Everyone knows this is an important question-- How to be saved is the most important quest of any human life. This quest begins when a man or woman first realizes their true state before a holy God.
The Apostle Paul and Silas had been carrying the Gospel to Europe. In Macedonia they went to Philippi, a great city and a Roman colony, and they went and met by the riverside with some women who were meeting there to pray. On their way, they met a girl who was demon-possessed. Paul said to the demon in the girl, “Come out of her.” And the demon came out. The evil men who controlled the girl became angry, because she had been telling future events and they were making money on her fortune-telling. The men took Paul and Silas to the magistrates, who had them beaten and thrown into jail and put in bonds. In that prison they experienced the great grace of God. They received everything they needed transform a prison of pain into a prison of praise.
Instead of moaning and groaning in jail, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners heard them. All of a sudden, an earthquake shook the whole prison. The doors opened, and the prisoners’ bonds and chains were broken. Under Roman law, if the keeper of the prison ever lost a prisoner, he had to die. So the jailer saw the open doors, he thought he would be killed. He pulled out his sword and was ready to kill himself, when Paul said, “Don’t do yourself any harm. We’re still here.” The jailer fell trembling before them and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30) They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household” (Acts 16:31). The question the jailer asked was important, but the answer he received was just as important.
We all need to be saved. We are like a man the Bible tells us about, a man who cried out, “What must I do to be saved?”The Bible teaches that we all have broken God’s Law. We all have sinned against God. We all are lawless. We all need salvation. Man without God makes his own plans, follows his own counsels and lives by his own rules. Nevertheless, because man was created for fellowship with God, there remains a dissatisfaction and longing within man that can only be fulfilled by God Himself. As man is now hopelessly corrupt and God is perfectly holy, there exists the need for God and man to be reconciled so that the fellowship may be restored. We read in the Bible, “As many as received Jesus Christ, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, even to those who believe in His Name.” Being saved is nothing more than placing your faith in Jesus Christ for your salvation. It is choosing to trust Him and nothing else to save you and to take you to Heaven – (Eph. 2:8-9.) If you will place your faith in Jesus Christ, you need never fear dying lost.
The Gospel is the good news about Jesus Christ. “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them...(2 Corinthians 5:19) God, fully knowing that man would fall, provided a means of reconciliation for man; He knew that there was nothing that a man could do to make mankind acceptable to God. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) which condemns us to death “to be cast in the lake of fire forever” (Romans 6:23). But God sent Jesus Christ, who provided restoration for man with God by giving His own life, shedding His own blood. There was no other way to eradicate the effect of sin except by blood of Jesus. Bible says ““...Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrew 9:22). This shedding of blood on the cross indicated that the penalty for sin had been paid; an innocent life had been sacrificed for the lives of all who have sinned.
Yet, here’s the amazing truth: “We can never redeem ourselves; we cannot pay God the price for our lives, because the payment for a human life is too great” (Psalm 49:7-8a). Sin against an infinite God must be paid infinitely. That is why payment for our sin must be infinite. There are only two options for infinite payment. Either a finite creature (man) must pay for his sin for an infinite amount of time, or an infinite being (Jesus) must pay for it once for all men for all time. There are no other options. Yes, Jesus paid for our sins in the sense that he took our sins upon himself and died with them. He took our place and made a legal payment according to the Law.
A sin against an infinitely holy God requires an equally infinite satisfaction as payment, and even an eternity in hell will not dissipate God’s infinite, righteous wrath against sin. Only a divine Being could withstand the infinite wrath of a holy God against our sin. It requires an equally infinite Being as a substitute for mankind to satisfy God’s wrath. Jesus, as the God-man, is the only possible Savior. This is where the discussion of Jesus being the God-man comes in. If Jesus were a mere man (with sin of His own), then His death wouldn’t even atone for His own sin, much less the sins of another. But Jesus is no mere man; He is God in human flesh. As a man, He can identify with those for whom He sacrificed Himself. As a perfectly sinless man, He can atone for the sins of mankind without first having to atone for His own sin. Finally, as God, He can fully satisfy the wrath of God that our sins incur.
