What Must I Do To Be Saved?
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin ArticlesWe usually think of the above question in terms of non-Christians where the answer is similar to Peter’s reply in Acts 2:38. But we need to think of this question in another way. What must I as a Christian already involved in the church do to be saved?
Your first thought might be, “I’m already saved.” However, the question we as Christians must consider is this: Is a simple-minded, flippant attitude toward God’s grace and my own wonderfulness all that God expects of me? Jesus pointed out that many in the judgment day will proudly boast of what they have done for their Lord and yet be turned away for their disobedience (Matthew 7:21-23).
It is easy for us to become complacent toward God’s grace and forgiving spirit and comfortable with giving Him less than our best. David declared the real sacrifice God wants from us is “a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17). We may hear people say, “God wants me to be happy.” The problem is that nowhere in God’s Word is there any suggestion that God, like some super Santa, is sitting around just waiting to give us anything we imagine that we want to make us what we imagine as happy!
Let’s dispense with this religious myth. God wants, first and foremost, our devotion, our allegiance to Him. Only when He is the supreme Lord of our lives does He then promise happiness and that happiness is “not as the world gives” (John 14:27). Jesus Himself prayed, “not my will” (Luke 22:42), so how can we demand that God place what we personally want and think will make us happy as His priority?
What God does promise is that if we give Him our all, we will discover and possess real happiness. So, what’s the difference? Simply this: What is your attitude toward God and how is that attitude reflected in your service to Him? God is never satisfied with mediocrity! If you are content and think that you are doing enough for God, then you are failing Him. God never offers to settle for second place in our lives. We must always place Him first (Matthew 6:33).
How far should we go with placing God first? A Christian man or woman planning to enter a questionable marriage situation may ask, “What about my happiness? Doesn’t God care anything about me and what I want?” A Christian takes a vacation, gets away from work and also avoids worshiping God. Where’s the harm? Can’t God understand that our family time is important too? In each of these and so many other every day events in our lives, the real problem is a failure to put God first. No, God does not understand that your idea of family is important! He does not want you to be happy by doing whatever you think is good for you. Rather, He demands that you place Him first: on Sunday and every other day of the week; before your family; and, most of all before yourself (Matthew 16:24-25).
Forget our opinions for a moment, and listen to God: “The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice” (Proverbs 12:15). “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12). “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12). “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins” (James 4:17). “No one who lives in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen Him or known Him” (1 John 3:6).
But didn’t Jesus bring a new way? Doesn’t He care what I want? Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brother and sister – yes, even his own life – he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27).
What is your level of commitment? Does He really own you? If not, you cannot hope to “cash in” on His blessings. Now is a good time for all of us as Christians to ask, “What must I do to be saved?” Forget the cop-out, sickly sweet, man-made versions of Christianity and get involved with the “real thing” that involves commitment, service and sacrifice.
Does that sound scary and hard? Remember what He has done for us and what He promises to those who faithfully serve Him. Real commitment to Him brings His acknowledgment of us as His people. Real service to Him brings the Good News to our friends and neighbors and lost souls to salvation. Real sacrifice means getting down on your knees, but it brings real honor.
Don’t give God the dregs, the leftovers of your life. Real saved people live like it! Let’s live like it together, encouraging one another and bearing one another’s burdens together this week! (Gal. 6:2).
—Lester P. Bagley, via the Montana Street bulletin