What Must I Do To Be Saved?
Introduction:
The confusion could be devastating to our Christian growth that comes when we seek a clear answer to the question: “What must I do to be saved?” All Christian denominations do not agree on the answer to this question. The answers are so widely varied that it could be difficult for some believers to be assured of their salvation; and for those who seek to evangelize to the nonbelievers, might find it nearly impossible to bring clarity to these differences. One would think that after approximately 2000 years of studying and writing on the subject, scholars would have come together on a unified answer to that question. Instead, even today, Christian denominational groups remain separated on their views.
Christ seeks to bring us together as one body; but how can we become united as one while holding these conflicting views on something as central to our unity as the meaning of salvation and what it takes for one to be saved? How can we as individuals feel assured that the answer to this question that we hold about “What must I do to be saved” is the correct one? How did this happen? How did we get into this predicament?
In this article, I hope to bring some clarity to this issue. In order to do this, I have divided this discussion into two parts: In Part One, I will explore Scriptural text that tells us what Jesus had to say about the subject; what He taught His disciple regarding this subject; and what His disciples taught others about the subject. In Part Two, we will explore text that shows when and how confusion began to set in; I will share my response to the issue; and finally, we will discuss the meaning of these understandings to us, both now and in our future Christian growth.
PART ONE
What Did Jesus, The Master Teacher, Have to Say About Salvation?
The Scriptural text I selected to facilitate our discussion on what Jesus had to say about salvation is John 3:2-15. This passage is selected because it describes an interview Nicodemus, one of the Jewish religious leaders, had with Jesus and is instructive at many different levels. In this passage, Jesus explained a change that one must undergo to receive salvation. From this interview, we will not only hear the words Jesus used, but we will get a sense of the context in which these words are used. This should add greater clarity to our understanding of the meaning of things. Also, as we progress in this discussion, we will attempt to explain the meaning of various terms and phrases that are essential for understanding the concepts presented here.
The Interview with Nicodemus
Nicodemus came to Jesus by night (in secret) giving the impression that he did not want others to know that he was making this contact. He said to Jesus, “WE know you are a teacher that comes from God because no man could do those things except God be with him (v.3).” It is important to note that Nicodemus did not say “I” know. He said “We” know. He was telling Jesus that other Pharisees believed as he did. It is also important to note that Nicodemus did not say we “believe”, but he said we “know” — which implied that they not only had an idea that He was a teacher from God but they were convinced that He was.
It is interesting to note that after Nicodemus’ statement, with no further prompting from Nicodemus, Jesus, for some reason (commentators speculate that Jesus was using His omniscient abilities — knowing all), moved to begin explaining to Nicodemus that a man had to be born again to enter into the Kingdom of God. Here we are introduced to two important terms we need to understand: (1) “born again” and (2) “Kingdom of God”.
Before we begin exploring the meanings of these two terms and future terms to be used, we need to understand the time in biblical history when this interview took place. This was a time when the Israelites were being urged to make a dramatic turn in the way they related to God. John the Baptist had been “preaching in the wilderness of Judea saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’” (Matthew 3:1-2). Jesus was preparing to establish His kingdom on earth. For the Israelites, salvation by righteousness was about to change over to salvation by grace (Romans 3:26-28). Understanding this is important because some of the terms Jesus used from this point on were terms that were either unfamiliar to the Israelites, or had a slightly different meaning than before. Such was the case when Jesus used the two terms “you must be born again” and entering the “Kingdom of God”.
You Must Be Born Again
First, let us look at the term “born again”. This term was a new term to the people of those days. It only appears three times in the New Testament, (John 3:3, John 3:6, and 1 Peter 1:23). There are other words, however, that expressed the same concept in various places in the bible such as: regenerated (Titus 3:4-5), renewed, remade and born of God (Holman Bible Dictionary, p 1372). So, when Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again, Nicodemus had no idea as to what Jesus was talking about.
