What Must I Do to Be Saved?
Our salvation is by grace through
faith. "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not
your own doing, it is the gift of God--not because of works, lest any man
should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). We could not work
our way to heaven by good deeds. We can only receive the free gift of salvation
through our faith in Jesus Christ.
While it is God alone who saves us
by his grace, we need to respond to God's calling through faith in order to be
saved. This response of faith is expressed through belief, confession,
repentance, and obedience.
Believe and Confess
"If you confess with your lips that Jesus
is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved" (Romans 10:9).
Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is
the way to receive salvation. Faith is more than mental consent. It means
complete acceptance, trust, and dedication of ourselves
to Christ. Faith must also persist throughout our lives. If we make a life-long
commitment to the Savior, he will save us as he has promised.
Not only do we need to believe and
confess that Jesus is our Savior, we must also believe that the Bible, which
testifies about Christ, is true. Furthermore, we need to believe in his only
church, the body of Christ, because Christ has sent the church to preach the
gospel of salvation and administer sacraments for salvation*.
* For a more detailed explanation,
please read the series titled Holy Bible and Church.
Repent and Obey
Repentance means turning back to
God. It is a necessary act of faith. A repentant sinner must leave his sinful
life and determine to obey God's word. He must walk by the Holy Spirit and aim
for purity and love in his life.
Obedience is the practice of
faith. Without it, confession of the Lord's name would only be lip service.
Although obedience by itself is not the basis of salvation, it demonstrates our
faith in the Lord. The Lord Jesus said to a young man who asked about how to
receive eternal life: "If you would enter life, keep the commandments"
(Matthew ).
Receive the Sacraments
Faith in the Lord also means
accepting the sacraments. The sacraments, which are baptism, footwashing, and Holy Communion, are specific commands from
our Lord that have God's saving effects. Christ washes our sins away in
baptism. He offers us a part with him through footwashing.
And he gives us his life through the Holy Communion.
The use of physical actions or
elements for the salvation of the soul is beyond rational explanation. But they
are required according to the Lord's own word. If we have not received the
sacraments, or have not done so in the manner taught in the Bible, we need to
receive them in accordance with God's Word in order to be saved.*
* For a more detailed explanation,
please read the series titled Baptism, Footwashing,
and Holy Communion.
