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.

Have a Little Faith

In Luke 17:5, the apostles made a request of the Lord, “Increase our faith!” It is the cry of most Christians. How often have we made that same request? We believe that greater faith would help us be a better Christian. The apostles were no different. It seems the apostles not only wanted to have enough faith for their souls to go to heaven, but they wanted heaven to be brought down to them!

Jesus responded to their request with two thoughts. First, He told them that even the smallest amount of faith does great things. He then went on to tell them that increasing faith is a matter of heart obedience. Let me explain.

When the disciples said to Jesus, “Increase our faith” (v. 5), Jesus answered with a remarkable statement: “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you” (v. 6). With that statement Jesus was saying that even the smallest faith does great things. He compared their faith to a mustard seed.

The mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds. It is used to develop mustard spice. The thought here is that it is so small it is within your reach. Compare that to the Mulberry tree. It is actually the Black Mulberry tree that is in view here. This tree often lives to be 400 to 600 years old. It grows thirty-five feet tall and has an extensive root system that spreads out forty feet and goes quite deep into the ground making it near to impossible to uproot. He told them that even with that little bit of faith, they could do the impossible, they could uproot a mulberry tree and plant it in the sea!

That is quite a statement! Faith, even when developed only to the size of a tiny mustard seed, is enough! Even that small faith is a great faith; it does great things. That is what Jesus said!

“Faith,” in the original Greek of the New Testament, is a word that can be translated either “faith” or “faithfulness.” It depends on the context. If it refers to “head knowledge” becoming “heart knowledge,” or in other words, “belief,” it is usually translated “faith.” However, when the context refers to “heart attitude” or “heart obedience,” it is usually translated “faithfulness.” The context of Luke 17 is that of “heart obedience” and should be understood as “faithfulness.” And that leads us to Jesus’ second response.

In Luke 17:1-4, Jesus speaks of forgiveness as an attitude of the heart. Note especially verses 3-4: “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

Verses 7-10 again speak of “heart obedience” toward God. When you have done all that you are supposed to do, have the attitude as found in verse 10: “We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty” (RSV).

When you have “heart obedience” toward God, then you will find that you have drawn near to Him. When you are near to God, He will guide you as to what you should do and how you should pray. Follow His guidance and even that big mulberry tree can be uprooted.

In other words, if you have forsaken all for the sake of Christ and have trusted Him as your Lord and Savior, and you are ready to follow Him and trust Him in everything, then great things will happen. You see, even with faith as small as a mustard seed, when you pray as the Lord leads you to pray, God will do great things in response.

So, have a little faith! Even a little faith goes a long way in God's world. With it you can move mountains, or Mulberry trees, metaphorically speaking, of course. Just remember, faith is not believing that God can, but that God will! Amen.

Faith Is Proven in Love

A few years back, there was a popular movement in this country in which groups of people specifically went out to "R.A.O.K." somebody’s world. "R.A.O.K." is short for "Random Acts of Kindness." These people would seek to bless others in the name of Jesus, simply by looking for little ways to help them.

A great place to begin is with prayer. Pray for each other every day. Ask God to show you ways to help others. Then go and do some of the things He brings to mind. Perhaps a friend needs groceries but can't afford them. Take them shopping and buy their groceries. Maybe a neighbor needs to see the doctor but can't drive. Pick them up and drive them to their appointment. Or an elderly couple in town needs to repair the front porch. Do the repairs for them, or see that the repairs get done. In this way you can bless others in the name of Jesus.

Doing R.A.O.K. is a great way to show God’s love to others. 1 John 4:7-11 says, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

If you do not show love for your brothers in Christ, it proves that you do not love God. Because "God is love" (v. 8b), true believers will follow Him in everything they do, including loving one another! "Love is of God" (v. 7a), so to do R.A.O.K. shows your love for each other and proves that you are "born of God" (v. 7b) and that you "know God" (v. 7b).

1 John 4:19, in most translations, says simply, "We love because He first loved us." In other words, we love God because of His love for us. The NKJV says precisely that in verse 19: "We love Him because He first loved us." But it goes beyond our love for God to include our love for each other, a love that flows out of our love for God. We also love one another because He first showed His love to us.

That truth is affirmed immediately in verses 20-21: "If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also." Our love for God gives itself to helping one another. To do R.A.O.K. to meet the needs of others, proves our love for God. You show your love for God by your love for one another.

God showed His love toward us by sending Jesus to die on the cross in our place. In doing so, He provided forgiveness for our sin, reconciliation with our God, and salvation forever, guaranteeing an eternity in heaven with the Lord Jesus. Anyone who receives the gift of Jesus by faith, will fully experience His love in their life.

Faith in Christ results in a life of love for God and love for each other. This love is shown as we let Christ live through us. As verse 9 says, "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him." We live through Christ and we love one another through Him as well.

Verse 10 adds, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." What is propitiation but a big word for atonement. Jesus paid our penalty for us on the cross, satisfying the wrath of God and reconciling us to Him. Now, through faith, we are to become more like Jesus.

