The Apostle Paul encountered this same question from the Philippian jailer. The question is not “What must I do to be saved?”, but rather “From whom do I need to be saved?”. For the answer let’s begin not with us, but with God. Who is God? God is: “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:24,25). “Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders” (Exodus 15:11)? “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6). “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before You” (Psalm 89:14). “For You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; You hate all evildoers. You destroy those who speak lies; the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man” (Psalm 5:4-6). “And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). God is your judge. If you have sinned, you need to be saved from God.
Why do I need to be saved?
“He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity” (Psalm 98:9). God’s Law, the Ten Commandments, is a reflection of His character and holiness. It is the standard by which you will be judged. With each Commandment there are duties required and sins forbidden. Let’s take a brief look at the Law of God and see how you fair. The 1st Commandment is “You shall have no other gods before me.” Have you always acknowledged God as the one true God, glorifying and worshiping Him as He is worthy of? Or have you denied Him as God (Atheist)? Or have you chose to worship yourself as more worthy (Idolater)? The 2nd Commandment is “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” Do you have a false view of God? Have you ever said, “To me, God is like…”? You have just made a God to suit your needs (Idolater). The 3rd Commandment is “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain”. How many times have you abused God’s name and character; profaned His titles and His attributes; been irreverent to His Word and His works (Blasphemer)? The 4th Commandment is “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” How often have you set aside one day in seven to rest from the work of the world and, in delight, spent the day in public and private worship of God? The 5th Commandment is “Honor your father and your mother.” Have you always obeyed your parents and superiors in thought, word and deed? How many times have you rebelled against them, mocked them and ignored their instruction? The 6th Commandment is “You shall not murder.” Have you ever killed someone? Or had an abortion? God considers hatred as murder of the heart. How many times have you hated somebody or desired revenge (Murderer)? The 7th Commandment is “You shall not commit adultery.” Have you always been faithful to your spouse in thought, word and deed? You don’t even have to be married. God considers lust as adultery of the heart. How many times have you secretly looked at somebody with lust (Adulterer)? The 8th Commandment is “You shall not steal.” How many times have you taken something that didn’t belong to you, irrespective of it’s value? Ever cheat on a test? Ever stole time from your employer while on the clock (Thief)? The 9th Commandment is “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Have you ever slandered someone? How many lies have you told (Liar)? The 10th Commandment is “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife… or anything that is your neighbor’s.” Ever been discontent with what you have? How many times have you envied someone else or been greedy (Coveter)? So how did you do? “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for it all” (James 2:10). If you have broken God’s laws, you are guilty. Under the authority of a good Judge, guilty people are sentenced to hell. Hell is God’s prison, originally reserved for rebellious angels, but now for rebellious man, too. Hell is a terrible, horrible place where sinners earn their wages of sin; they pay for their sins. Hell is not a fraternity party, but a place of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. A place of eternal conscience torment. Hell is the full cup of God’s wrath. Fear, terror and despair are the never-ending effects of God’s holy anger. God will be just for sending your body and soul to hell, where there is no escape. Your time in hell will be forever and eternal because you have sinned against an infinite and eternal God.
Who can be saved?
How can you appease a God that doesn’t need anything. You can offer Him nothing to satisfy His demands. But what about the good deeds that you have done? Don’t they help offset your bad deeds? “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6). Your “good works” have nothing to do with the laws you’ve transgressed. “The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on His adversaries and keeps wrath for His enemies. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty” (Nahum 1:2-3). A good judge can not be bribed and will see that justice is satisfied. A corrupt judge can turn a blind eye and is just as wicked as the criminal. “For You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; You will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:16-17). Can you see your danger before a righteous and holy God. Can you make sense of what’s in store for after you die? Are you broken and contrite over your sin? Are you overwhelmed of your low esteem of God; that you count Him unworthy of your love or fear? You need righteousness. You need pardon of your sin. You need mercy. Only One can provide all these and more and that Provider is God.
How can I be saved?
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:8-9). God, in His patience, has overlooked your ignorance and rebellion. God has not abandoned you. God, holy, righteous and good, is also rich in mercy, grace and kindness. He has made one way for you to escape His condemnation. He initiated the reconciliation between Himself and wicked, lawless rebels. God provided the perfect Savior – Himself. God stepped into time, descended from His throne to rescue His people. God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ; fully God, fully Man, to be the Savior of sinners. Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life; He lived the life that we could not live. He obeyed and pleased God in thought, word, deed and attitude. Then in His thirties, Jesus suffered and died under the death instrument of crucifixion. While Jesus hung on the cross, He bore our sins, taking upon Himself the full wrath of God. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus brings you to God, not to heaven. “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Justice demands to be satisfied. Wrath needs to be propitiated. Either Jesus pays for your sins or you pay for them in hell for eternity. God deemed the perfect sacrifice of His Son worthy and sufficient that He pronounced it valuable by raising Jesus from the dead. So amazing that God would give His Son to bear your sin, your shame, your guilt on the cross to suffer and die and three days later rise triumphant from the dead defeating sin, death and Satan, and now offers forgiveness of sins and eternal life to those who would repent and believe the gospel. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ’s righteousness is credited to your account. You can now be seen as righteous because of what Jesus has done. The Good News of what God has done for you in Jesus Christ demands a response. It brings us back to the original question.
What must I do to be saved?
How do I partake in God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Paul answered the Philippian jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” What does it mean to believe. A complete surrender of your mind, soul and will to Jesus Christ as Lord of your life. A complete trust in the Gospel of Jesus Christ rather than in yourself and your “good works”. A complete obedience to the authority of Jesus Christ as King. Before you can begin to see that the cross was done for you leading you to faith, you have to see that the cross was done by you leading you to repentance. Repentance and faith are the two wings that fly you to the Savior. Repentance is a gift whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience. Simply put, to repent is to turn from sin and turn to God! Faith is a gift you receive and rest upon Jesus alone for salvation, as He is offered up to you in the gospel. Simply put, faith is transferring all dependency in yourself to all that Christ is and trusting in the finished work of Christ (His life, His death, His resurrection) as though your life depends on it, because it does. To be saved from your sins and from God’s wrath against you, you must repent of your sins and put your faith in Jesus Christ. This faith in Jesus is made evident by a life of obedience unto Him; an obedience that puts Christ first and you last. “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit” (Psalm 32:1,2). Will you seek God’s mercy in Jesus Christ? Or will you reject it? Today a verdict is demanded of you. “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live” (Ezekiel 18:32).