Amnesty in Jesus Christ

2010-09-15

God’s Requirements to be Saved

Do you know for certain, that if you were to die today, that you would go to heaven? Many people believe that they are acceptable to God because they by and large are good people. Religions and cultures teach this the world over. The purpose of the following paragraphs is to show what the Bible teaches about how to be saved and have everlasting life. After this, I will show you what is not required to be saved.

When I refer to God, I refer to the God that created everything including space and time. He always was and always will be. As creator, he is also the owner of everything, including us. However, every person in the world has sinned against God, for the Bible teaches, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way” (Romans 3:10-12). Our cop out excuses “Nobody’s perfect” and “I’m only human” are true.

But that is not all. God tells us in the Bible, “For the wages of sin is death...” (Romans 6:23). The Bible also teaches that “as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Everyone who is a sinner, when they die, go to the lake of fire for eternity to pay for all of their sins, which the Bible calls “the second death” (Revelation 20:14). The Bible further says, after listing the sins of those going to the lake of fire, states that “...all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). I think it is safe to say that everyone has told a lie in one’s life. I have. So we all deserve to go to the lake of fire.

But God loves us, and he had a plan to save us from the second death. He writes, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God became a human being, Jesus Christ, was born of a virgin, and lived a perfect life, but was rejected by the religious and political leaders of his day. They killed him by nailing him to a cross. The Scripture says that, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh” (1 Peter 3:18).

But he did not remain dead, he rose again after three days, as it is written, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).

Jesus died for every single person on the planet. However, not everyone will go to heaven, as John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The only way someone can be saved from the lake of fire is to believe on Jesus Christ. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). You need to believe on Jesus Christ as your only way to heaven. It is not by living a good life, going to church, being baptized, giving up sins, or anything else; it is by believing on Jesus only. It is written, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36). If you believe on Jesus only, and not on good works, you have this eternal life.

The second half of Romans 6:23 reads, “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” This is a gift of God that he unilaterally paid for by dying on the cross. It is a gift, and the giver pays for the gift, not you, the receiver. If God were to take it back for any reason, it is not a gift. Once you believe on Jesus Christ, you are saved, once for all.

Do you know that you are a sinner? Do you realize the penalty for sin is eternity in the lake of fire? Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins, and that he rose from the dead? Do you understand that believing on Jesus alone, and not on your personal merit or good works, is the only way to go to heaven? If you understand all of these things, than you can be 100 percent sure that you are going to spend eternity in heaven.

The reason that this world still exists is because God is granting amnesty to the entire human race in Jesus Christ before he judges the world. He is offering the gift of everlasting life because he wants all people, including you, to be saved, no matter who are and what you have done.

What is not Required to be Saved

Above, I listed several things that are not required to be saved, but many people believe they are required for salvation: living a good life, going to church, being baptized, repenting of sins. I will now discuss each of these briefly, though they are all large topics in themselves.

Living a good life

Romans 3:12: “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Jesus Christ had to unilaterally save us because we do not do good works before God. The Bible says, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6). Once we get saved, however, we are committed by God to do good works: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10). Nonetheless, even if we believe on Jesus Christ and do not do good works (for example, loving our neighbor, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, etc.), we are still saved, but we shall suffer loss of any form of reward in the future:

“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).

Going to Church

Once you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, going to church is a great thing. The Bible says “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25).”

But if going to church is required to be saved, then those who were imprisoned or exiled for the faith throughout the centuries would not be saved. The apostle John was exiled on the island of Patmos for his ministry (Revelation 1:9). We could argue that these are extenuating circumstances, or maybe a missionary got someone saved in some remote place where there was no church, like Philip who preached to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40). But it is unreasonable to say that church is required for salvation, because God does not give us long lists of extenuating circumstances; he tells us that we must believe on him.

Baptism

We are commanded by God to be baptized after we are saved (which disqualifies infant baptism): “And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God” (Acts 8:36-37). Believing is the prerequisite to baptism, and therefore, you are already saved when you are baptized.

Some objectors may cite these verses:

1 Peter 3:21: “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” But the verse includes “not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,” which means that Peter is not talking about going into water.

Acts 2:37-38: “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” But it is clear from the passage that these Jews believed back in the first half of Acts 2:37. The whole verse reads: “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” They were pricked in the heart when they believed and realized that they were responsible of the Messiah’s crucifixion.

Repent of Your Sins

First, it is noteworthy to state that the “repent of your sins” does not exist in the Bible. Having said that, repenting of sins is not required to be saved, though it is of utmost importance:

Romans 12:1-2: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Hebrews 12:1: “Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

Not turning from sins will allow us to be judged in this life:

Hebrews 10:26-27: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.”

Objectors may cite verses like this one:

Acts 3:19: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” The main problem with quoting this verse is that people believe that “repent” implies “repent of your sins.” If this case, consider the following verse: “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart” (Genesis 6:6). God did not turn from sin when the word repent is used! Repent means “change.” So repent, therefore, in Acts 3:19 means change, and more specifically, change your belief system to Jesus Christ from whatever you were trusting in previously.

Objectors may also cite that repenting of sin is not “works.” Consider the following:

Jonah 3:10: “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” According to this verse, turning from sins is works.

Conclusion

Now all of the above objections are separate subjects worthy of a longer discussion, but this document is simply to demonstrate what the Gospel is and what the Gospel is not. The Gospel repeatedly affirms that salvation is by believing on Jesus Christ alone, not by any works whatsoever. If you believe on Jesus Christ, you are born again and are a new creation. Now it is time to do good works because God saved you, not to get God to save you.