How are we to be more like Jesus? He loved the world so much He gave His life to save us. We must likewise be sacrificial in our love for each other. In that way His love is perfected in us, because we live in Him and He lives through us. We live as He lived and we love each other as He loved us.

And so, the command in verse 11: "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." And the conclusion in 1 John 4:17, "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world." "As He is, so we are!" Love one another as Christ has loved you! Amen.

Jesus Loves You! This I Know

Remember the little children's chorus, Jesus Loves Me? These are the traditional lyrics of all four stanzas in their entirety:

Jesus loves me! This I know, 

For the Bible tells me so;

Little ones to Him belong,

They are weak but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He who died,

Heaven's gate to open wide;

He will wash away my sin,

Let His little child come in.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! loves me still,

When I'm very weak and ill;

From His shining throne on high,

Comes to watch me where I lie.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so.

Jesus loves me! He will stay,

Close beside me all the way;

He's prepared a home for me,

And some day His face I'll see.

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

Yes, Jesus loves me!

The Bible tells me so.

Traditional, Words By: Anna B. Warner

Music By: Wm. B. Bradbury, Copyright Unknown

John 15:9 is one verse where the Bible makes very clear the truth that Jesus loves you. Jesus is speaking with His disciples, when He says, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” How does Jesus love you? In the same way the Father loves Him. “As the Father loved Me,” Jesus said, “I also have loved you.”

Jesus, as He lived upon this earth, was completely dependent on God the Father. He trusted totally in God’s love and grace for Him. The love of God for Him was His strength and His joy. In the power of divine love resting on Him, He lived and died. That is why, in the Scriptures, you so often see Jesus going to God in prayer. If we are to be like Jesus, we must share in that divine love. What the Father’s love was to Jesus, His love will be to us.

Jesus began, “As the Father loved Me” (v. 9a). How has the Father loved Jesus? The Father reveals Himself in Christ, so that whoever sees Jesus, sees God. The Father lives in the Son, and the Son lives in the Father. The Father loves the Son by living in and through Him!

Jesus continued, “I also have loved you” (v. 9b). With this very same love, Christ Jesus longs to reveal to you all that He is and all that He has. Through His love for you, He wants to make you partakers of His own nature and blessedness. He wants to live in you, and have you live in Him. All that you are must rest in Christ’s love. His love must be your strength and your joy. Your life must rest in the power of Christ’s love, just as His life rests in the power of the Father’s love. As Christ, by His Spirit, dwells in you, you can experience God’s love in your life.

Taken together, verse 9 reads, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you” (v. 9ab). We must draw near to the personal living Christ. We must trust Him and yield all to Him, so that He may pour this love of God into us. He knew and rejoiced that the Father loved Him. We too may live knowing that, as the Father loved Him, so He loves us. In fact, Jesus loves us so much that He stretched out His arms on the cross and died for us.

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” 1 John 3:16 says, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.” 1 John 4:9 says, “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.”

Having told us how His life is wrapped up in the Father’s love and how our lives are to be wrapped up in His love, He concludes verse 9, “Abide in My love.” The place where we abide is where we live. We are to abide, or live, in Christ’s love. We are to give ourselves up to the love of Christ. As Jesus was so often found in prayer seeking the Father to live His life through Him, so we must spend much of our time in prayer seeking Christ Jesus to live His life through us. That is how we abide in His love; by trusting Him and seeking daily to follow Him.

The message is simple. Trust Christ for your salvation. Thank Him for dying on the cross for you. Then, seek through prayer every day for Jesus to live His life through you. Amen.

A New Commandment

Barbara and I are headed to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota early Monday morning for her four-month checkup. She is doing well and getting better by the day. Due to our travels Monday, I am posting Monday's Bble Insight today.

On the night Jesus was betrayed, as He shared in the Passover Celebration with His disciples, He began to prepare them for all that was about to take place. He spoke of His betrayal (John 13:21), pointing out that Judas Iscariot was the one who would betray Him (vs. 26-27), though the other disciples didn’t pick up on it (vs. 28-29).

After Judas left the upper room where they were gathered (v. 30), Jesus told His disciples that God would glorify Him immediately (vs. 31-32), referring to His death and resurrection. He was seeking to reassure them even before these things took place.

Jesus explained that where He was going they couldn’t follow for now (vs. 33, 36), but that He was going to “prepare a place for (them)” (John 14:2) and He would “come again” (v. 3) to take them there. Yet His disciples didn’t seem to understand. Peter even declared that He was ready to die for His Lord (John 13:37). But Jesus told him, “Not now.” He said to Peter, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times” (v. 38). The day was coming when Peter would lay down His life for Jesus, but not now.

It was in this context that Jesus declared, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (v. 34). What does that mean? Ultimately, as Peter experienced later, it could refer to laying down your life for the sake of another, namely Jesus.

Having repeated this same commandment in John 15:12, Jesus added, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (v. 13). But God does not always require this of us. So what does God require of those who love Jesus?

First, He demands obedience to the Word of God. Jesus continued, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14). To be obedient to God’s Word; that is what Jesus requires of you. Follow His commands.

