Denny answers:
“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31b).
Before you can believe in Jesus as your Savior, you need to know what you need to be saved from. An umbrella saves you from getting wet. A helmet saves you from getting hurt. Jesus can save you from the punishment and power of your sin.
You see, each one of us has sinned against the holy God: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Even if we try to be really good, we still fall short of God’s perfect standard. We sin against God every day by not obeying His commands in the Bible, such as loving Him best, honoring our parents, and telling the truth.
Because God is the holy and just Judge, He will punish unbelieving sinners by separating them in a place of eternal death: hell. “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23b).
But because of God’s great love, He sent His own Son to save believers from the punishment of sin—death—by dying on the cross in their place. Then Jesus rose from the dead, proving His victory over sin and death.
“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” (John 3:16).
Salvation is God’s gift to believing sinners. But how do you believe in Jesus?
Believing is more than just saying, “I believe in Jesus,” or praying a prayer, or knowing who Jesus is and what He did. Even the demons believe Jesus is God’s Son who died for believing sinners (Matthew 8:29; James 2:19).
Believing involves you coming to Jesus in repentance and faith:
• Repentance: Repentance is changing your mind about sin (Mark 1:15; Acts 17:30-31; 2 Corinthians 7:10), and this change of mind will result in a change of action. Picture sin as a heavy load you carry. Before believing in Jesus, you carry your own sin. You cannot get rid of sin on your own (Matthew 11:28-30).
But Jesus came to free the believer from the burden of sin. He took the believer’s sin on Himself by dying on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). Then Jesus rose from the dead, proving He had conquered sin’s power and punishment.
If Jesus calls you to Himself, you will turn from your sin to Jesus. You cannot come to Jesus while hanging onto your sin, saying, “I can take care of my sin on my own. I’ll keep on doing what I want to do, even if it means disobeying God.” No way! Jesus died to save you from sin! Turning to Jesus means turning from sin.
So repent! Tell God you are sorry for how you have disobeyed and dishonored Him. Turn from your sin to the only One Who can save you from sin: Jesus!
If you become a Christian, you will still fight sin, but you no longer have to carry sin because Jesus carried your sin on the cross and won the victory! Instead of following sin, you will follow Jesus as Lord and leader of your life (Romans 6).
• Faith: “Faith is believing God to the point of obeying.”
Imagine your dad is in the deep end of the pool. He tells you to jump to him and promises to catch you. If you really have faith in your dad, you will not just believe he will catch you, but you will jump to him!
Faith is more than understanding and agreeing that God’s Son, Jesus, died for sinners on the cross and rose from the grave. Faith is trusting Jesus as your only Savior from sin and Lord (Master) of your life. True faith results in your following Jesus in love and obedience (Matthew 7:21-23, 13:18-23; John 8:30-31, 15:5-6; James 2:14-26; 1 John 3:9-10).
So if God is working in your heart, call out to the Lord in faith (Romans 10:9-13)!
Believing in Jesus—repentance and faith—is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25). God causes the sinner to be born again (John 3:3-8). Then the sinner can respond with the repentance and faith God gives and turning from sin to trust in Jesus alone for salvation.
You can know whether you have truly believed in Jesus if you continue to repent of sin and trust Jesus as Savior and Lord. God’s Word, the Bible, will strengthen your faith, obedience, and love toward Jesus.
Bible Truth
- “‘The time has come,’ he [Jesus] said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’” (Mark 1:15).
- “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36).
- “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
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