What Must I Do to be Saved?

 

“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?” Acts 2:37.

“And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:30

Do we have to do something to be saved? We are saved by grace are we not? In answer to the question of the multitude after the Day of Pentecost, Peter answered the people by saying, “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.” Acts 2:38.

TRY HARDER

Raising children is a beautiful experience. Watching them begin to show signs of intelligence and daily growing in wisdom is a precious time in any parent’s life. As we raise our children they are constantly learning new skills – such as walking, writing, and reading, and often they fail the first time. It may take some time for them to perfect the skill and at each step of the way we encourage them to try harder, and they do try harder and harder until they succeed. It is the same in our religious experience, when we are battling against sin and we fail, often we are encouraged by our fellow believers to try harder. Try harder to overcome that sin; try harder to live righteously; try harder to be more like Christ. Is that the answer – just trying harder? How hard are you trying? Should you be trying harder – how can a person become Christlike? Is it simply by trying a little bit harder? ‘Try’ is an action word. It means to make an attempt. Sometimes we don’t make a strong enough attempt and we are encouraged to try harder.

Some Christians believe that the Christian life is a passiveexperience. Simply believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. However, the word believe, in Greek is not a passive word, but rather an action word. In English we take it as passive. Therefore when Paul encouraged the believers to, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” Acts 16:3 this calls for action of some sort. Is it the action of trying harder? No it is not. You cannot live the Christian life by simply trying harder. You may try hard to do right, try hard to love someone, but it cannot be done. “We need not begin by trying to love one another. The love of Christ in the heart is what is needed. When self is submerged in Christ, true love springs forth spontaneously.” 7T 266

CHOOSE

Firstly, to live for Christ requires a person to make a conscious choice. It is not trying harder or on the other side, simply drifting along in a correct channel. “A union with Christ by living faith is enduring; every other union must perish. Christ first chose us, paying an infinite price for our redemption; and the true believer chooses Christ as first and last and best in everything. But this union costs us something. It is a union of utter dependence, to be entered into by a proud being.” MYP 118

?“When Christ took human nature upon Him, He bound humanity to Himself by a tie of love that can never be broken by any power save the choice of man himself. Satan will constantly present allurements to induce us to break this tie–to choose to separate ourselves from Christ. Here is where we need to watch, to strive, to pray, that nothing may entice us to choose another master; for we are always free to do this. But let us keep our eyes fixed upon Christ, and He will preserve us. Looking unto Jesus, we are safe. Nothing can pluck us out of His hand. In constantly beholding Him, we ‘are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.’ 2 Corinthians 3:18.” SC 72

COME

Once we’ve made a choice, we need to do something about it. Jesus is calling us, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17

At this point in time, notice, nothing has yet been said about trying hard to put away sin; trying to be a good Christian; trying to keep the commandments. Simply – choose and come.

“Just as you are, come to Him, and trust yourself in His hands. Believe that He does accept you as He has promised. Do not try to do some great thing to recommend you to God, but trust in Him now, just now…Come by humble faith to Him who has never said to the needy and suffering, ‘Seek ye My face in vain.’ We know that we are sinners and that we often err and are frequently overcome with temptations; but this should not lead us in our great need to keep away from the only One who can help us and save us from the power of Satan. This is the enemy’s work to discourage, ‘Come now, and let us reason together’ is the Creator’s invitation to the beings He has made. Isaiah 1:18. God does not force the will of His creatures. He cannot accept an homage that is not willingly and intelligently given. A mere forced submission would prevent all real development of mind or character; it would make man a mere automaton. Such is not the purpose of the Creator. He desires that man, the crowning work of His creative power, shall reach the highest possible development. He sets before us the height of blessing to which He desires to bring us through His grace. He invites us to give ourselves to Him, that He may work His will in us. It remains for us to choose whether we will be set free from the bondage of sin, to share the glorious liberty of the sons of God.” SC 43

“Jesus invites us to come to Him and He will lift the weights from our weary shoulders and place upon us His yoke, which is easy, and His burden, which is light. The path in which He invites us to walk would never have cost us a pang had we always walked in it. It is when we stray from the path of duty that the way becomes difficult and thorny. The sacrifices which we must make in following Christ are only so many steps to return to the path of light, of peace and happiness. Doubts and fears grow by indulgence, and the more they are indulged, the harder are they to overcome. It is safe to let go every earthly support and take the hand of Him who lifted up and saved the sinking disciple on the stormy sea.” 4T 558

SUBMIT

Once we come to Jesus and learn of Him, we will ask, as the believers did in the days of the Apostles, “What must I do to be saved?” At this point in time, we will be willing to do as Jesus asks us. In order to find true happiness, we must give up our own ways and submit to the ways of the Lord.

Submission is not always an easy action to perform. In this world, people can be very proud. They want to be their own person, manage their own lives and affairs. As children get older they no longer wish to live submissively under their parents’ rule. Society is heading in the wrong direction when submission is no longer being taught and encouraged. Children are permitted to rebel against parents and if parents rise up to discipline them too strongly, the parents are reprimanded. Therefore these children grow into rebellious adults. To learn submission is very difficult, but it is a necessary action for Christian living.

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye ?are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16

Once a person has met Jesus, they are more willing to submit. There will still be a struggle with the carnal human nature, but the desire to serve the Lord is there. The choice has been made.

“The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought. The yielding of self, surrendering all to the will of God, requires a struggle; but the soul must submit to God before it can be renewed in holiness.” SC 43

“All who form this union must feel their need of the atoning blood of Christ. They must have change of heart. They must submit their own will to the will of God. There will be a struggle with outward and internal obstacles.” MYP 118

James encourages, not only submission to God, but also various other actions important to Christian living. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” James 4:7-10

There is something that you must do for your salvation, however, none of this is possible unless Jesus is dwelling in a person. We cannot do it ourselves, simply by trying harder.

