is why the “gospel” is literally “good news.”
Who
is Jesus Christ? Historically, Jesus was a man who lived
in Palestine during the first century A.D. The Bible tells
us that “God
was manifested in the flesh…” (1
Timothy 3:16). Thus Jesus was both God and man, sent
by God the Father, to be “the
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”
(John
1:29). Thus, Jesus became the sacrifice for sin.
He tasted death for every man so that man does not have to bear
the eternal consequences of sin (Hebrews
2:9). Jesus shed His blood on a Roman cross in order
to pay the price that sinners owe (Hebrews
10:12-14). This sacrifice is a wonderful example of the
grace of God. He did it because He loves us and wants us
to be saved and forgiven. “In
Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according
to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians
1:7).
Not
only did Christ die for our sins, He was also raised from the dead (Romans
6:4). This assures us that we too can have victory over
sin and death (1
Corinthians 15). This is the basis for the hope of heaven.
Jesus Christ said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The most important question anyone can ask is “How do I come to Jesus?” Or, to put it another way, “What must I do to be saved?”
God
has given basic requirements or conditions, that we must meet in order
to be saved. The first of which is FAITH.
“But
without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God
must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently
seek Him” (Hebrews
11:6). If we truly believe, we will act upon our faith
and do what God commands. The Bible does not teach the popular
concept of “faith only”. It does teach that a saving faith
is an obedient, working faith (James
2:14-26).
- REPENTANCE
is necessary for salvation. Repentance is a change of heart
that leads to a change of life. It is a turning away from
sin, a resolve not to commit sin anymore. Peter emphasizes
the importance of repentance in Acts
3:19, “Repent
therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that
times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
If we will not repent, we will die in our sins. If
we die in our sins, we will be eternally lost in hell (Luke
13:3 & 5; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). This does not
have to be, if we will turn from our sins and follow Jesus Christ.
- CONFESSION
is also required for salvation. Jesus said, “Therefore
whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father
Who is in heaven” (Matthew
10:32). The Apostle Paul wrote, “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. For
with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation” (Romans
10:9-10).
- BAPTISM
is necessary in order to have our sins forgiven. When the
Jews on the Jewish feast day of Pentecost realized that they had crucified
the Son of God, they were pricked in their hearts and asked, “What
must we do?” Peter
answered, “Repent,
and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”
(Acts
2:38). Baptism, which is immersion (burial) in water,
is the final act of obedience that puts a person into a proper relationship
with Christ. “For
you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For
as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians
3:26-27).
Notice
how Paul describes the significance of baptism in Romans
6:3-4, “Or
do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with
Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the
dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness
of life.” If we refuse
to be baptized, then we will not conform to the likeness of the death,
burial, and resurrection of Christ. That means our sins will
not be forgiven. Of course, baptism is not the end of obedience.
It is simply the beginning of a new life. God expects
us to be faithful to Him, living according to the standard He has given
in His word.
As Ananias said to Saul so many years ago, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).