What Must I do to Be Saved? - Part 1 - Ben Bailey
**This is an article that is part of a series of 5
What Must I Do to Be Saved? [Part 1]
The Bible says that our Lord and Savior came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). If we are honest with ourselves, we realize that Jesus came to seek and save every one of us. God says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Scripture teaches us that our sins separate us from Him and cause spiritual death (Isa. 59:1-2, Rom. 6:23). The good news is that God does not want anyone to be lost. He wants all people to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4). Jesus gave Himself as a sacrifice for all people to be saved (Heb. 2:9; 1 John 2:1-2). The Word of God was given to us so we can know the truth about salvation and be saved (John 8:32; 1 John 5:13). That being true, each person must ask a very important question. What must I do to be saved? Over the next few posts, we are going to examine in detail exactly what the Bible teaches one must do to be saved. As we do this, I want to ask you to honestly examine yourself and see if you are saved the way the Bible teaches (2 Cor. 13:5). Let us notice the first step in God’s plan of salvation.
1. Hear God’s Word. The Bible says, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17). And “without faith, it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6). In the past I am afraid that we have underemphasized the importance of hearing God’s word. What does it mean to really hear God’s word? Please understand that hearing God’s word does not mean you accept anything someone says, even if they say it is from the Bible. By hearing God’s word, two fundamental principles are taught.
First, hearing God’s word means that we recognize its authority. As God said on the Mount of Transfiguration, “This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear Him” (Mk. 9:7). The Bible is the ultimate and final authority in all matters of religion (Matt. 28:18ff, Col. 3:17, Jn. 12:48). On all matters of religion and salvation, we must let the voice of God be the final authority. The question of Romans 4:3 should stand out in our minds. “What do the Scriptures say?” Too many times we hear the voice of other men or commentaries or church manuals over the voice of God. When we choose to hear God’s Word we are letting God have the final say in our salvation.
Second, hearing God’s word means that we give a diligent effort to study, search, seek, and test what we hear. In the process of hearing, one must use the reasoning capabilities God has given him to discern truth from error (I Thes. 5:21). We need to be good hearers like the noble Bereans who “…received the word with all readiness of mind, examining the Scriptures daily whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11, ASV). Let us be careful and intelligent in how we hear (Lk. 8:18), what we hear (Mk. 4:24), and Who we hear (Mk. 9:7). To hear God’s word requires that we engage our ears and our mind and make an intellectual decision about what is said based on the Bible as our authority.
Dear friend, who have we been listening to on the matter of salvation? Do we listen to God alone? Or, do we listen to God and someone else’s opinion or teaching? Remember, only the voice of God and His Word will matter on Judgment Day (John 12:48). Remember to read our next post as we will discuss the very important but highly misunderstood step of belief.
You can also watch this video that discusses more about the Plan of Salvation in detail: https://thegospelofchrist-tgoc.subspla.sh/wcnmxp2