“Fallen man is Satan’s lawful captive. The mission of Jesus Christ was to rescue him from his power. Man is naturally inclined to follow Satan’s suggestions, and he cannot of himself successfully resist so terrible a foe, unless Christ, the mighty conqueror, dwells in him, guiding his desires, and giving him strength. God alone can limit the power of Satan. He is going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it. He is not off his watch for a single moment, through fear of losing an opportunity to destroy souls. It is important that God’s people understand this, that they may escape his snares.” MYP 51

“After the union with Christ has been formed, it can be preserved only by earnest prayer and untiring effort. We must resist, we must deny, we must conquer self. Through the grace of Christ, by courage, by faith, by watchfulness, we may gain the victory.” T5, p. 231.

DETACH AND ATTACH

What often seems more difficult is when Jesus asks us to give up our best loved idols. It is only difficult because of the struggle in our hearts and minds. We love our idols, but we also know that they are not good for us and are separating us from Jesus. The struggle can become intense. We may outwardly try to overcome, but internally we are rebelling.

“To let go of the darling idols that have been cherished for years is a very difficult duty, however the only way to try happiness and peace is to let go of them and attach to Jesus. There must be a painful work of detachment, as well as a work of attachment. Pride, selfishness, vanity, worldliness–sin in all its forms –must be overcome, if we would enter into a union with Christ. The reason why many find the Christian life so deplorably hard, why they are so fickle, so variable, is, they try to attach themselves to Christ without first detaching themselves from these cherished idols.” MYP 118

LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE

Once we have permitted Jesus to dwell in our hearts, we cannot hide the light. Jesus tells us to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Mat 5:16

“Christ does not bid His followers strive to shine. He says, Let your light shine. If you have received the grace of God, the light is in you. Remove the obstructions, and the Lord’s glory will be revealed. The light will shine forth to penetrate and dispel the darkness. You cannot help shining within the range of your influence.” COL 420

ENDURE

The Christian life is one of perseverance. When the way gets difficult many are tempted to give up the battle. “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but ?he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Matt. 10:22. We need to hold on to Jesus and not let go at any cost.

“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” 2 Timothy 2:3

“This world is not a parade ground, but a battlefield. All are called to endure hardness, as good soldiers. They are to be strong and quit themselves like men. Let them be taught that the true test of character is found in the willingness to bear burdens, to take the hard place, to do the work that needs to be done, though it bring no earthly recognition or reward.” Ed 295

“Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Rev 3:11

ASK

And yes, we do need to ask, seek and knock. All these are action words.“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” Matt. 7:7. Jesus also knocks at our heart’s door and it is up to us to open that door.

“Ask, then; ask, and ye shall receive. Ask for humility, wisdom, courage, increase of faith. To every sincere prayer an answer will come. It may not come just as you desire, or at the time you look for it; but it will come in the way and at the time that will best meet your need. The prayers you offer in loneliness, in weariness, in trial, God answers, not always according to your expectations, but always for your good.” GW 258

“It is a wonderful thing that we can pray effectually; that unworthy, erring mortals possess the power of offering their requests to God. What higher power can man desire than this,–to be linked with the infinite God? Feeble, sinful man has the privilege of speaking to his Maker. We may utter words that reach the throne of the Monarch of the universe. We may speak with Jesus as we walk by the way, and He says, I am at thy right hand. GW 258

“We may commune with God in our hearts; we may walk in companionship with Christ. When engaged in our daily labor, we may breathe out our heart’s desire, inaudible to any human ear; but that word cannot die away into silence, nor can it be ?lost. Nothing can drown the soul’s desire. It rises above the din of the street, above the noise of machinery. It is God to whom we are speaking, and our prayer is heard.” GW 258

However, “If we regard iniquity in our hearts, if we cling to any known sin, the Lord will not hear us; but the prayer of the penitent, contrite soul is always accepted. When all known wrongs are righted, we may believe that God will answer our petitions. Our own merit will never commend us to the favor of God; it is the worthiness of Jesus that will save us, His blood that will cleanse us; yet we have a work to do in complying with the conditions of acceptance.” SC 95

“But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.” Deut 4:29

“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13. “The whole heart must be yielded to God, or the change can never be wrought in us by which we are to be restored to His likeness.” SC 43

FIGHT

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12

“We are to do all that we can do on our part to fight the good fight of faith. We are to wrestle, to labor, to strive, to agonize to enter in at the strait gate. We are to set the Lord ever before us. With clean hands and pure hearts, we are to seek to honor God in all our ways.” FW 48

“Help has been provided for us in Him who is mighty to save. The spirit of truth and light will quicken and renew us by its mysterious workings; for all our spiritual improvement comes from God, not from ourselves. The true worker will have divine power to aid him, but the idler will not be sustained by the Spirit of God.” FW 48.

“In one way we are thrown upon our own energies; we are to strive earnestly to be zealous and to repent, to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts from every defilement; we are to reach the highest ?standard, believing that God wil help us in our efforts. We must seek if we would find and seek in faith; we must knock, that the door may be opened unto us. The Bible teaches that everything regarding our salvation depends upon our own course of action. If we perish, the responsibility will rest wholly upon ourselves. If provision has been made, and if we accept God’s terms, we may lay hold on eternal life. We must come to Christ in faith, we must be diligent to make our calling and election sure.” Faith and Works p. 48

In order to be ready to meet Jesus when He comes, we need to have a perfect balance between faith and works. May God help us to hold on to Jesus by faith so that He can enable to live the Christian life that is possible only through a connection with Him. This is the only way that we can fulfil the equirement
of entrance to heaven, which is “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5: 48 AMEN

Wendy Eaton, Australia