WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?
- Acts 16:25-34
Many of you are familiar with this account. Paul and Silas, two early believers and missionaries, had upset some folks. They had cast a demon out of a slave, who used to tell people’s fortunes. When the woman’s owners saw that she couldn’t tell people’s fortunes anymore, they got people upset, so Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten, and thrown into prison.
While in prison, the two missionaries prayed and sang. Around midnight, an earthquake struck the prison and the prisoners’ chains fell off. The jailer woke up, believed that the prisoners had all escaped and was about to kill himself. But, Paul, called out and told him that the prisoners were all still there. The jailor called for lights. He went in to where the missionaries were and fell down trembling at their feet. He then had them escorted out of the prison and as soon as they reached the fresh air he asked the most important question and person can ever ask.
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
On Tuesday, June 17th, 2008, Cal Thomas wrote an editorial asking if the man who was later to become our president, was a Christian or not. In the article he quoted several statements made by our president, which run contrary to what most evangelical Christians believe.
Now, I admit. Some of the statements I read and some of the things that have taken place in the past several years have upset me. The increased tolerance of everything except Christianity and the beliefs we hold ( as evidenced by the uproar this past week caused by a talk show host who called an unmarried-woman a “slut” who openly admits to having a very active sex life and wants us to pay for her contraception) upset me. These things, however, do not upset me nearly as much as the letters to the editor that came in response the next day.
One letter by James Armstrong of Casselberry said:
“Thomas is a fundamentalist Christian who believes in a
literal interpretation of the Bible. He used to work for the
moral Majority. From his narrow, myopic vantage point, he
self-righteously presumes to judge the human family.
What about 11/2 billion Muslims? What about nearly 1
billion Hindus and a half-billion Buddhists? What about 15
million Jews? Are they all bound for hell? And what about
the billions of people who dwell in poverty, ignorance and
oppression and who have never been exposed to God
concepts and religious teachings? Are they all doomed to
Thomas’ hell?
More specifically, what about the Dali Lama or Mahatma
Gandhi or Aung San Suu Kyi, the courageous Buddhist
Nobel laureate who has been under house arrest in Myanmar
for 12 of the past 15 years? Their lives of meditation and
prayer make the spiritual exercises of most Christians pale
into insignificance.
If it’s a question of heaven or hell, as a former seminary
professor and a Christian minister for more than half a
century, I would much rather go to hell with Gandhi, the Dali
Lama and Aung San Suu Kyi than soar off into heavenly
‘bliss’ with Thomas and his ilk.” (Orlando Sentinel, Spiritual
exercise, June 18, 2008, A10)
The statements made in that letter, so flew in the face of what I believe, that I looked up the writer’s phone number and called him. However, he did raise some interesting questions. What about the Hindu? What about the Buddhists? What about people who have never heard about Jesus? What does it take to be lost? I want to attempt to answer some of those questions this morning. First, what does it take to be lost?
I. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE LOST?
What does it take to be lost? A while back, I had the opportunity to visit with a man in the hospital, who had little time to live. While we visited, I tried to share the Gospel with him. He told me that he has never done anything really bad, and that he believed that when it came time for judgment, that God would look at him and say, “He’s not been too bad. Go ahead and let him in.”
Is that the way it really works? Is close enough, good enough?
Turn with me please to Matthew chapter 22 and verse 34.
- Read Matthew 22:34-40
You remember this account. A lawyer came and asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. He then said, “The second commandment is like the first: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said, “all of the commandments in the Bible are rolled into these two. If you can keep only these 2 commandments, then you will be doing everything God requires of you”.
Now, let me remind you, that it is not good enough to love God most of the time, and to love your neighbor most of the time, you must love God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself, all the time. To keep all of God’s commandments, you must perfectly love God and perfectly love other people.
> Matthew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Let me ask you, how many people do you think can honestly say that they have done that? I know I can’t. Nobody can honestly say they have done that.
> Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
> Romans 3:10, 12 … as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one; All have turned away, together they have become useless; there is no one who does good, there is not even one.
You notice the target on the front of the pulpit? Are you aware that every year, law enforcement officers are required to hit the target with the weapons they carry, Every year local law enforcement officers are required to qualify on the range with the weapons they carry. They must shoot a certain score in order to keep their jobs.
Every new officer must shoot a certain score in order to be hired. What happens if they don’t reach the required score? They aren’t hired. It doesn’t mean they are bad people. It doesn’t mean they are thieves. It doesn’t mean they are dishonest. It simply means that they have not met the required score and so they cannot be hired.
That is what the word translated as “sin” in the Bible, so often means. It means, “missing the target.” It means, “Missing the mark.”
That’s what Paul means in Romans 3:23 when he says, “For all have sinned and come short.” He means, “No one has scored high enough. No one did well enough on the range. Everyone has failed.”
So, what does it take to be lost? All it takes is one mistake. All it takes is one time, not loving God with all your strength and with everything that’s in you. All it takes is one time, that you don’t love your neighbor as yourself, and you have failed.