So what did Jesus mean when He said “you must be born again? “Born again” and “regeneration” describes the same event as conversion. It is understood not to be the results of any thing that can be done by humans. It is an act that is done strictly by the power of God (New Dictionary of Theology, p. 574). It is a spiritual re-creation that man must undergo to have a relationship with God to enter His kingdom (Holman Bible Dictionary, p.1372). Exactly what goes on during that act is unknown to man as Jesus stated in His interview with Nicodemus. He likened it to the wind: You can hear the sound of it but you cannot tell “whence it cometh, and whiter it goeth” (John 3:8). To be “born again” means that one receives forgiveness of sins through belief in Christ and begins a life characterized by faith, love and hope. (New Dictionary of Theology, p.574). This is what Jesus told Nicodemus that needed to happen to him if he was to understand spiritual things. Without that rebirth he cannot see the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God
Now let us turn to see what Jesus meant when He used the term “Kingdom of God”. The New Dictionary of Theology states that “The phrase ‘Kingdom of God’ does not occur in the Old Testament, however, the notions of God as king and of his kingly rule are pervasive (p. 367).” The Kingdom of God that Jesus announced was very different from the idea of a kingdom of the Old Testament (OT). It did, however, “answer to the great OT expectation — the realization of Israel’s hope, the fulfillment of the covenant promises made to the fathers; the new and final order at the end of history has arrived at last… (p.367-368).” The Kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom. Those who enter into this kingdom live a life of faith, love and hope because of their belief in Jesus the Christ. So, again what Jesus tells Nicodemus and the rest of us is this: If we want to live in this spiritual kingdom (Kingdom of God/ Heaven), we need to be able to understand spiritual things; and in order for that to happen, our way of thinking needs to be completely transformed from being carnal minded to being spiritual minded. This is something that is done by the Holy Spirit and is initiated when we place our belief and trust in Him — this is His Kingdom. Otherwise, we will not be able to even see the Kingdom. After all, “That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of spirit is spirit” (John 3:6).
Born of the water and of the Spirit
Because Nicodemus had difficulty understanding what Jesus meant when He used the term “born again”, like any good teacher would do, Jesus used another term that meant the same thing, but one with which Nicodemus would have been more familiar. Jesus told Nicodemus that except a man “be born of the water and of the Spirit” he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5). While this term may have been more familiar to Nicodemus, through the years, it has presented a challenge to students and religious leaders. Many people want to separate this term into two parts: “born of the water” which they equate with water baptism, and “of the Spirit” which they equate with Spiritual Baptism. Commentators agree that these are “‘…two words’ that refer to one thing. They signify the grace of the Spirit of God. Water is meant in a figurative and metaphorical sense as is seen in Ezekiel 36:25.” It is simply another way of saying the same thing as being “born again” or “regenerated”, but probably a term with which Nicodemus would have been more familiar. This was a term more of his time and culture (Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible).
The Lifting of the Bronze Serpent
Nicodemus still had trouble understanding “How can these things be?” (John 3:9) So Jesus, while still amazed that Nicodemus was a master of Israel and did not know these things, used another example from Nicodemus’ time to help him understand the power of believing. I believe it was also intended to bring an end to Nicodemus’ continuous inquiry. He cited the time when God told Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole in the middle of the Israelite camp, so that the Israelites bitten by the serpents that God had sent on them as a punishment for their murmuring against Him, can express their faith by looking at it and be healed (Numbers 21:6-9). He explained to Nicodemus that like the serpent was lifted up to provide physical healing for the Israelites, He would also have to be lifted up (on the cross) to provide spiritual healing for all afflicted by sin. Whoever believes in Him “will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:14).
About Belief
I heard the Master Teacher say to Nicodemus that even if you are unable to understand these spiritual things that I have tried to explain to you, if you would believe in me, you will have eternal life. At this point, it is necessary for us to focus on the word “believe”.
We noted earlier that Nicodemus used a word that implied a higher level of conviction than to simply “believe” — he said, “We ‘know’ you are…”; but even that level of belief did not prove to be sufficient for Nicodemus to understand the spiritual things Jesus tried to explain to him. This gives me reason to ask the question: “What kind of belief is necessary to receive eternal life?”
When we search biblical resources for deeper meaning of the word “believe”, we find that it is often used in the same sense as the word “faith”, but it usually only represents one element of faith — the intellectual element. The intellectual element of faith is what we find when we search the dictionary for a definition of the word believe. Merriam-Webster.com/dictionary defines it as such: “to accept something as true, genuine, or real”. But when “believe” takes on the same biblical definition as “faith”, it has a broader meaning than the intellectual element alone. This definition (usually supported by Scriptures such as: Luke 18:8, Acts 6:7; 1 Tim. 4:1; 6:10; Jude 3), represents not only the intellectual element, but the emotional and the voluntary elements as well. In other words, when “believe” means the same as “faith”, it not only means that we accept Jesus for who He says He is (the intellectual element); but there is also an awakening of the soul to its personal needs and a personal yearning for the benefits of His redemptive powers (the emotional element); and finally a sense of trust is adopted to the extent that one totally surrenders him/herself to God for all things, both now and forever (the voluntary element). These three elements are seen as progressive — each preceding term logically leads to the succeeding term. It is also believed that a man is not saved unless his faith has all three of these elements in it. (Thiessen, Henry C., Lectures in Systematic Theology, 1949, p.270-274) and (McKenzie, S.J, John L., Dictionary of the Bible, pp. 267-271)
As we can see from the progressive nature of the elements described above, faith comes in varying degrees. We also know this because Jesus often scolded His disciples when they had difficulty understanding what He was saying to them or if they doubted His divinity, by saying: “Oh ye of little faith” (Luke 12:2; Matthew 8:26; Matthew 6:30). We also know by Scripture that our faith can “increase” (Luke 17:5; Colossians 2:7). So when we say we believe, we should be sure that we mean it in the deepest sense.
