"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). When God sent His only begotten Son to earth to suffer, bleed and die for our sins, He did everything in His power to save us.
But how about us? What response does God expect of us in order to procure salvation? It goes without saying that there is a great deal of disagreement about this. If you ask seven different people, you may hear seven different answers, such as:
“Everyone will be saved!”
“Every person that does more good deeds than bad will be saved.”
“Everyone that keeps the 10 Commandments will be saved.”
“Everyone that believes in God and attends church will be saved!” (Very popular.)
“Everyone that believes in Jesus will be saved!”
“Everyone that repents and prays for salvation will be saved!”
“Everyone that does a minimum amount of good works will be saved!”
Clearly, all of these answers cannot be correct. So how can we know for certain what God expects us to do in order to be saved? Jesus said, “Sanctify (cleanse, purify) them by Your truth. Your WORD is truth” (John 17:17). To know what God expects, we must rely on His infallible word, the Bible.
If we read the Bible carefully, It is not hard to ascertain what God expects of us in order to be saved. But we must accept everything He commands us to do in connection with salvation. Focusing on PART of what God says may cause us to forfeit salvation altogether.
So, what does God command us to do?
· We must hear (or read) the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16; 10:14, 17).
· We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God (John 3:16 & 18; 8:24).
· We must repent of our sins (Luke 13:3 & 5; 2 Peter 3:9).
· We must confess our faith in Jesus (Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9-10; Act 8:37)
· We must be baptized (Mark 16:16) for the remission and washing away of our sins
(Acts 2:38, 22:16).
These conditions may not be popular in the religious world, but they are what God specifically commands in order for us to be saved. When the most important subject in the world is studied - salvation, let us ignore the popular doctrines and obey God.
Be a Light for Christ in 2025!
Dennis