Salvation - Simply Believe

What must I do to be saved?

They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, ..."[1]

And without faith it is impossible to please Him,
for he who comes to God must believe that He is
and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.[2]

"For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish,
but have eternal life.[3]

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, …[4]

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.[5]

… but these have been written so that you may believe
that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God;

and that believing you may have life in His name.[6]

Two questions may be asked. “Who is Jesus?” and, “What does it mean to believe?” The first is the more important of the two. Who is Jesus?

Jesus:

… is the Son of God[8]
… was born of a virgin[9]
… lived a sinless life[10]
… died on the cross for the sins of all people[11]
… was buried and raised again the third day[12]
… sits at the right hand of God the Father.[13]

The second question, “What does it mean to believe?” is answered in 2 Thessalonians 2:13, “And for this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received[14] from us the word of God's message, you accepted[15] {it} not {as} the word of men, but {for} what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” You must first receive the Word of God. You may hear the Word of God. You may read the Word of God. But you must receive the truth about who Jesus is. When you receive it you must than accept it as the Word of God. If you say that a man said it, that would not be belief. But if you say, “This is God’s Word.” then that is belief. Believing is receiving the Word of God and accepting it as the Word of God.

If you are unsure about who Jesus Christ is and what He has done it is suggested that you read the Gospel of John, which is written “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

For more information you may contact the pastor of HBC at Pastor@HillsboroBibleChurch.org.

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[4] 1 John 5:1a

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

[8] ibid
Matthew 27:54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

[9] Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
Matthew 1:23 "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which translated means, "GOD WITH US."

[10] Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

[11] 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
1 John 2:2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

[12] 1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, …

[13] Psalm 110:1 {A Psalm of David.} The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet."
Acts 2:33 "Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear.
Hebrews 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

[14] From the Koine Greek word, paralambanw, to receive, by hearing or reading.

[15] This is from the Koine Greek word, deiknumi, meaning to receive it with the welcome approval of positive volition – even as one welcomes a friend with a hand shake.