How can we be saved?
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?” Luke 9:23-25
By the grace of God, we confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead.
Many people have heard the story of Jesus—what Christians call the Gospel. Some heard it in a song; others saw it on a screen; some first encountered it at Christmas; and some grew up going to church and heard it often.
Maybe you fit into one of these categories, or this might be the first time you have had the story of Jesus laid out in a way you could understand. You might have heard the good news of Jesus and asked him to be a part of your life, but you’re not sure where to go from there. What does it mean to access your salvation as you live out everyday life? How can you enjoy the benefits Jesus won for you?
The answer to this is pretty simple: all you have to do is to hear the message of God’s love and respond in faith, committing yourself to Jesus and to a life of following him.
But what does it mean to respond in faith to the message of Jesus? It means that, when we hear the message that Jesus has died and been raised for our sins, we entrust our entire selves to the One who promises to save us. That’s it. That’s all you have to do.
Placing your faith in Christ is never just a one-time event. From the moment you confess Jesus as Lord to your final breath, you are living a life of faith in Jesus. That means every day you are trusting his ways above your ways and his plans above your plans. And whenever you mess up, you trust that he will forgive you and make your faith stronger. He promises to never leave you nor forsake you. He asks us to follow him wherever he leads.
Spend some time today thanking God for the good news of his Son, Jesus. Then spend a few moments asking God to help you trust and follow him completely.