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What must I do to be saved?
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That’s a
great question! In fact, it is a question right out of the
Bible. People have been asking this question for hundreds of
years. They have been asking it because they came to the
conclusion that they were lost in sin and needing saving.
Let’s look at some of the people who asked that question.
Acts 2:37
In this passage, the people who asked the
question, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”, had just
been told that they were guilty of crucifying Jesus.(v36)
They realized they were sinners and so asked what should
they do to be forgiven of this sin. Now, let’s notice the
answer they were given. In v38, Peter said to them, “Repent
and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts
16:30
The question is this passage, “Sirs, what
must I do to be saved?”, was asked by a jailer who was
standing guard in the jail where Paul and Silas were
prisoners. The immediate answer that came back was, “Believe
in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your
household.”(v31). What followed gives us a fuller
understanding of what was involved in “believing in Jesus”.
First, they “spoke the word of the Lord to him” so
that he would know who the Lord Jesus is. Second,
“immediately, he was baptized, he and his entire
household”. (v33). This salvation experience was summarized
by the next verse which tells us that they “rejoiced greatly,
having believed in God with his whole
household.”(v34). It is worth noting that being baptized was
described as “having believed in God”.
Acts
22:10
Our next example concerns Saul of Tarsus, the
persecutor of Jesus and the church, who became the apostle
Paul. This is the story of his conversion to Christ as he
related it to his Jewish audience. After telling them about
seeing Jesus (v7-9), he asks the Lord this question, “What
shall I do?”(v10). Again, like Acts 2:37, the fact of being
saved is assumed due to the context. In Saul’s case, he now
realized he had been sinning so he now wanted to know “what
shall I do, to be saved or forgiven of this sin?” The
answer is not immediate but he is told to go into Damascus
and there it would be told him what he was to do for
salvation. (v10). Once in Damascus, Paul waited three days
for the answer to his question. He fasted and prayed during
that time. Finally, Ananias came to him and told him simply,
“And now why do you delay, Arise and be baptized and
wash away your sins, calling on His name.”(v16). Ananias was
telling Saul what to do by direction of the Lord Himself
(Acts 9:10-19), and it was baptism that was the thing that
was to wash away his sins.
There are some other examples in the book of
Acts that we will refer you to at the bottom of this
article, but for now these are representative enough. At
this time, let’s summarize what we have seen as the answers
to this question, “What must I do to be saved?”
Here is what we’ve seen:
-- People being
taught about the Lord (see John 6:44, 45; Mark 16:15)
-- People believing on the Lord (see John
3:16; 8:24)
-- People repenting of their sins (see Luke
13:3; Acts 17:30, 31)
-- People being baptized for the remission
of their sins (see Mark 16:15, 16;
Colossians2:12; I Peter 3:21)
If you have any questions and would want to
talk with someone about being saved, please contact us. We
stand ready to assist you in anyway.
Other passages that you will want to study:
Acts 8:1-13; Acts 8:26-39; Acts 19:1-5; Romans 10:9-17
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