What Must I Do to Be Saved?

Ben Patterson wrote a cute little poem about faith called, Waiting:

          What you gonna do when the river overflows?

          Faith answers, 

          I’m gonna sit on the porch and watch her go.

          What you gonna do when the hogs all drown?

          I’m gonna wish I lived on higher ground.

          What you gonna do when the cow floats away?

          I’m gonna throw in after her a bale of hay.

          What you gonna do with the water in the room?

          I’m gonna sweep her out with a sedge-straw broom.

          What you gonna do when the cabin leaves?

          I’m gonna climb on the roof and straddle the eaves.

          What you gonna do when your hold gives way?

          I’m gonna say, “Howdy Lord! It’s judgment day.”

(Ben Patterson, “Waiting,” Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotes, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1998, 196)

A funny little poem, but it begs the question, what must I do to be saved? In answering that question, we must also ask a couple of related questions: What is faith? What role does faith play in salvation?

Concerning faith, Paul says: “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach)” (Rom. 10:8). This is from Deuteronomy 30:14, which says, “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.”

In that context, as the people of Israel were about to cross the Jordan River to take possession of the Promised Land, Moses continued, “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.” (Deut. 30:15-16)

True to the context of Deuteronomy 30:14, Paul tells us that salvation is near. It is “in your mouth and in your heart” (Rom. 10:8). The “word of faith” is everywhere. It is readily available. All you have to do is believe on the Lord Jesus with all your heart. It really is that simple.

You are saved through confession and faith. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:9-10). Salvation and righteousness are appropriated by confession and faith.

In verse 9, Paul looks first at confession, which is “with your mouth,” then at belief, or faith, which is “in your heart.” In verse 10, however, he reverses the order, which is actually the chronological order of redemption. “With the heart one believes” resulting in “righteousness;” then, “with the mouth confession is made” resulting in “salvation.”

When you place your faith in Jesus Christ, or “believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead,” He gives His righteousness to you. At that moment you are declared righteous (justified) and you are made righteous (regenerated).

When you confess Jesus as Lord and accept the provision Christ made for your forgiveness, you are saved. What you believe concerning the resurrection, your faith, is confirmed by your confession of Jesus as Lord. The result is salvation.

So, right belief concerning the death and resurrection of Jesus results in being made righteous, or being made into the image of Christ. It has to do with what we become. Salvation, on the other hand, has to do with what we escape. We are saved from damnation to hell, or eternal separation from God.

To be made righteous means to receive eternal life with Christ, which we do not deserve because of our sin. To be saved means to escape the eternal punishment we deserve but do not receive because of the cross. The first has to do with receiving God's blessing; the second has to do with escaping God's curse.

Note that there are two truths here that must be believed in order to be saved. First, that Jesus is Lord. Second, that God raised Jesus from the dead. These truths are paramount. These two truths must be believed with all your heart.

“Believe in your heart” (v. 9), refers to a deep, personal, abiding conviction, without reservation. Do you so believe? If so, God will change your life dramatically and make you like Jesus.

Note that Paul is speaking not only of Jesus as Savior but of Jesus as Lord. When you come to Jesus for salvation, you come to Him not only as Savior, but also as Lord. Scripture does not separate the two.

Lord is from the Greek word kurios, which has to do with sovereign power and authority. In the book of Acts, only twice is Jesus called Savior, while He is called Lord ninety-two times. In fact, in the entire New Testament, Jesus is called Savior only ten times, while some seven hundred times He is called Lord.

When both titles are mentioned together, Lord always precedes Savior. And even if, as some contend, Lord were simply a synonym for God, the very term God by definition includes the idea of sovereign authority or lordship.

“Confess” is literally, “to speak the same thing,” and refers to being in agreement. Here you are to “confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus” (v. 9a), or that Jesus is Lord. This is essential.

You must also “believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead” (v. 9b). The two go hand in hand. When you understand this, then “you will be saved” (v. 9c). When you believe this, the Lord Jesus changes your life. Not only does He save you, He makes you into His own image.

God wants to take the stains of your life and not merely erase them, but turn them into a thing of beauty. Yield yourself to Him and He will make you like new. Amen.