Summary of the Interview:
In summarizing this interview, we saw a sincere inquirer wanting to know more about Jesus and His message, but he was unable to understand because his mind had not been transformed to understand spiritual things. Jesus told him in the beginning of the interview that he needed to be born again/ regenerated/ born of the water and of the spirit, but because of his continuous inquiry, Jesus continue to use various teaching strategies to help Nicodemus understand. Jesus finally told Nicodemus by referencing the “bronze serpent” that he must “believe” in Him to be born again.
This interview also revealed the importance of knowing and understanding the meaning of terms used and the historical time in which they were used. If those terms were confusing to Nicodemus and he was closer to those times than we, then I can imagine that they would be even more confusing to us.
The Master Teacher Instructs His Disciples:
In Mark 16:15-16, Jesus told His disciples to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Here He told His disciples whoever “believes AND is baptized” will be saved. We should understand that these instructions were given to His disciples after He had finished preparing them to go out to preach — which will be explained later. It should also be understood that “baptism” here means the “external signature of the inner faith of the heart”, just as “confessing with the mouth” is in Ro 10:10; It was the kind of baptism John performed (immersion) (Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers).
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus told His disciples to go to all nations of people, not just to the Jews; baptizing them — but this time is different from Mark 16:16 — in the “name” (name of one unit) of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost (the first time they were instructed to do so). Baptism was to be no longer, as it had been in the hands of John as the forerunner, merely a symbol of repentance, but was the token that those who received it were brought into an altogether new relation to Him who was thus revealed to them (Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers); teaching them to observe all things Jesus had taught them.
On Baptism
Jesus is therefore telling His disciples that the people must believe and be “baptized” to be saved. It is of utmost importance for us to remember that this baptism symbolizes a public confession of a new relationship that we have just entered into — one of faith, hope, and trust in Jesus. Now there are some that want to make light of baptism — questioning if it is even necessary or does it have any saving power; but we should remember what Jesus had to say about “public confessions”. In Matthew 10:32-33 Jesus said: “32. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” Therefore, if the ultimate goal of this Christian journey is to grow into the image of Jesus (which is the image of God) and to share in His glory as Jesus prayed for in John 17:20-26, then I would not want to risk sharing in His glory, simply because I could not show my obedience to Jesus by acknowledging Him before Men.
What Did the Disciples Teach on “What Must I Do To Be Saved?”
Peter Addresses the House of Israel:
In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:37-38, KJV) it is reported that after hearing Peter preach to the men of Judea and all who dwelled in Jerusalem (devout men from every nation under the heaven) concerning who Jesus was (the Messiah) and that the men of Israel had killed Him but God had raised Him from the dead, they were “cut to the heart” and asked, “…what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. In this passage, Peter used the word “repent” which mean to change your minds about Him. In other words, stop thinking He is an impostor and a blasphemer and believe that He is the one sent from God. So Peter taught that you must believe and be baptized to be saved.
Paul and Silas and the Philippian Jailor:
When the Philippian Jailor asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (See Acts 16:25-33), they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, you and your household (Acts 16:31).” Paul and Silas did not say “and be baptized”, but Acts 16:33, said that the jailor “took them at the same hour of the night and washed their stripes (they had been beaten). And immediately he and his family were baptized.” Again they are saying believe and be baptized.
What Must I Do to Be Saved? “The Answer”
In the interview with Nicodemus, aside from explaining what it meant to be saved (born again/ regenerated/ born of the “water and the Spirit”), Jesus gave us one definite answer to the question. He said you must believe in me to be saved. He taught His disciples that those who believe in Him and are baptized (as a public confession of their faith in Him) will be saved. His disciples told those they ministered to that they must believe and be baptized to be saved. So the answer is clear. If you believe in Jesus Christ and be baptized, “YOU WILL BE SAVED”.
The answer is clear and direct; however, in the beginning of this discussion, we said this was “one of the most confusing doctrines to understand”. So, what is so confusing about this? How could something as clear and simple as this become confusing?
PART TWO
Confusion Sets In
As folks continued to seek an understanding of how God interacts with His people and His efforts to help redeem man from sin, questions arose in regards to God’s sovereign power and how He uses it to bring His redemptive plan to completion. As a result of the Apostle Paul’s writing on predestination found in Romans 8:29-30; Romans 9:10-23; Eph. 1:5 and Eph. 1:11, according to W. R. Godfrey and others, “…the church, through the ages has laboured to understand what Paul and other biblical writers meant by predestination (The New Dictionary of Theology, p.528).” Hence, many questions came up in regards to salvation and particularly concerning “believing”; and the significance of baptism.
