“That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your
heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:9, NASB

Of all the doctrines of the Christian faith and all the truths contained in Scripture, perhaps the most essential—and the most amazing—is the gift of salvation. Unfortunately, this topic is often distorted with legalistic rules, or worse, it is watered down until it looses its true power and meaning. When I hear professing Christians say, “All we can do is hope we get to Heaven one day,” it shows there are some serious misunderstandings about what it means to be “saved.” The salvation taught by Jesus (and made possible through Him) is both simple enough for a child to understand and powerful enough to change the universe.

Back to the Basics

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners‐ of whom I am the worst.”
I Timothy 1:15

Before digging into the what and the how of salvation, let’s take a moment to consider the why. In this age of moral relativism, the concept of sin is denounced as unenlightened, and the idea that a loving God would punish “sinners” is considered impossible simply because it is unpopular. Yet the Bible makes it clear that all people, aside from Jesus Himself, have fallen short of God’s standard of righteousness—that is, we have all sinned (Romans 3:10‐12, 23), and all sin has fatal consequences (Genesis 2:16‐17; Romans 6:23). God, because He is perfectly holy and just, will not allow any sin to exist without the due penalty (Isaiah 13:9‐13).

If that was the end of the story, then every human being who ever lived would be condemned to death and eternal separation from God, and God’s original intentions for His creation would have been defeated. But God was not surprised by sin, nor were His purposes thwarted by it. From the very beginning (2 Timothy 1:9‐10), He had a plan to restore sinful people back into a relationship with Him:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless life, and suffered an execution designed for the worst of criminals. In doing so, He paid the penalty for the sins of all who would believe in Him (1 Peter 3:18). Then He rose from the dead, having earned what He already owned: authority over all things, including death.

Our Response

“Since no man is excluded from calling upon God the gate of salvation is
open to all. There is nothing else to hinder us from entering,
but our own unbelief.” ~John Calvin

Now that we’ve reviewed why every person needs salvation and what Jesus did to make it possible, how does it actually work? What must a person do to be saved? Many verses in the Bible answer this question, but my favorite is Romans 10:9 (see beginning of post). Let’s look at that verse step by step:

  • “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord” – This means that you acknowledge Jesus’ authority over you and you are willing to be identified with Him (Matthew 10:32‐33).
  • “believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead” – You have faith that Jesus really did die and rise again, and that His sacrifice paid the penalty for your sins so that you can be forgiven. This faith only comes from a repentant heart—you can’t truly accept forgiveness if you are not sorry for the wrongs you have done (Mark 1:14‐15).
  • “you will be saved” – Your sins are forgiven, you are guaranteed eternal life in the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:50‐54), and you are counted as a child of God and a co‐heir of Jesus (Galations 4:4‐7). In other words, you’re in.

Notice that there are no physical actions or special words required in the process. Salvation is truly a matter of faith. The Apostle Paul writes, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8‐9). God has done all the work; we merely receive the gift through faith.

Digging Deeper

Next week, we’ll dig further into salvation, exploring some common misconceptions and taking a look at what a redeemed life looks like, both now and in eternity.

If you are reading this blog post and you have never put your faith in Jesus Christ (that is, you have not repented of your sin, accepted His forgiveness, and acknowledged Him as Lord), but you want to take that step, I encourage you to watch this short video with pastor Greg Laurie. He will lead you in a prayer that can help you express that decision of faith.

(If you’re not comfortable praying with a YouTube video, you can simply talk to God on your own, right where you are. If you want a real person to pray with you, then find your way to any Christian church and the people there will be absolutely thrilled to help you.)