¿How to obtain salvation?

What exactly is salvation? What do we need to be saved from? The Bible answers these questions and reveals the way to salvation. 

John 3:16 is undoubtedly one of the best-known biblical passages, where John explains that: “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. " Later, the apostle also reveals that "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved by him" (v. 17).

Furthermore, in the prophecy of the birth of Jesus Christ we read: "And she will bear a son, and you will call his name JESUS, because he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21).

In other words, as the Apostle Paul well understood, one of the reasons why Christ came to earth was "to save sinners" (1 Timothy 1:15).

¿Why do we need to be freed from sin?

We need to be saved because sin — which according to 1 John 3: 4 is a violation of the law — leads to death! “Because when you were slaves of sin, you were free about justice. But what fruit did you have from those things of which you are now ashamed? Because their end is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and made servants of God, you have as your fruit sanctification, and as an end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, plus the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord ”(Romans 6: 20-23).

But how do we achieve this freedom? The apostle Paul gives us the answer in Romans 10: 9-13: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Because with the heart one believes for justice, but with the mouth one confesses for salvation. For the Scripture says: Whoever believes in him will not be ashamed. Because there is no difference between Jew and Greek, because the same who is Lord of all, is rich towards all those who invoke him; for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved ”(emphasis added).  

Unfortunately, this passage has been used by many people to say that we can achieve salvation just by accepting Jesus Christ. But the Bible reveals that much more is required than that.

Repentance and baptism

In Mark 16:16, Jesus Christ reveals that only “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. " In other words, both faith and baptism are requirements for obtaining salvation. Let's first discuss the importance of baptism.

One of the most important — and often ignored — scriptures for understanding the way to salvation is Acts 2: 37-38. The context of this passage is Peter's profound sermon that shook the hearts and consciences of his audience during a Feast of Pentecost, the day the New Testament Church was founded. Peter's message was so shocking that it led these believers to action; "They were heartbroken, and said to Peter and to the other apostles: Men, brothers, what shall we do?"

And Peter answered them bluntly: “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "

As we see, the first thing the apostle mentions is a direct command: "Repent." Essentially, this means turning away from sin and obeying God. And, as Jesus Christ said, it is an absolutely necessary step to be saved; "If you do not repent, you will all perish equally" (Luke 13: 5).

How did the crowd react to Pedro's response? “So those who received his word were baptized; and about three thousand people were added that day ”(Acts 2:41).

So both baptism and repentance — which precedes baptism — are fundamental steps in obtaining salvation. Just as they were for those who listened to Christ and Paul, these steps are vitally important to anyone who wants to be saved today.

God loves us so much that He is patient with us in our ignorance. But, when we already understand what He expects of us, God wants us to obey Him. As Paul said, God "now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30).

Faith

When Jesus Christ began to preach the gospel, he said: “The time has come, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel ”(Mark 1:15).

And, in 1 Corinthians 15: 1-2, the apostle Paul reveals something very interesting: “I declare to you, brothers, the gospel that I have preached to you, which you also received, in which you also persevere; by which also, if you keep the word that I have preached to you, you are saved, if you did not believe in vain ”. That is, we must believe in the gospel message by which we will be saved.

That message includes the fact that “Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures ”(vv. 3-4). And it also includes the prophecy of the second coming of our Savior on earth; Jesus Christ will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords to establish the kingdom of God in this world. This is the message in which we must believe: that Jesus is our Savior and King to come.

We must believe (have faith) that God keeps all his promises. And we must do it with living faith, which Hebrews 11: 1 perfectly describes as "the certainty of what is expected, the conviction of what is not seen."

We can all have faith like this. In fact, we need to have that kind of faith to properly honor and love God, for without faith it is impossible to please Him (v.6).

We can only be saved if we have a deep conviction in the truth and certainty of the word of God; “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not by works, so that no one can boast ”(Ephesians 2: 8-9).

But we must also take into account what verse 10 of Ephesians 2 tells us: "Because we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."

We must live pleasing God

If we really want to be saved, we must also live righteously: "Therefore, rejecting all filth and abundance of malice, receive with meekness the implanted word, which can save your souls" (James 1:21).

We cannot live in sin again; we must live according to the word, laws and ways of God, as the Bible describes them. His commandments must be implanted in our minds and his way of life must be ours.

As Jesus Christ says: "He who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:13); if we want to obtain salvation, we must persevere and continue to the end.

This is why Revelation 2: 10-11 exhorts us saying: “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not suffer damage from the second death. ”

Living according to the word of God, like repentance, baptism and faith, is a requirement to obtain salvation; whoever does not comply with any of these will not be saved.

¿How to obtain salvation: what should you do?

First, you must be clear that God "wants all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2: 4).

And, as we see in 1 Peter 3: 9, he also wants us to repent: “The Lord does not delay his promise, as some consider it to be late, but he is patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to proceed to repentance. "

God wants each of us to repent and come to the knowledge of his truth. He also expects us to believe and have faith in his son Jesus Christ and to be baptized, symbolizing the death of our "old man." Our Creator wants us to live according to His laws and, eventually, to be saved and live in His Kingdom forever.