Last summer in a Bible study I was taking one of the questions was, “If an unsaved person asked you how to be saved, what would you say?” Here’s what I wrote:
Saved? What do I mean? Why do I have to be saved? From what do I have to be saved?
Sin – Sin is anything we think, say or do that doesn’t please God. God is holy, pure, etc. and can not have sin in His presence. So, since we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:10, 23) we are separated from Him.
How do we know what doesn’t please God? We have to read His Word, the Bible. It explains what is sinful and how sin first entered the world. Sin was not supposed to be the way here on Earth. When God created the Earth, it was good and there was no sin. But, Adam & Eve (the first humans – Genesis 2) ate of the forbidden fruit and thus sin and death entered the world (Genesis 3). We’ve been separated from God ever since then. Sin causes a big divide between God and us.
There is no way we can cross this divide on our own. Even though we are separated from God He loves us so much that He gave His one and only Son as a sacrifice for our sin. (John 3:16; Romans 5:8)
Jesus came to Earth as an infant – both man & God. He led the perfect life in which there was no sin. Thus, He was the perfect sacrifice to take away our sin once and for all. He gave His life willingly. He was crucified on the cross – a horrible and painful death. (Isaiah 53:3-5; Colossians 2:14; Philippians 2:8) It was His death on the cross that pardons us from sin. (Romans 6:23; 1 Peter 2:24)
But salvation is not complete without the resurrection. Jesus did not stay dead. He rose from the dead on the third day. He is alive!! He defeated not only sin but also death which was caused by sin!! (Romans 6:9; Colossians 1:13-14)
Even though He died for everyone, it is ONLY through faith in Jesus that we can be saved. There is no other way/god/person through which we can be saved. (John 14:6) It doesn’t matter how many good deeds we do or how loving we are because they won’t earn our way to heaven. It’s not a balancing act where our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds thus earning our way to heaven. It’s not being a member of a particular church, being baptized, following a set of rules, or saying a particular prayer/creed/meditation that will save us. It’s only by God’s Grace that we are saved. (Ephesians 2:8-10; 2 Corinthians 5:7; John 8:24)
In coming to this faith, we have to confess our sins and ask God’s forgiveness (repentance). (Luke 24:46-48; Luke 5:32; Acts 3:19) It’s not our act of repentance that is the saving factor because that would then become an action that saved us. But with repentance comes a change in our lives – a 180-degree turn. We turn away from our old sinful life to our new life as a child of God. There is no longer a divide between us and God.
With this new life comes good works. These works are a result of our salvation and do not save us or keep us saved. (Ephesians 2:8-10)
We can be secure in our salvation. Nothing can take it away from us. Since there was nothing we could do to earn salvation there is nothing we can do to lose salvation. (John 10:27-29; Romans 8:38-39). If we could lose it then was it ever eternal as is stated in John 3:1?
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes
– – Carolyn M
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