What Must You Do To Be Saved?

Call Upon The LORD, and You Shall Be Saved

Jesus said, "Enter though the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow is the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."1

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
These words should cause any thinking person to immediately stop whatever he is doing and take stock of his life to discover which road he is traveling. Simply put, Jesus tells us that the vast majority of humanity is on the wrong road in life .... they are on the road that leads to destruction.

THE BROAD ROAD
The broad road is representative of a life that is alienated, or separated, from God. This alienation, or separation, is caused by sin. The fact is, we all start out by going through the wide gate and traveling on the broad road headed for destruction because we have all sinned. The Bible tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." 2 Even the nicest, most gentle, most loving person you know has sinned and is separated from God because of sin. If we stay alienated and separated from God until we die we will experience the "destruction" Jesus mentioned. That destruction is eternal separation from our creator – Hell – the place of outer darkness, of eternal aloneness, of weeping and gnashing of teeth, a place beyond our ability to fathom.

Someone might well ask, How could a loving God send us to such a horrible eternity? Actually, God does not "send" us there; we chose our eternal destination. We do have a choice and if we chose to stay on the broad road to destruction, we reap the consequences of that choice.

THE NARROW ROAD
Yes, God does love us. He loves us so much that He gives us a way to get off the broad road and on to the narrow road. Again, the Bible tells us, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."3

You see, God is not only Love, but He is also Holy ("Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts."4) His holiness means He will not tolerate sin and that whoever commits sin must be punished. Here's the problem: the punishment for sin is death -- "the wages of sin is death"5

  • physical death,
  • spiritual death (alienation and separation from God in this life -- in other words, the broad road), and
  • eternal death (eternal separation from God -- the "destruction" in the words of Jesus above).
None of us can pay the price for our own sins and survive!!!

So the question arises: how can the holiness of God be satisfied (by punishing sin) and the love of God be exercised at the same time? In this manner: God the Son, emptied Himself of His power and glory, stepped out of Heaven, and became a human being.6 Jesus was fully God and fully human at the same time. That is what the Bible means when it says, "the Word became flesh."7 And He lived a perfectly sinless life. Why? So He could be a substitute for us. In other words, someone who is totally sinless has to take our place to pay for our sins (if it was someone who had committed the least sin, that person would have to pay his own penalty and could not pay anyone else's). But Jesus was sinless AND, because He is God in flesh, His sacrifice is of infinite worth -- it can apply to an infinite number of people. His death on the cross is a substitutionary sacrifice for you and for me!! The Bible puts it this way: "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."8

But how do we know that this sacrifice was acceptable to God the Father? The resurrection of Jesus (one of the most indisputable events in history) is the proof! The resurrection of Jesus is the Father's SEAL OF APPROVAL of the life and sacrifice made by Jesus for us. The Bible says that Jesus Christ our Lord was "declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead."9

So, back to the problem, how do we get on the narrow road that leads to life? The Bible says, "That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."10 This is saying that CONFESSION and BELIEF connect us to the salvation Jesus provides for us. But what does it mean to confess and to believe?

CONFESSION WITH YOUR MOUTH
Confessing that "Jesus is Lord" goes beyond simply 'saying' it. To go forward during an altar call is good and right, but too many people think that is all there is to it. They say, Hey, I went down there and prayed to receive Jesus – now I am saved. Maybe not. Why? Because confessing Jesus as Lord means submitting to Him as the Lord of your life – Lord means Ruler, thus He becomes the Ruler of:

  • your time -- the minutes, hours, days, and years;
  • your words;
  • your thoughts;
  • your actions;
  • your possessions;
  • your desires;
  • your emotions;
  • your relationships;
  • in other words .... the Ruler of your Total Life.
You cannot have two Lords of your life: you cannot be Lord of your life and Jesus be Lord of your life as well. As Jesus once said, "No man can serve two masters." THIS is one of the reasons so few people enter through the small gate and travel down the narrow road: they cannot bring themselves to give Lordship of their lives over to Jesus. You might ask, I thought you had to repent before you could be saved? Repentance is a key element of confessing Jesus as Lord. Why is this so? Because to genuinely confess Jesus as Lord is to recognize the sin in your life. It is to realize that your sins have separated you from God. It is to understand that you are rightly under God's wrath because of your sin. It is to realize that Jesus died to deliver you from that wrath and put you in a right relationship with God. In other words, it is to have a godly sorrow for your sinfulness, to confess your sinfulness, and a total willingness to turn from your sinful thoughts, words and deeds and to live for the glory of God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

BELIEF OF THE HEART
The second element mentioned in the scripture above is "believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead." Faith, or belief, is easily one of the most abused and misunderstood of God's requirements. Saving faith (or belief in the heart) IS NOT simple acknowledgment of something. For example, it is easy for anyone to say, I believe in Jesus. But what they really mean is that they admit to and acknowledge His existence. The key is that their faith DOES NOT change their lives. The Bible is clear on this point ... so much so that it says, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that – and shudder."11 Saving faith or belief in the heart goes beyond mental assent: it CHANGES your life!