In this discussion, time will not allow me to venture into a thorough explanation of the delicate and extremely complicated subject of predestination; however, I will present a very general overview of predestination as related to salvation according to my understanding of what is revealed in Scripture. To help you with more detailed information on the subject, I will provide sites for “further reading” within the text, as well as at the end of this post.
Simply stated, the word “predestine” essentially means “to decide upon beforehand”. Some other words that convey a similar idea are: to determine, to elect, to foreknow. The doctrine teaches that God has predestined some “before the foundation of the world that are appointed to be holy and without blame before Him in love …(Ephesians 1:4).” He will ultimately save those to the uttermost, “according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will . . . (Ephesians 1:11).” The counsel of God’s will is unknown to human wisdom; therefore, we cannot fully understand why God chose the people He did. Nevertheless, religious leaders and religious scholars have labored tirelessly to try to understand God’s thinking in this process. And according to “human wisdom” (understandings not supported by Scripture), they formulated some ideas about it and were successful in gaining followers of these ideas. As time progressed, other leaders had slightly different interpretations of the matter; hence, more groups of followers were formed.
Many of these interpretations seemed rational, but the problem with many of these ideas is that they clashed with the doctrine of “free will” (man’s ability to choose). As a result, many questions arose concerning “believing” and “being baptized” since these ideas are directly related to “free will”. Some such questions are: (1) If we have already been predestined to be saved, then what difference does it make whether we believe or not? (2) If I am not one of the elect that have been predestined to be saved, does that mean that I have been predestined to be condemned? (3) Can we believe on our own or does God have to “draw” us and make us believe? (4) Do we have to believe to be regenerated or do we have to be regenerated in order to believe? (Order of Salvation) (5) Does baptism have any saving power? If it does not, then why do we need to be baptized? These questions perhaps surfaced because predestination was interpreted out of proper context.
My Views on the Issue
The doctrine of predestination is best viewed as a part of a big picture — as one aspect of the salvation story. I believe the confusion comes when we attempt to understand it in isolation from the other aspects of the doctrine of salvation such as free will which emphasizes evangelizing. In his article on predestination, Chad Brand wrote: “Though the concept of predestination seems to conflict with the responsibility of the individual to answer the Gospel call, the two must be compatible, since the same inspired teachers in Scripture emphasize both (Holman Bible Dictionary, p. 1324).” It is clear to me that the two concepts shoot up from one central root. It is very conceivable that free will (man’s ability to freely choose) and predestination work side-by-side toward the fulfillment of God’s purpose for the redemption of His people.
Scripture shows that during Biblical history, God has always intervened in the development of His creation by electing or calling a nation or individuals to serve a special purpose for the completion of His Will. The following are some examples: He elected (called) the Nation of Israel. This nation was chosen to serve as a holy nation — a model nation for the rest of the world to pattern after (Exodus 19:6); God called Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:4-5), Noah (Genesis 6:13-18), and Moses (Exodus 3: 7-10) to do special work according to His purpose. He also chose His apostles (Luke 6:12-16) then sent them to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and preach the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 10:6-7); and later, He sent them to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
It is therefore, clear that predestination or election as related to the salvation story is more about “how” God works to bring salvation to all people, not as much about “who” He chooses or “how” He chooses them; and it should be viewed as such. It is also clear that the same God that predestines stills sends laborers into the entire world to proclaim the good news; and, we should understand as Mr. Brand stated, “There is not one iota of reason for the church to grow slack in evangelism, for without one preaching to them, sinners will never be saved (Holman Bible Dictionary, p.1325).” For this reason, we should be careful about what we believe in regards to predestination as it could cause believers to question their security and cause unbelievers not to believe; it could be a serious stumbling block to our relationship with God.
The Apostle Peter admits that the Apostle Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, “has written unto us some things that are hard to understand which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.” He goes on to tell us that “since we know these things, we should be careful not to be led away with the error of the lawless and fall from our own secure position (2 Peter 3:15-17, NIV).”
Where Do We Go From Here?
We should continue to look to Jesus for His teachings and the teachings of His Apostles for our salvation. If in our studies we encounter doctrines (teachings) that seem to be in conflict with other Christian doctrine, we should seek a deeper understanding by studying and continuing to pray to the Holy Spirit who will guide us in all truth (John 16:13).
So the answer to the question, “What must I do to be saved?” is given to us in Mark 16:16 and other places: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” This is what Jesus said and this is what I believe.
Finally, let us heed the words of the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 3:18 when he encourages us to “…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
Points for Consideration and Meditation:
- Consider this: Our belief/faith in God increases as we experience Him. It moves from just knowing of Him (intellectual level) to feeling the need for His presence, love and care (emotional element), to abandoning ourselves and submitting to His will (the voluntary element).
- Meditate on this: How strong or how great is your belief/faith?
Resources and Further Readings:
