What must I do to be saved?

Acts 16:30 - 31 “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (31) And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”

This is the single most important question a human soul will ever ask, “what must I do to be saved?” The problem is, depending on who you ask if you get a correct answer. Salvation of the human soul is the most misunderstood question in humanity, because so few know the true answer. Here Paul and Silas answered the question asked by the Philippian jailer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved”. The salvation of the human soul is not difficult because Jesus did all the work to save us. And God told us right here through this account how a person is saved. So how do so many get salvation so wrong? People get salvation wrong because they do not believe God’s word, they do not believe that Jesus Christ can save a lost sinner, they believe that they somehow have enough power within themselves to complete their own salvation. No matter what God said some people just cannot comprehend the truth of the scriptures. God calls them “spiritually discerned” meaning they are lost and have no human ability to piece together the scriptures to reach the truth. Therefore, they belittle the birth, life, suffering, crucifixion, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and create their own salvation thru their own works and power. God said many times in the bible that works are not a part of our salvation, but for some reason many believe it is. “Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:9 So here in this passage we see God cause a great earthquake, open the bands of all the prisoners, and not one prisoner escaped. All of this to bring this one jailer to the point of conviction to ask this all-important question, what must I do to be saved? The question is, did Paul and Silas lie to him, did they not completely answer the convicted mans question, why do so many people tell it differently? Some will tell you that Paul and Silas only partially answered the question here and there was so much we must do to be saved. But why, why must we be required to labor in our works to be saved? And how is it that we can labor for our salvation when Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 Why didn’t Paul and Silas explain this impossible labor to this jailer? And where in the bible does God even tell us by our works we will be saved? And how can God tell us that we cannot be saved by works and them demand that we must have works to be saved? How can we have rest in Jesus if we must labor an impossible labor to complete our salvation? The truth is that God went thru a great detailed event just to save this one single lost soul. Those that believe man instead of God must understand they will never be saved believing a lie. God said, “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” Matthew 15:14 People who believe that works are part of our salvation are spiritually blind they cannot spiritually decern what the bible says therefore they make-up lies to lead people into the ditch that is so deep it ends in the fires of hell.     

God’s diversities of spiritual gifts.

 1 Corinthians 12:4 - 6 "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. (5) And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. (6) And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all." 

Let me ask you a question, does God owe equality to all humanity, is God obligated to offer the same gifts to all mankind? I hope to answer this question in this article, however I cannot make anyone believe anything, because only God can change the heart of a person and give increase. The word “diversities” means - a distinction or (concretely) variety: - difference, (per Strongs) and W. E. Vines defines it this way - divers kinds. – or varying types. People can believe anything they want, but the scriptures are non-negotiable. God said, “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” 2 Peter 1:20 Meaning the bible is not “of human interpretation”, It is God’s voice to us and must be believed as written. Jesus said, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” Revelation 1:3 So let us look at the words “diversities of gifts”, the gifts God is speaking of are given by God thru the Holy Spirit. We see an example of some of these in Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” However, anything given a human by God is given thru the Holy Spirit meaning all gifts of God are spiritual gifts. Salvation is a gift, it is not taken, earned, and no one is entitled to receive salvation. God said of salvation, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” Ephesians 2:8 Since it is a “gift of God” it is therefore given as a spiritual gift from God thru the Holy Spirit. God also said that grace is a part of our salvation which is defined as a gracious gift by God acting out of His own grace. People want to believe that God must be equal to all mankind or God is bias toward one people over another, but that is not true, God owes no person anything. Therefore, God has the Sovereign right to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor as He chooses. “Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” Romans 9:21 God chose Israel as His chosen Nation; God was not bias because He has the right to choose as He will’s. Just as God has the right to choose to whom He wants to receive His spiritual gifts. Therefore, God is diverse in His distribution of spiritual gifts because He has that right. Even I as a man have the right to give gifts as I choose, I can give none or as many as I choose and to whom I choose. People also say that “God gives all people the same grace and what we do with it is up to us” but this is also wrong. God gives grace as a gift, and He gives to each person as He chooses. The Apostle Paul wrote, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." Rom. 12:3 Paul also wrote these words, “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Eph. 4:7 Both grace and faith is given as God has chosen to give it and it is given thru the power of the Holy Spirit as God has chosen. Paul also wrote these words in our text scripture, “…it is the same God which worketh all in all." While the godhead works “as there are diversities of operations” It is the Triune God that works all the works together. It does not matter what people believe, all that matter is what God has taught you because our true belief in the bible is also a gift from God just as our salvation, church membership, our spiritual growth, our work for the Lord, if it is God involved it is a spiritual gift from God given as He has chosen thru the Holy Spirit’s has distribution. No human soul has any right to receive anything of God because God owes no person anything. This is why the Apostle Paul wrote these words about His life in the ministry “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul recognized that all He was as a Christian was a gift of God’s grace, and “but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God” even though he labored more than all others it was still God’s grace and power. Life as a Christian is all about the gift of grace by God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the love and work of Jesus Christ. We all need the humility of the Apostle Paul, but that to is a gift from God.   

“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men…”

2 Corinthians 5:11 “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”

Preachers, pastors, churches, and Christians alike have mostly stopped witnessing about “the terror of the Lord”. The word “terror” means - to be put in fear of the Lord. It means to put the fear of God into people’s heart; however, this is impossible when impostors who are imitating real God called preachers and assemblies who are imitating real God assembled churches are preaching lies about God and the bible. Hell is a real place; people really die every day and open their eyes to see the terror of sin. God really does punish sin and bad things happen because people fail to serve God. Being a servant of God is telling people the truth about God, sin, death, and hell flames. It is not about lying to people about God, sin, death, and hells flames for money. It is not about lying to people to build mega church buildings that know no truth of God’s word. The qualification of both Pastors and deacons is to not be about “filthy lucre” but to be about the truth of God. The truth of God is putting “the terror of the Lord” in their hearts, both saved and lost people. People, whether saved or lost need to know that we are to fear God because without fearing God, we will never respect Him enough to walk a righteous path in life. Lost people will not think about dying and going to hell if they do not believe they could go there. Christians will stop worshipping God, both in their life and in the churches if they stop fearing God. Job wrote these words, “And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” Job 28:28 If Christians lose that fear of God, then they will refuse to depart from sin and will never understand the truth about God’s chastisements. Why would a lost soul ever concern themselves with God’s punishments in hell’s flames if they believe everyone is going to heaven. God warned us in Prov. 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” It is our fear of God’s terror that causes us to thing about what God said and puts the fear in our hearts to obey the Lord. How many people talk about the Tribulation period, when Jesus Christ begins to open the seven sealed book and the wrath of God starts to fall on this earth. The word “wrath” means the anger of God. The anger He said He had before He flooded the earth and killed every living soul on the earth except the eight souls He had grace on in the Ark. God said, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.” Genesis 6:11, 12, 17 However, this time God will slowly destroy mankind, He will punish them for their sins, He will make them wish they were dead, He will make them beg to die before He destroys them. People need to be reminded about the terror of God, they need to hear the truth because without it, we will not fear God. It is true that God is a God of love, but He is also a Father of chastisement, He is also a God of judgment and the punisher of sinfulness. It matters not if they listen to us, or if they call us liars, or if they leave the churches, or even persecute us, we must warn them, both saved and lost, about the consequences of sin. We must let them hear about the terror of God, and if we do not then we have failed in our calling.     

Nothing can separate us from God’s love.

Romans 8:38 - 39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, is the love that will never leave us, we cannot even lose it at will. How anyone could read this passage of scripture and believe that we could ever be lost after God saves us is beyond me. It is not that God come to love us after we are saved, but that Jesus Christ is God showing us His love. God said His love is an “everlasting love” and it is because of that very love that He draws us to Christ. “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31:3 God said it is because of this everlasting love that He elected to send His own Son Jesus Christ in the likeness of sinful flesh, to suffer greatly and die a horrible death at the hands of wicked and evil men. No one know if God will ever “draw them” to Jesus Christ for salvation but once He does, He show us His everlasting love in that drawing, as He saves our souls. Now, we must understand that God loves those He calls and draws because those are the people, He has such a great love for, and if God does not call a lost soul they will never come to Christ. Jesus said in John 6:44 “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” But once God calls you, then you will be shown the eternal love God has for you from eternity past. Once God calls, you will come to Jesus Christ and find your blessed Saviour and see in Him God’s love. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14

Now let us understand that God’s love is not temporary, oh no, it never ends and neither does the gift of salvation to all that God called and saves in His Son Jesus Christ. People who believe in a weak salvation and believe that somehow a child of God can be kicked out of God’s family does not understand God and His love. They do not understand the salvation that we are blessed with by the grace of God and the blessings that are in Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 6:39 “And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.” If Jesus said that He will not lose any souls the Father gave Him, then how can man say that He can? Why would anyone who has been saved by God’s grace and shown God’s eternal love in Jesus Christ ever want to believe that somehow, we could be separated God’s love from us?  Therefore, Paul under the power of the Holy Spirit wrote these words, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Anything one could imagine is included in this passage of scripture. God included “angels” both God’s angels and Satan’s angels, He also included all powers that be, and He included “nor things present, nor things to come”, and last, He included us, “nor any other creature”. I don’t know about some people, but it most certainly sounds like our salvation stands on very solid ground and safe in Jesus Christ. Thank You Lord!  

The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous.

1 Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.”

God is not only watching us as a Protective Father, but His ears are always open to our prayers. We know that He loves us with an eternal love, not a love that came to be, but an eternal love that has always been with Him. Ah, if people only understood the truth about God and His election, and His gifting us to Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world, and in time saving our unworthy souls, they would stand in Ah! We who understand this still need reminding just how much God loves us and cares for us. God cares for us, He watches us, He sees and knows all that we go through in life. He knows about the persecution of His people, and He never fails to hear their cries. Because the eyes of the Lord never sleep, He never leaves us not even for a second, and He will make sure that nothing happens to us outside of His ordained will. Peter went on to write in verse 13 “And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?” We need not ever to worry about our safety because God is our protector, and He controls the harm to us. God is Sovereign, He controls all powers, and nothing happens out of His control. As God’s children we must remember who we are and who we belong too. We must remember that it is God who ordained our life for us and that we truly do move, live, and have our being as God has chosen. Our Father never gives us all the same of everything but is diverse in His blessings. 1 Corinthians 12:4 - 6 "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all." God did not make His children all the same, He did not give us all the same blessings, He does not make us all identical, but we all have the same Father, the same Saviour and the same Holy Spirit working in our life. We all have equal protection from our Father and His eyes are forever on us. Wuest said in his commentary “The word "over" is literally "upon." The eyes of the Lord are directed in a favorable sense for the good of those that are righteous.” We must remember the word of God and keep it in context, no matter what happens in life there is an ordained purpose behind it. God never loses sight of us; we never lose the eyes of our Father no matter where we are in this world. Our focus in life must be on pleasing our Heavenly Father not on prosperity, not on advancing, not on anything else but walking and living to please God. We must be the righteous among the lost, not only in words but also in action and deed. Paul wrote in, Eph 5:1 - 2 "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; (2) And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour." As dear children Albert Barnes said, “The meaning is, “as those children which are beloved follow the example of a father, so we, who are beloved of God, should follow his example.” What a simple rule this is!” Simple because it is the one thing in life, we must make our life battle. The eternal purpose of God is our life, the eyes of God never leave us, and our Heavenly Father will never leave or forsake us, what else could we ever ask for? What a blessing from Our Heavenly Father!