  • SAVING FAITH: Brings you to the foot of the Cross in recognition that you are a sinner deserving of God's wrath.
  • SAVING FAITH: Causes you to look up into the eyes of Jesus and prayerfully praise Him for His perfect sacrifice that delivers you from that wrath.
  • SAVING FAITH: Takes you to the empty tomb, knowing that the resurrection is God's guarantee that your sins are really forgiven and washed away, causing you to glorify God for His love.
  • SAVING FAITH: Makes you desire to abide in Christ (draw your life energy from Christ) and grow to be more like Him day by day.
  • SAVING FAITH: Causes you to love the brethren – fellow believers – with the same kind of love that Jesus loved you.
  • SAVING FAITH: Gives you a hunger and thirst for righteousness (right words, thoughts, deeds, motives) and causes you to seek the power of the Holy Spirit for this task.
  • SAVING FAITH: Makes you want grow in knowledge and wisdom and therefore you feel compelled to read the Word and to receive instruction in the Word.
  • SAVING FAITH: Brings you to your knees is prayer.
  • SAVING FAITH: Causes you to forgive as you have been forgiven.
  • SAVING FAITH: Makes your heart sorrowful and prayerful for the mass of humanity who are so full of themselves that they cannot see that they are on the road to destruction.
  • SAVING FAITH: Compels you to tell others, as God gives you opportunity, how they can be saved.
  • SAVING FAITH: Makes you a better spouse, parent, worker, citizen, friend, neighbor, student, son or daughter because now everything you do is done for your Lord: the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • SAVING FAITH: Causes you to seek the company of believers in worship, praise, and fellowship – after all, they are now your brothers and sisters who have been bought with the same blood that bought you.
  • SAVING FAITH: Makes you hate sin but love the sinner and pray for him or her.

Make no mistake.... none of the actions above will save you. You are saved by God's grace through faith12, but just as fire produces heat, so a saving faith will produce a changed life. As James says, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."13 In other words, saving faith, or belief in the heart, is evident in that it produces a changed life. Faith or belief that does not change one's life is not saving faith, but amounts to simple mental assent (or what James calls dead faith).

TIME GET ON THE NARROW ROAD
Possibly you recognize that you are on the broad road of life right now and you are headed for destruction. Now is the time to get on the narrow road. The Bible says, "... now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."14 Don't put it off. God is calling you right now .... respond to Him. Give Him your heart and life. Confess Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead for your salvation.

If you feel that a prayer would help you to make that commitment simply pray from your heart. Don't worry, your prayer does not have to use a lot of fancy words, God knows your heart and will hear your prayer. If you are not sure of what to say, here is a prayer you may wish to use:

Father,
I come to You with a heavy heart,
recognizing that I have sinned against You;
that I have ignored You and gone my own way;
and that I am deserving of Your punishment.
But I thank You that you sent Your Son, Jesus Christ, as a sacrifice for my sins.
I confess Him now as Lord of my life.
I believe that He was raised from the dead in power and glory and that all things are now subject to Him.
Please forgive me, wash me clean, and make me a new person in Christ Jesus.
Please give me the power of Your Holy Spirit to live for You and Your glory from this day forward.
Thank you for loving me while I was yet in my sins.
I praise You.
I love You.
I pray this in Jesus Name.
Amen.

If you made a commitment to the Lord Jesus today, we would like to hear from you. Please send us an e-mail and tell us about your new life in Christ. We would like to encourage you and pray for you. And, as always, your brothers and sisters in the Lord would love to worship and fellowship with you. Click to send e-mail.

Bible References:

  1. Matthew 7:13-14
  2. Romans 3:23
  3. John 3:16
  4. Isaiah 6:3
  5. Romans 6:23
  6. see Philippians 2:5-11
  7. John 1:14
  8. Romans 5:8
  9. Roman 1:4
  10. Romans 10:9
  11. James 2:19
  12. Ephesians 2:8-9
  13. James 2:26
  14. 2 Corinthians 6:2

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