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The most important thing in this life is to know where you will spend eternity. The images below are the front and back of a 5 by 8 card with verses from the Bible. These verses talk about salvation according to the Christian Bible. Biblical salvation (being saved from God's wrath on unrepentant sinners) offers the hope and reality of a better life now as well as assurance of where you will spend eternity.
My parents selected these verses and designed the card. They have distributed these cards on street corners in New York City and other places.
God does the saving (John 6:44). A saved person will begin to obey God's commandments (John 14:15) and want to learn more about Him (Psalm 1:1-2). There are many more verses that talk about Salvation, and all too often these verses are overlooked. I believe the serious Christian should consider these verses and what they say about salvation.
Salvation is only through the Messiah
The Bible makes it pretty clear that salvation is only through Christ, and not through any other religious leader, profit, or supposed deity. This is clear in the first and second commandments, Acts 4:12 quoted below, and this verse:
John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me."
Salvation and the need for baptism?
While I don't know of a verse that says presicely that you must be baptised to be saved, Acts 2:38 comes pretty close. Do we need to be baptised? I think of the man on the cross next to Christ. He certainly wasn't baptized in any sense that we would recognize as baptism, so it would seem the answer is no. But it IS certainly appropriate to be baptised after salvation. Here's what the Bible says. Peter had just been asked "What must we do to be saved?" And peter said:
Acts 2:38: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Salvation and the need for repentance
Acts 2:38 places as much emphasis on baptism as it does on repentance. Repentance involves confessing our sins before God and asking Him for forgiveness. It also means turning away from our sin and living righteously.
Salvation and the need for living righteously
Romans 6:23 is often used to show that salvation is a free gift. But this verse is linked with an entire chapter that talks about the need for living righteously. In this context, it is clear that verse 23 is a summary verse. The overall message of this chapter can better be seen when verse 22 is included, as it is here:
Romans 6:22 "But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
There are many other verses that stress the importance of living righteously:
1 Peter 1:16 "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."
Matthew 5:20 "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Romans 3 19-28 also talks about the need for Christ's righteousness.
But the Bible also says:
Romans 3:10 "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one"
How then can we obtain a righteous life?
Salvation and the need for imputed righteousness
Since no one can meet the righteous demands of the Law of God, we must have Christ's righteousness placed on us so that we can appear righteous before God. This is essentially what imputed righteousness is. The last verse here is key.
Romans 4:1-5 "What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. 4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
Salvation is a gift, not earned by works
Since righteousness is required for salvation, yet nobody can be righteous in God's eyes on their own, it should be clear that salvation isn't earned by doing good things. Salvation is a gift as these verses make clear:
Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.
If it were, how do we know when we've been good enough? Who's defining the terms here? Is it humans telling God what's required for salvation or God telling humans what His requirements are?
Only one Name:
The Bible places strong emphasis on the name of God in a variety of verses. Acts 4:12 links this importance directly with salvation. It says:
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
There is more about the significance of God's name on my Bible Lessons page where it talks about God's name.
Want to know more?
If you find yourself interested in learning more about the Bible, a great place to start would be the Bible itself. You might also want to look at my Bible Lessons page.
Whether you find yourself interested in learning more or if you are put off by what I've said so far consider this:
All religions can be classified into two categories. They are either man's attempt to define God, or God's instructions for man. If a religion is the former, how can anyone be sure that religion is right? If you're following that religion and it's not right, you can only hope that God's requirements aren't any higher than what that religion has defined.
The Bible claims to be God's message to mankind. The Bible makes some pretty astounding statements regarding itself, God, the human condition, and God's requirements for humans to avoid His wrath. Even if these claims are not true, the Bible defines a much higher standard than any other religion I know of, and this fact alone should give cause for anyone interested in their relationship with God to study what the Bible has to say carefully.
Anyone who believes their way is the only way to salvation should consider this: God ultimately makes the decision about who is right with him and who isn't. This should be very humbling to anyone who believes they have found the only true way to salvation.
This web site is under ongoing review. I do not claim to have knowledge of all things. As I learn more, I will change what I said to reflect what I have learned. I enjoy discussing anything mentioned on my site, so please feel free to share. All I ask is that you format any correspondence in the form of comments, questions, and constructive criticisms. Please be polite!
Now hold on, the ride is about to begin...
