WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

  

What must a person do to be saved from the judgment of his or her sins and go to heaven? If you were to ask five people you would probably get five different answers. Some would say you have to live a good life or keep the Ten Commandments; others would say you must live by the Golden Rule, be baptized, or join a church.  But what does the Bible say? Is there anywhere we can turn in the Scriptures and get a clear simple answer? The answer is yes. In fact, there are many verses and I would like to briefly show you one.
 
            In the Book of Acts, the jailor in the city of Philippi asked the Apostle Paul this very question.  He said, “What must I do to be saved” (16.30).  And Paul responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (16.30). To “believe” means to put your complete faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
 
            Paul’s answer is extremely important for anyone seeking the true Christian answer to this question. Men down through the centuries have often obscured this simple truth by adding things like baptism, church membership, and good works to the plain simple answer the Apostle Paul gave. It seems that most people cannot “believe” that Jesus is all they need for salvation, and so they have added other “requirements” for what a person must do in order to be saved. 
 
            Baptism, church membership, and good works are all very important to the Christian life because these are some of the ways in which a Christian shows his or her faith in Christ. However, these outward things are never said to have any saving value. The only factor in whether you are given eternal life or perish at your death is whether or not you can believe totally and completely on Jesus Christ to save you. The Apostle John wrote, “He that believeth on the Son has everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abided on him” (John 3.36).  Jesus himself said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3.16). 
 
            The only factor, according to the Bible, that determines a person’s eternal destiny is whether or not that person has put his or her faith in Jesus—that is the clear declaration of the Scriptures.  If you have not done so, may God at this moment grant you the grace to believe on his Son the Lord Jesus Christ.