What Must I Do To Be Saved?

"Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and asked, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'" (Acts 16:29, 30).

There is no more important question a human being can ask. To be saved means to be found, to be acquitted of all crimes before God's righteousness, to be brought to successful meaning for one's existence, in other words, fulfilled (Luke 15:32). It means eternal damnation from God's presence is no longer the destiny for our immortal soul (II Thessalonians 1:6-10). Rather, because we are saved, our destiny is to enjoy the fullness of God's love in His holy presence with us forever (Revelation 22:1-5).

The sins or crimes that condemn us before God are well known and found in such passages as Romans 1:28-32. Read it. You will find yourself there. We all will. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23). That is why every human being able to know right from wrong needs to be saved (Romans 7:9, 10).

The Way to be saved is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth (Acts 16:31-34; Romans 3:24-26). His death on the cross was to pay the price for your sins before God. It was accomplished. Having been buried, God raised Him back to life and seated Him at His own right hand to rule over heaven and earth, all according to the Scriptures (I Corinthians 15:1-11; Acts 2:22-36).

Only in Jesus' Name is access now granted us to God. To get into Jesus Christ you must believe with all of your heart that He is the only begotten Son of God (John 3:13-21; 8:23, 24). You must repent of all your sins (Luke 13:1-9). You must continually be ready and willing to confess your faith in Jesus before all (Romans 10:6-13). And then you must be baptized (immersed) in water in Jesus' Name to get your sins forgiven (I Peter 3:18-22). This baptism is not to join any denomination but to complete your obedience to the gospel (Good News of Jesus) so you can be born again--saved (John 3:1-5). Baptism is to take place when you say so, when you are ready to make that Good Confession of Jesus' Name. Then it is simply a matter of staying faithful to that Confession the rest of your days, no matter what (II Peter 1:2-11; Acts 2:37-46; Luke 14:25-35).

That's it. That's all you have to do, but you have to do it all (Luke 6:46-49). It does not matter how bad you feel about yourself--or how good. This is what you must do to be saved. One day (no one knows when) Jesus will return to judge all humanity (Acts 17:30, 31). It will be too late then. If you try to wait till you die or right before you die, that will be too late (Galatians 6:7, 8). Look, now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation (II Corinthians 6:1, 2).

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