The Important Question: What Must I Do To Be Saved?

Folks will ask many important questions in life, but none is more important than this: What must I do to be saved? It was the question on the hearts of the people in Jerusalem at Pentecost when they realized they had killed the Saviour (Acts 2:37). Saul of Tarsus, stopped on the road to Damascus asked this of the Lord Jesus (Acts 9:6). And the jailer in Philippi asked the same of Paul and Silas, who were prisoners in his jail (Acts 16:30). There is no more important question to ask, and we want to be sure the answer we get is biblical and complete.

I did a google search of this question and found several of the top responses cite Acts 16:31, which is Paul and Silas’ response to the jailer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Typically, people follow that by saying you have nothing to do – just receive by faith the salvation God offers. Texts like Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16; and Romans 10:9-13 appear.

Let me be blunt – such an answer is not true. Yes, it uses Scripture, but it cherry picks a few Scriptures to the exclusion of others, and thus is an incomplete and inaccurate answer. It does not reveal the doctrine of God but a doctrine of man – salvation by faith alone.

In Acts 16, after hearing “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ…,” it is unlikely a jailer in Philippi knew who Jesus was. In verse 32, “…they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.” They taught him and his family about Jesus. After hearing about the Lord and all He has done for humanity, the jailer washed Paul and Silas’ stripes and “…immediately he and all his family were baptized” (Acts 16:33).

Why do so many teachers ignore baptism when they talk about salvation? Certainly, faith is emphasized in the New Testament. Certainly, there are many verses which link faith and salvation, but the Bible also states baptism is necessary for salvation.

Years ago, I created a graphic which looks at 25+ things which the Bible says are involved in our salvation. May we have a full understanding of what the Bible says about salvation.

Saved

Links: YouVersion | GROW magazine
Return to the article archive

Verified by MonsterInsights