Doctrine
"What must I do to be saved?"
Acts 16:30
If you could sit down with an open Bible and ask, in plain words, "What is Christianity, and what must I believe to be right with God?" — this is the answer the Book itself gives. Not the traditions of men, not religion, not ceremony, but the plain truth of the Word of God. Strip away the confusion, and the foundation is simple enough for a child and deep enough for the wisest man who ever lived.
Everything begins with God. Before there was a world, before there was time, before there was anything at all, there was God — eternal, holy, almighty, the Maker of all things. He is not one god among many; He is the one true and living God.
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD." (Deuteronomy 6:4)
He made the heavens and the earth, and He made you. You are not an accident; you were created by God and for God, and you owe Him everything.
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1)
And this God is holy — perfectly pure, without a shadow of sin. The angels in heaven cover their faces and cry out day and night concerning His holiness. This holiness is the very thing that stands between a sinful man and his Maker, and it must never be forgotten.
"Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." (Isaiah 6:3)
How can we know anything certain about God? Because He has spoken. The Bible is not the word of men; it is the very Word of God, given by inspiration, every word of it true.
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)
And God has not only given His Word — He has kept it. He promised to preserve His words, and He has done it, so that we hold in our hands the pure Word of God. We believe the King James Bible to be that preserved Word for the English-speaking people, and we build our whole faith upon it.
"The words of the LORD are pure words... Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever." (Psalm 12:6-7)
This is why we do not lean upon our own opinions or the changing ideas of the world. When the Bible speaks, God speaks. That settles the matter.
Here we come to the trouble. God is holy, but man is not. Every one of us has sinned — broken God's law, gone our own way, and fallen short of His glory. This is not true of a few bad people only; it is true of all of us, without exception.
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
"There is none righteous, no, not one." (Romans 3:10)
You may object, "But I am not so bad; I have lived a decent life." Measured against other men, perhaps. But we are not measured against other men; we are measured against a holy God, and against that standard every mouth is stopped. One drop of poison ruins the whole cup, and one sin makes a sinner. Our very best is like a filthy rag before Him.
And sin has a wage. It has separated us from God, and it earns death — not merely the death of the body, but eternal separation from God in the lake of fire.
"But your iniquities have separated between you and your God." (Isaiah 59:2)
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
Read that verse again slowly, for the whole gospel is hidden in it. Sin pays a wage — death. But God offers a gift — eternal life. A wage is earned; a gift is free. And that gift is a Person: the Lord Jesus Christ.
Man could never climb up to God, so God came down to man. The Lord Jesus Christ is not merely a good teacher or a prophet — He is God Himself, come in human flesh. This is the very heart of the Christian faith.
"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh." (1 Timothy 3:16)
He was the eternal Word, one with the Father, who took upon Himself our flesh and dwelt among us.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." (John 1:1,14)
Why did He come? To do the one thing we could never do for ourselves — to pay for sin. Because He is truly man, He could stand in our place; because He is truly God, His death was of infinite worth, enough to bear away the sin of the world. On the cross, He bore our sins in His own body, shedding His precious blood.
"Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree." (1 Peter 2:24)
And without that blood there is no forgiveness. This is why the cross is not one option among many; it is the only door.
"...and without shedding of blood is no remission." (Hebrews 9:22)
Then, the third day, He rose again from the dead — bodily, truly, victoriously — proving that the price was fully paid and that He is the living Saviour.
"How that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)
Here is where true Christianity parts ways with all the religions of men. Every false religion says, in one form or another, "Do these things and you may earn heaven." The Bible says the opposite: you cannot earn it at all. Salvation is the free gift of God, received by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
"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." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Notice how carefully God shuts out our works, lest any man should boast. If we could earn even a small part of our salvation, heaven would ring with the praises of men. But heaven will ring only with the praise of the Lamb.
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us." (Titus 3:5)
"But surely," someone says, "I must do my part." Your part is to stop trusting in yourself and to trust wholly in Him. The drowning man is not saved by his swimming, but by ceasing to struggle and resting in the hand that lifts him out. So the sinner is saved not by his doing, but by believing on the One who has already done it all.
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31)
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)
When a sinner truly trusts the Lord Jesus Christ, something happens that only God can do: he is born again. It is not turning over a new leaf or joining a church; it is a new life, imparted by God, making the dead sinner a living child of God.
"Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)
"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." (John 1:12)
The moment you receive Him, you become a new creature — old things pass away, and all things become new.
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Because salvation is the work of God and not of man, it cannot be lost by the one who has it. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself promised that His sheep shall never perish. Your security does not rest in the strength of your grip on Him, but in the strength of His grip on you.
"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10:28)
Once a person is saved, the Lord calls him to follow in obedience. The first step is believer's baptism — being immersed in water as a public picture of death to the old life and resurrection to the new. Baptism does not save; it is the outward testimony of a soul already saved by grace.
"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:4)
From there, the believer joins with other believers in a local church, to worship, to grow in the Word, to pray, and to serve. The Christian life is a walk — begun by grace, continued by grace, and lived out of love and gratitude to the One who saved us. We do not do good works in order to be saved; we do them because we are saved.
This is the heart of it all. Christianity is not first a set of rules, but a Person — the Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, crucified for sinners, risen from the dead, and offered freely to you this moment. The invitation is wide open, and it is for you.
"...whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)
If you have never trusted Him, you may do so right now, wherever you are. You need no priest, no ceremony, no waiting. Simply turn from your sin and cast yourself wholly upon the Lord Jesus Christ, believing that He died for your sins and rose again. You might pray from your heart something like this: "God, I know I am a sinner, and I cannot save myself. I believe the Lord Jesus Christ died for my sins and rose again. Right now I trust Him alone as my Saviour. Save me, and be my Lord. Thank You, in His name. Amen."
If you have truly trusted Him, He has saved you — not because of any goodness in you, but because of His great mercy. Rest in Him, and begin to follow Him.
"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."John 3:16