Christ has paid that penalty. Romans 5:6-10 says, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him……..We read in I Peter 3:18, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." Yes, Christ is the just, who had to die for us the unjust, so that it would be possible for us to be brought back to God. Because of the death and suffering of Christ for us, God can now be just in saving us. The price for your freedom has already been paid.
The very name “Jesus” means "Savior." It is the same name as Joshua in the Old Testament. It is given to our Lord because "He saves His people from their sins." He saves them from the guilt of sin, by cleansing them in His own atoning blood. He saves them from the dominion of sin by putting in their hearts the sanctifying Spirit. He saves them from the presence of sin, when He takes them out of this world to rest with Him. He will save them from all the consequences of sin, when He shall give them a glorious body at the last day. The only way that man can be saved is through Christ. There is no other way. John 14:6 says, "Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: No man comes to the Father except through Me." The only way we can get to God is through Christ. We also read in Acts 4:12, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
The perfect God-man, Jesus Christ, paid the perfect, sufficient payment for sin. Finite beings would need to pay an infinite price for their sin against the infinite God. But because Jesus is God, He could make a one-time payment to cover our infinite offense. Rather than eternally living in hell to pay for the sins of humanity, He could offer Himself as a one-time, perfect sacrifice. Those who believe in Him receive salvation and forgiveness of sins, abundant life now (John 10:10) and eternal life with Him (John 3:16).
Salvation is a free gift – it cannot be earned or bought – but is given by the grace of God. (See John 3:16-18, Ephesians 2:8-9) We receive God’s grace because of the Atonement. We can’t raise ourselves from the dead, so the resurrection is an example of His grace. We can’t purify ourselves from sin, so the Lord’s forgiveness is another example of grace. But before He will forgive us, we must repent—that’s our part, our works.
Jesus Christ on the cross paid the price for our sins and affected the means of reconciliation. Romans 5:19 says “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He provided salvation for all. Salvation has been provided; it now must be accepted. Once a man or woman recognizes the need for salvation and realizes that God has provided for their salvation through Jesus Christ, he or she must go on to embrace it.
First, we must realize our true condition. Second, we must believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Sacrifice and Substitute for our sin; and receive Him as our personal Savior. Third, we must confess with our mouth what we believe in our heart. Salvation is simply a process of confessing and believing. A man must confess that Jesus is Lord, which signifies his realization that Christ must have full rule over his life with all of His righteous requirements. This confession of Christ as Lord also assumes that it is Christ who will work and fulfill His own righteousness within man. Next, he must believe that God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead. This belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus carries with it the realization that the penalty has been paid for sin and power is provided for man to live a life free from sin. Thus man’s relationship to God is restored. (See Romans 10:9-11). Salvation is the result of a new or 2nd birth (John 3:1-7) If you have not the Spirit of Christ you are not of His.” (Romans 8:9) Salvation is dynamic, ongoing. It's a past, present, and future reality. Let me explain. Salvation belongs to three tenses: Salvation past, Salvation present and Salvation future.
Salvation past is deliverance from the penalty of sin. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death (that is, eternal separation from God), but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Salvation past delivers us from the penalty of sin and brings us into fellowship with God. We have been saved by the death of Jesus Christ. While we were still sinners, Jesus' death canceled the bond that stood against us (Col. 2:14). In other words, the guilt of sin has been wiped away. God pardoned our sins. But being pardoned isn't the same as being holy. Being pardoned gives us back our freedom to choose the road to holiness, to walk the narrow path. Right now, today, we are being saved. Grace is wooing us down the narrow path. We are becoming holy.
Salvation present is deliverance from the power of sin. The Bible promises, “Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are under grace.” Temptations will certainly be there after you are saved. But if you don’t stand on your own strength but depend on the grace and power of Christ, you will experience a daily victory over sin.
Salvation future is deliverance from the very presence of sin. This is a blessing we receive not here but up in Heaven. Because there is no place for Satan in Heaven, there will neither be temptation to sin nor the presence of it. No more struggle; eternal rest! This is what we read about Heaven in the Bible: “The City had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it... And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light.” When you repent of sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you receive salvation past. As you rely on Him and live victoriously over sin you enjoy salvation present. As we wait for His Second Coming with watchfulness and faithfulness, He will receive us into glory and enable us enjoy the eternal Salvation.
God bless
