Doctrine
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
Acts 16:30
There is no better news in all the world than this: a lost sinner — any lost sinner, no matter how far gone — can be saved, fully and forever, this very day. The word "gospel" means good news, and this is the best news ever told. But to feel the sweetness of the good news, we must first face the bad news honestly; for a man will never reach for a Saviour until he knows he is lost.
The gospel is not good advice about how to live; it is good news about what God has already done. The apostle Paul stated it in the plainest words, and staked everything upon it:
"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)
There is the whole gospel in one breath: Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again. Grasp those three, and you have grasped the message that saves. Let us take them in order — but first, the bad news that makes them shine.
Before a man can be found, he must know he is lost. Before he will run to a physician, he must know he is sick. And the Bible tells every one of us the truth about ourselves, however much it stings: we have all sinned, and we are all, by nature, on the road that leads away from God.
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6)
Sin is not a small thing, and it carries a wage that must be paid. That wage is death — not merely the death of the body, but eternal separation from a holy God.
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)
And here is the heart of the trouble: you cannot pay that wage and live, nor can you undo a single sin by any goodness of your own. The debt is real, it is yours, and you cannot pay it. That is the bad news. Now hear the good.
What you could never do, God did for you. The Lord Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, took your place. He who owed nothing paid everything; He who had no sin was made sin for you, that the debt might be cancelled in full.
"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
This is the wonder of the cross: the just dying for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty, the Shepherd for the sheep. And it was not forced upon Him; it was love that held Him there.
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
"For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." (1 Peter 3:18)
He did not die to make you saveable if you would do your part; He died to save you. On the cross He cried, "It is finished" — and it was.
Christ died and was buried — truly dead, laid in a tomb. But death could not hold Him. On the third day He rose again, bodily and victorious, and was seen of many witnesses. The resurrection is God's own receipt, stamped across the debt: PAID IN FULL. It is the proof that the Father accepted the payment of the Son, and that the sinner who trusts Him shall likewise live.
Had the Lord Jesus Christ stayed in the grave, we would have no gospel and no hope. But He is risen, and because He lives, all who trust Him shall live also. This is not a dead religion with a dead founder; it is a living faith with a living Saviour.
Now, how does this good news become yours? Not by working for it, not by earning it, not by deserving it — for a gift, by its very nature, cannot be earned. Salvation is the free gift of God, and it is received, not achieved.
"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)
"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us." (Titus 3:5)
If you could earn even a corner of your salvation, you would have something to boast of. But God has arranged it so that no flesh shall glory in His presence. From first to last, salvation is of the Lord.
This is the great question — the very question a trembling man once asked, and the answer has never changed:
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:30-31)
To be saved you must do two things, and they are two sides of one turning. First, repentance toward God — a change of mind that turns from trusting yourself and from loving your sin. Second, faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ — casting your whole trust upon Him and what He has done.
"...repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." (Acts 20:21)
This is not a matter of merely agreeing that the facts are true — even the devils believe that much. It is a matter of the heart trusting, resting, leaning the whole weight of your soul upon the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness." (Romans 10:9-10)
And the promise is wide enough to reach you, whoever you are:
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)
The instant a sinner truly trusts the Lord Jesus Christ, God does a great work that cannot be seen with the eye but is more real than anything visible. Your sins are forgiven, every one. You are born again, made a new creature. You are received into the family of God as His own child.
"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)
You pass, in that moment, out of death and into life — and out of condemnation forever.
"He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:24)
Because this salvation is God's work and not yours, it is as secure as God Himself. The Lord Jesus Christ will never cast out the one who comes to Him, and will never let go of the one He has saved.
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." (John 6:37)
And you need not spend your life in doubt, hoping you might be saved. God wrote His Word so that you may know:
"These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life." (1 John 5:13)
The good news has been told. Christ has died for your sins, been buried, and risen again; the gift is bought and offered freely; the promise is sure. Nothing remains but for you to receive Him. The invitation is open, and it is open to you.
"...whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)
You may come to Him this moment, just as you are, with no goodness of your own to bring. Turn from your sin, and trust the Lord Jesus Christ alone to save you. You might pray from your heart something like this: "Lord Jesus, I know I am a lost sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe You died for my sins, were buried, and rose again. Right now I turn from my sin and trust You alone as my Saviour. Save me. Thank You. Amen."
If you have trusted Him, on the authority of God's Word, you are saved — and heaven itself rejoices over you this day.
"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