> Romans 6: 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
II. WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?
A. What Doesn’t Work
As we examine the question of what we must do in order to be saved, I want you to first understand that there are several things that don’t work.
1. Other saviors or religions will not work – Some people believe that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe. Oprah Winfrey has said that on her show before. All religions, all paths head to the same place so it doesn’t matter if you are follower of Jesus or of Buddha, or Mohammed. All religions are the same.
If that is true, then Jesus is a liar and the Bible is untrue.
> John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Jesus said, “He is the Only way!” Either Jesus is a liar, or a lunatic, or He is the Lord.
- Acts 4:10-12
> Acts 4:12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”
2. Being sincere will not work – There are those who believe that as long as you sincerely believe, as long as you are diligent, that it doesn’t really matter what you believe.
- 1 Kings 18:20-39
Listen, those prophets of Baal, were sincere. Many of them believed they were right. They did all they knew to do, but it did them no good at all.
On December 14, 1799, General George Washington woke up sick. They called the overseer of the estate, who drained ½ pint of blood from the general in an attempt to make him better. Later, they drained blood from both of his arms. Since he wasn’t getting any better, they bled him again. Since he still didn’t improve, they bled him again at 3 that afternoon. General George Washington died of affixation and loss of blood, even though the doctors who treated him sincerely believed they were helping him.
You can be sincere and be sincerely wrong. Sincerity will not work.
3. Good Works will not work. There are those who believe that as long as the good they do outweighs the bad, that they will be OK, so they spend their lives trying to do good deeds to outweigh their sins. My friends, good deeds and good works will not work.
> Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.
My friends, the best you and I can do, our best works, are filthy rags in the eyes of God. You cannot do enough, work enough, pray enough, attend enough, or give enough to be saved.
> Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— not from works, so that no one can boast.
4. Knowing about Jesus will not work – There are those who believe that they are saved because they know about Jesus. They have grown up in the church. They know the Bible stories. They know who Jesus is and what he has done for them. They believe that is enough.
Let me ask you, “Does the Devil know who Jesus is?” Sure he does. Does the Devil know what Jesus has done? Yes, he does. But, the Devil is not saved.
> James 2:19 You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe—and they shudder.
Sir, mam, young person, Knowing about Jesus will not work.
If other religions and saviors will not work, if being sincere is not enough, if good works is not enough, if knowing about Jesus will not work, then what must I do to be saved?
The answer to that question, the most important question you can ever ask, is found there in Acts chapter 16 and verse 31. Look there with me again please.
- Read Acts 16:31, 34.
B. The Only Thing That Will Work
In these verses we find that the Philippian jailor did two things.
1. He believed God – v 34. In verse 34 we are told that the jailor and his family believed God. He believed God. Tell somebody, “You must believe God”. Tell somebody, “It starts with believing God.”
My friend, there is no way you can be saved, there is no way you can find eternal life, except by first believing God. You believe:
a. You are a Sinner – The Bible says that everyone has sinned.
> Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
b. Jesus is the only way – You believe Jesus is the only way to be saved.
c. Jesus has paid the price and has been raised from the dead.
> Romans 10:9 …if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
2. He believed on the Lord Jesus – v31
In other words, he put his faith in Jesus Christ. He counted on Jesus and nothing else for his salvation. He believed Jesus would forgive his sins if he asked Him.
> 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
He placed his faith in the work of Jesus instead of trying to save himself. As it said in Romans 10:9, “if you confess …”.
> Luke 13:3 …unless you repent, you will all perish as well!
He trusted Jesus and nothing else for his salvation. As the old song writer wrote, “My hope is built on nothing less, That Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ the solid Rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand. (The Solid Rock, Edward Mote, 1832).
Be put his faith, his hope, his life, in the hands of Jesus Christ.
III. WHAT MUST YOU DO NOW?
1. Get Ready – My friends, the first thing you need to do in response to this message is to get ready. The Bible says it is committed unto men once to die, and then the judgment. Everyone will some day come face to face with God. We will all be judged, one day, for the lives we have lived on this earth.
The first thing you must do, then, is to get ready for that day. Let me ask you my friend, is your hope resting on the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you made Him the Lord of your life? If you have, then your life will be marked by a change. You will have a change in priorities. You will have a change in attitude. The fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control will be evident in your life.
If you haven’t done so, then today you need to repent. You need to change direction and change who’s the Boss in your life.
Admit you’re a sinner
Believe Jesus is God’s Son and that God has raised Him from the dead.
Confess – Confess your sins and ask God to forgive you. Confess that Jesus is your Lord.
** Target – You cannot shoot a perfect score all your life. But Jesus can and has. He says, “Let me give you My score”.
2. Get Going – If you are a believer. If Jesus is the Boss in your life. If you know that you know that you know, that if you were to die today that you’d go to heaven, then you need to get busy telling other people how you can go as well.
- Matthew 28:19-20
What will you do in response?
