THE QUESTION:
What
must I do to be saved?
THE ANSWER:
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.
Acts 16:31
The
word saved (or salvation)
is used with the understanding that one is not right with God and
needs deliverance from the resulting consequence (to be identified
later).
The
word saved simply speaks of
“deliverance.”
The question is seeking the answer (or
solution) to one's present situation of not being right with God and
the consequence.
The
answer is that one is saved by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ for
that deliverance.
Sin is why one is
not right with God and faces the consequence.
The issue with sin is that it is a violation of God’s nature and moral law.
Everyone is guilty of sin: For all have sinned.... Romans 3:23
Sin is subject consequence or penalty.
The penalty is also called death: The wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23
The wages of sin is the penalty of sin, being death.
Death means one is separated from God, and if this is not corrected, it continues forever.
Salvation
can also be understood as the forgiveness of sins.
To
Him all the prophets witness that, through His [Jesus']
name, whoever believes in Him
[Jesus]
will receive forgiveness of sins."
Acts 10:43
Forgiveness of sins speaks of being released from the penalty (being death) of sin.
This release is salvation.
This forgiveness is spoken of by all the prophets.
This forgiveness is according to God’s word and promise.
This
forgiveness is offered through Jesus because He died for those sins
as the substitute for everyone.
The
death that Jesus died on the cross was to bear the penalty (wages)
of sin.
Who Himself [Jesus]
bore our sins in
His own body on the tree [the
cross]. 1
Peter 2:24
This death of Jesus was how God so loved the world.
For
God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:16
It is because of the death of Jesus for our sins that we can be forgiven and be delivered from death, resulting in everlasting life.
Everlasting
life is salvation, because the alternative is to perish.
The word perish means
“destruction.”
Destruction is ultimately being assigned to that place called Hell, apart from God, forever.
Jesus
said, do not fear those who kill the body
but cannot kill the soul. But
rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10.28
Hell is destruction of body and soul apart from God, while everlasting life is life with God forever.
Why must it be this way?
It is because God created man with a free will. Man in his free will sinned against God, and the result was separation from God. This separation is death.
Yet God made provision for this through the death of Jesus for our sins who Himself did not sin:
God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21
This forgiveness and life comes through believing in Jesus who was made sin for us.
Consider
that we did not choose our parents, and yet our parents usually love
us and want a relationship with us, and us with them.
The situation is similar with God.
Most people want to enjoy life and have meaningful relationships.
These things are fulfilled by God through that salvation which is through believing or trusting in Jesus for that salvation.
This
life and salvation
is the possession of those who believe in Jesus for it:
That whoever believes in Him [Jesus] should not perish but have everlasting life.
John 3:15
This answers the question as to how to be saved.
