“What must I do to be saved?”
One of the things we encounter in the world around us is that almost every religious organization attempts to simplify the answer to that question. Religious groups want to make the answer quick and easy. Get that person to commit. Make that person a member of your church. That is a mistake. Conversion is not easy.
When we are saved, somebody had to teach us and that took time and effort. From the time I recognized I was a sinner and started attending the Central church of Christ in Clearwater, Florida and obeyed the gospel was six months.
So the answer to “What must I do to be saved?” is not quick and easy. Being saved means accepting the fact that you are a sinner. God’s word in Romans 3:23 is clear: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
What does it mean to have sinned? Sin is described in the Bible as wrongdoing by breaking the law of God. 1 John 3:4 teaches: “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” So, sin is breaking God’s law, and this is rooted in disobedience. A person that does not believe he is a sinner cannot be saved. The good news is that once you understand you are a sinner, the scriptures teach us that all your sins can be forgiven. You can be saved.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, voluntarily dying on the cross provides the blood sacrifice necessary for the forgiveness of sins. We must believe that Jesus is that blood sacrifice. Grace and mercy are offered to all mankind because of that sacrifice.
Sinners must repent of their sins. Sinners must not only feel sorrow for their sins, but we must also make the decision to stop committing sinful acts. In other words repentance causes us to act differently. One problem is that many people call themselves “Christians” but show little evidence of change in their lifestyle (Acts 2:38).
We must confess that Jesus is the son of God and we must make Him Lord and Master of our life (Matt. 10:32). After believing, repenting, and confessing Christ, baptism for forgiveness of sins is necessary. The scriptures are clear. People have their sins washed away as they are being baptized. The conversion of the apostle Paul instructs us: “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name,” (Acts 22:16; I Peter 3:21; Romans 6:4).
There is not an easy or quick answer to the question “What must I do to be saved?” Jesus is Savior. He accomplished all that is needed for sinners to be reconciled with God. But being saved requires serious Bible study and thoughtful soul searching on the part of a sinner.
God loves you and I love you and that is the way it is going to be!
Marshall Swindall – Boiling Springs church of Christ