What Must I Do to Be Saved
In Acts 16:30, a jailor asked the most important question than can be asked:
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
UNLESS YOU BELIEVE
What is faith?
(a few scholarly definitions)
The New Bible Dictionary defines faith as "the attitude whereby a man abandons all reliance in his own efforts to obtain salvation, be they deeds of piety, of ethical goodness or anything else. It is the attitude of complete trust in Christ, of reliance on him alone for all that salvation means. Faith is the one way by which men receive salvation."
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary says the following: "Faith is in general the persuasion of the mind that a certain statement is true (Phil. 1:27; 2 Thess. 2:13). Its primary idea is trust. A thing is true, and therefore worthy of trust. It admits of many degrees up to full assurance of faith, in accordance with the evidence on which it rests."
As you see, faith is an attitude of conviction (assurance) that something is true and trustworthy. Let's look at the Bible's own definition of faith:
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1)
In a nutshell, faith is believing something is true. There can be varying degrees of faith, from pure denial of obvious evidence to doubtful skepticism and even up to a complete assurance beyond doubt to the point of giving up one's life because of one's conviction that it is true.
What am I supposed to believe or have faith in?
We have faith in several things. We believe God exists and that He rewards those who seek and obey Him. We believe that Jesus is the Son of God. We believe that Jesus rose from the grave and now sits at the right hand of God. We have faith that Jesus will return to reward the righteous and punish the unrighteous. We have faith that God has a part in our lives and can change our lives. We have faith that God's Word is true. We have faith that we are capable of obtaining salvation through Jesus Christ.
Let's see what Jesus Himself said about faith:
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16)
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgement, but has passed out of death into life" (John 5:24)
"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him who He has sent" (John 6:29)
"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:40)
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life" (John 6:47)
"...unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sins" (John 8:24)
"I have come as light into the world, that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness" (John 12:46)
"Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me" (John 14:1)
"Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed" (John 20:29)
So a firm faith in Jesus will give one eternal life. But please take note that this faith isn't something you have or claim or enact just one time in your life. It is an on-going, growing process. It is more than just something you do occasionally...it governs the way you think and behave. It tells you that God is watching every motive in your heart and convicts you when you do wrong. It also rewards you when you choose to do right.
Ok...I believe. Is that all there is to it?
If only it was that simple! Anyone can believe. In fact, James 2:19 tells us that "the demons also believe, and shudder." That verse also says that a person does well to believe. But the conclusion is that if believing alone were enough, then even demons could be saved! In fact, the demons take their faith in God one step further...they shudder with terror of Him! So obviously faith alone isn't enough. In fact, the words "faith" and "alone" appear together in the Bible just ONE time, and in that one time, it says "man is justified by works, and not by faith alone" (James 2:24). Now don't get the idea that your works alone can save you either! We'll address that issue in a later article. Read James 2 in its entirety and you'll see that there is a "working faith" or "faith proven by works" that leads one to salvation. This kind of faith is called "saving faith."
Saving faith is that kind of strong conviction that motivates you to act upon it. For example, I firmly believe that my car requires gasoline to run. I am so sure that it requires gasoline to run, that I keep a close eye on the fuel gauge so that I can refill the tank before it runs out, lest I be stranded. My faith in the need of gasoline motivates me to act to ensure a continual supply of it. Likewise, my faith in God's promise of salvation motivates me to live in a way pleasing to Him.
Let's see what people in the Bible did with their faith. Turn to Hebrews 11 and read the entire chapter. I'll put a few excerpts below.
"By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice..."
"By faith Noah...in reverence prepared an ark..."
"By faith Abraham...obeyed by going out..."
"By faith Abraham...offered up Isaac..."
"By faith Jacob...blessed each of the sons...and worshipped..."
"By faith Moses...refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;"
"By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days."
"By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish..."
"And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight...They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these...gained approval through their faith."
WOW! That's a pretty strong faith! They endured all sorts of torture because they refused to deny what they believed in. That's an important concept, but I want us to look at something else. By faith, every single one of those people above ACTED. By faith, they did something. They LIVED what they believed in, and even DIED still believing it. Therefore, be assured that just believing alone is not enough. You must act upon your faith!
"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6)
"Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins" (Acts 10:43)
"and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses" (Acts 13:39)
"But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are" (Acts 15:11)
"And they said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household'" (Acts 16:31)
"For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'But the righteous man shall live by faith'" (Romans 1:16-17)
What happens if I don't believe?
Let's see what the Bible says:
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of this world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures" (Romans 1:18-23)
"For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law" (Romans 3:28)
"Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1)