But what does that mean? What is involved with obedience to the Word of God? In John 15:16 Jesus explains: “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” And in verse 17, He concluded, “These things I command you, that you love one another.”

Looking again at verse 16, Jesus also told His disciples to remain faithful to Him, to the Lord Jesus. He said, “go and bear fruit.” Tell others about Jesus. Pray for each other’s needs and the Father will give you what you ask. “Whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” Care for one another in every way possible. Whatever resources the Lord has given you, use them for the good of others. Be there for one another in every way you can.

Never let your friend down. Always be willing to lay down your life for your friend, if necessary. In whatever way possible, in whatever way the Lord leads, “love one another” (John 15:17). As Jesus added in John 13:35, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Amen.

The Second Commandment

In Leviticus 19, Moses lays out a series of moral and ceremonial laws for the people of Israel. They are commanded to live by the standards listed. Everything is encompassed by the opening words in verse 2, where God instructs Moses to tell them, “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” In verse 11, Moses begins to speak of how to treat others: “You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.” In verse 13, he adds, “You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him.” Then in verse 17, he says, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart.”

That brings us to the context of what Jesus called the second commandment in Matthew 22:39. There a lawyer asked Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” (v. 36). Jesus responded, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (vs. 37-39). The “first and great commandment” was a quote from Deuteronomy 6:5. “The second” commandment was a quote from Leviticus 19:18.

While telling the people of Israel to “not hate your brother in your heart” (Lev. 19:17), he added, “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). When referring to this commandment, Jesus said that this was one of only two commandments that, if kept, would fulfill all the Law (v. 40). In Luke, where a lawyer recites these same two commandments in answer to the question of how to inherit eternal life, Jesus commends him for answering correctly and tells him, “Do this and you will live” (Luke 10:28).

Eternal life depends on the fulfillment of these two commandments. If you want to spend eternity in heaven and you want to live a truly full life now, you must first love the Lord Jesus with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Then you must love your neighbor as yourself. The first involves a change of heart, an inward change that comes through faith. This is salvation. The second involves a change in action, an outward change that is the result of that faith. This is proof of your salvation.

Romans 10:9 says, “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.” Such faith, believed and confessed, brings eternal life. When you place your faith in Jesus, when you believe in your heart that He died on the cross for your forgiveness and that He rose again from the dead, confess it! Let people know that you believe. Don’t hide your faith saying, “Oh, it’s a personal thing. It’s not something I talk about.”

Most importantly, let people see the change in you. When you trust in Jesus for your salvation, He changes you. Everything about you begins to change. Not only does what you believe change, but how you live your life changes. That is the power of the gospel.

That change involves how you treat others. You begin to truly love your neighbor. You begin to reach out to your neighbor. Jesus goes on to explain that your neighbor is anyone in need that you come in contact with. So you begin to help others with whatever need they have. That is how you love your neighbor, and that is the outward change in your life that results from your faith in Christ. It is that outward change that proves you are a child of God. Amen.

The Greatest Commandment

In Deuteronomy 6:5, Moses commanded the people of Israel saying, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” In that context, Moses instructed the people to let the words he commanded them, that is, the Word of God, “be in your heart” (v. 6).

If you truly love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength, God’s Word will dwell inside you. You will study it, learn it, memorize it, and live by it. Your life will be governed by God’s Word. Everything you do and say will be guided by God’s Word.

Moses went on to say, that if you truly love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength, you will “diligently” (v. 7a) teach God’s Word to your children and to all who will listen. He says that you are to talk of God’s Word “when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (v. 7b).

If you truly love the Lord, you will talk about Him and His Word wherever you are, any time of day. You will seek His guidance in all that you do. You will speak openly and freely of Jesus with everyone you meet.

Moses then added a command: if you truly love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength, you will “bind” God’s Word “as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (vs. 8-9).

The Jewish people would write the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 on a small parchment and bind it to their hand for a sign, or wear it as bands or frontlets between the eyes. They would also roll up a similar parchment and place it in a small cylinder of wood or metal which they would attach to the right side of every door in their house. This is called a mezuzah. The pious Jew would touch it every time he passed through those doors. This was their way of fulfilling the command to keep God’s Word ever before you.

As for us, though not commanded to follow such rigid steps, if you were to hang a portion of God’s Word on your walls as a reminder to always keep God’s Word before your eyes, this would be a praiseworthy act. God is pleased with any effort to know and remember His Word.

After all, that is what this command is about. God wants you to love Him dearly and to follow His Word closely. That means reading it and remembering it. That means ever keeping it before your eyes, so that you do not stray from His Word as you live your life from day to day.

A “lawyer” asked Jesus, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25), Jesus responded with a question: “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” (v. 26). His answer: “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself’” (v. 27). The lawyer quoted Moses in Deuteronomy 6:5. Jesus replied, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live” (v. 28).

When you truly love the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, you will prove that love by your actions. You will learn God’s Word and live by it every day. You will take steps to keep God’s Word ever before you. You will speak of God and His Word to your children and to all who will listen. You will not be ashamed to be called His child. Amen.