WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?
WHAT DID GOD DO ABOUT THIS SITUATION?
THE PLAN OF SALVATION
A long time ago, a Roman Jailer asked of the Apostle Paul the most important question that could ever be asked, "What must I do to be saved?"
Paul’s answer was immediate, to the point, clear, and concise. He said:
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:30-31.)
That’s how simple that it actually is.
A man named Nicodemus pretty much asked Jesus the same question. Jesus answered him by saying, "You must be born again"
(John. 3:1-8).
ALL ARE SINNERS
The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that "All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God."
That means that all are sinners, actually born that way, in des-perate need of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, there are no exceptions to this. That means you and me, and all others for that matter.
Paul also said in Romans 6:23, "The wages of sin is death!"
So, that means that unless something is done about this terrible situation, that all will be eternally lost. However, God did not leave things there. He loves us, every one of us. It is His Desire that "Not any should perish, but that all should come unto repentance" (II Pet. 3:9).
The Scripture plainly says, "And God so loved the world (so loved sinners, and that means you) that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life" (John. 3:16).
What does that mean?
Man as a sinner could not save himself. In other words, such was and is impossible; consequently, God literally became man, came into this world born of the Virgin Mary, and then died on Calvary to pay the price for man’s Redemption. As should be obvious, the price was high. But thank God, it was everlastingly paid by Jesus Christ, that "WHOSOEVER WILL, MAY COMEAND TAKE THE WATER OF LIFE FREELY" (Rev. 22:17).
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST?
Paul says:
"If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto Righteous-ness; and with the mouth, confession is made unto Salvation" (Rom. 10:9-10).
To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is more than just giving mental assent that He is the Son of God. Millions do that and aren’t saved.
When the Scripture speaks of one believing, it simply means that one accepts Who Jesus is, which is the Son of God, and what He has done, which refers to Him dying on Calvary, in effect taking our place, in order that we might be saved.
It means to accept Him, and Him Alone as your Saviour, resolv-ing to make Him the Lord of your life, and to follow Him with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength as long as you live.
SUBSTITUTION AND IDENTIFICATION
As we have already stated, man being eternally lost and help-less to save himself, God had to provide a means of Salvation whereby sinful man could be made righteous. He did that by pro-viding His Own Son, Who gave His Life on Calvary, thereby pay-ing the terrible price which we could not pay. That price was His Own Precious Shed Blood.
He became our Substitute.
What does that mean?
It means He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. There was a terrible sin debt owing due to man’s fallen condition. As stated, that refers to every single human being, none excepted. With no way to save ourselves, God had to provide a Saviour, which He did. It was done simply because He loves us so much
(John. 3:16).
Jesus being the Substitute, if we identify with Him, which means to accept what He did at Calvary’s Cross on our behalf, we will be saved. It is that simple!
He became our Substitute, and upon our identification with Him, we are rewarded with Eternal Life (Rom. 6:23).
FAITH AND NOT WORKS
The only thing required to obtain this glorious and wonderful Salvation is to simply believe on Christ, exactly as Paul said, which means to have Faith in Him.
What does that mean?
It is actually very simple. The Lord made it this way in order that all may have equal Opportunity.
It simply means that you believe or have faith in what He did, and accept it for yourself on a personal basis. That’s all that God requires. But of course, to believe and have faith, even as we have already said, means to accept the Lord as your Saviour and, as well, to make Him the Lord of your life.
First of all, man must understand that he is a Sinner. That in-cludes all (Rom. 3:23). As such, he needs a Saviour. There is only one Saviour, only One Who has paid the price for man’s Redemp-tion, and that Saviour is the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words, if one does not accept Christ, one cannot be saved.
Millions attempt to earn their Salvation in many and varied ways other than accepting Christ. Or else they attempt to become saved by accepting Christ as well as adding other things to Christ.
The Scripture says: "FOR BY GRACE ARE YOU SAVED THROUGH FAITH; AND THAT NOT OF YOURSELVES: IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD: NOT OF WORKS, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST"
(Eph. 2:8-9).
That means the Church cannot save you, and neither can Water Baptism save you, or anything else for that matter, as important as those things may be in their own way: I have said this because millions think that they are saved by being baptized in water, or joining a Church, or Performing good works, etc.
While those things may be important in their own right, they have absolutely nothing to do with one being saved. One is saved simply by trusting Jesus Christ, even as we have already said.
That means that one can be saved anywhere: in Church, on the street corner, watching a Christian Telecast, listening to a Christian Radio Program, or even reading this Booklet.
Where one is doesn’t matter. It is what one believes that really counts.
The moment that one confesses the Lord with one’s mouth, and believes in one’s heart, and does so truly, at that moment, and wherever you may be, you are saved. As we have stated several times, it is just that simple.
Incidentally, when the Jailer asked Paul the question, "What must I do to be saved?", he was actually at that time in the jail with Paul and Silas. Every evidence is that he at that moment, in that jail, believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, and was instantly saved (Acts 16:27-34).
IT IS TIME NOW!
In fact, if you have not already given your heart and life to Jesus Christ, it is time that you do so, and actually it can be done this very moment.
I am going to ask you to read these words below, and actually say them out loud. As well, I am going to ask you to believe them with all of your heart, and if you will do so, you will be instantly saved. Please say them with me as you read:
"DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN, I COME TO YOU TODAY AS A LOST SINNER."
"I AM ASKING YOU THAT YOU SAVE MY SOUL AND CLEANSE ME FROM ALL SIN."
"I REALIZE IN MY HEART MY NEED OF SALVATION, WHICH CAN ONLY COME THROUGH JESUS CHRIST"
"I AM ACCEPTING CHRIST INTO MY HEART AND WHAT HE DID ON THE CROSS IN ORDER TO PURCHASE MY RE-DEMPTION."
"IN OBEDIENCE TO YOUR WORD, I CONFESS WITH MY MOUTH THE LORD JESUS, AND BELIEVE IN MY HEART THAT GOD HAS RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD."
"YOU HAVE SAID IN YOUR WORD WHICH CANNOT LIE, ’FOR WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED ’(ROM. 1O:13)."
"I HAVE CALLED UP ON YOUR NAME EXACTLY AS YOU HAVE SAID, AND I BELIEVE THAT RIGHT NOW l AM SAVED."
If you have sincerely prayed these words, which I have written out for you, and believed in your heart upon the Lord Jesus Christ, you are at this moment saved, and your name is written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Congratulations!
SOME THINGS YOU SHOULD
NOW BEGIN TO DO
I am going to give you some simple instructions that you should follow in order to live an overcoming, Christian Life. They are very important.
You are now a "new creature in Christ Jesus" (II Cor. 5:17). As such, you have the Divine nature within your heart, which is the Nature of God, which means that the Holy Spirit actually now resides within your heart and life.
The entirety of your life is now going to be different. You have been cleansed from all sin and have embarked upon the greatest journey that one could ever undertake. A whole new world is about to open up to you.
You now have something to live for, and something to which you can look forward. Living for Jesus is the most exciting life that one could ever live, the most fulfilling, the most rewarding, the most wonderful. There is absolutely nothing in the world that can com-pare with this which you have just received and which will never end.
But of course, Satan, the enemy of your soul, is not happy at all about you giving your heart to Christ Jesus; consequently, he will do everything he can to cause you problems, even attempting to get you to turn back. However, if you will heed carefully the fol-lowing instructions that we will give, Satan will not be successful in pulling you back, and total victory will be yours.
