HOW A SOUL IS SAVED
There is no question more urgent, no matter more weighty, than this: How shall a man be saved? Not how shall he be improved, or reformed, or made respectable among his fellows, but how shall he be delivered from sin, from guilt, from the just judgment of a holy God? The answer is not hidden in mystery, nor reserved for the learned; it is declared plainly in the Word of God, that even the simplest heart may receive it and live.
First, there must be a true sight of sin. A man will never flee to the Savior until he knows his need of salvation. The Bible testifies that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, that there is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10, 23). Sin is not merely a misstep or a weakness; it is rebellion against the Creator, a violation of His law, a stain upon the soul. When the message of Christ awakens the conscience, the sinner begins to feel the weight of this reality, and the question rises from the depths: What must I do?
Yet the answer does not lie within the sinner himself. No work of man can remove guilt, no effort can cleanse the heart. Salvation is not earned, “for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). If a man could save himself, Christ need not have died. But the cross stands as the eternal witness that salvation is the work of God alone.
Behold then the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). He lived the life we could not live, in perfect obedience, and died the death we deserved, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24). The justice of God was satisfied in Him; the wrath due to sin was poured out upon Him. And He did not remain in the grave, but was raised in power, declaring that the work of redemption is finished (Romans 4:25).
What then must a man do? He must believe. Not merely assent with the mind, but trust with the heart. To believe in Christ is to cast oneself entirely upon Him, to rest in His finished work, to rely upon His righteousness and not one’s own. “He who believes in Him is not condemned,” and again, “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (John 3:18; Romans 10:13). This faith is not a work that earns salvation, but the empty hand that receives it.
Yet this faith is not alone; it is joined with repentance. The sinner who comes to Christ turns from sin, not in perfection, but in sincerity. There is a change of mind, a change of direction, a turning of the heart toward God (Acts 3:19; 2 Corinthians 7:10). One cannot cling to sin and cling to Christ at the same time. Where grace enters, it begins its transforming work.
And as the Lord has commanded, the believer is to be baptized, not as a mere outward form, but as a participation in the death and resurrection of Christ, a burial of the old life and a rising to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4). Faith lays hold of the promise, and God, who is faithful, grants what He has declared.
O dear soul, do not delay. Salvation is not found in tomorrow, but in the present call of the gospel. “Now is the accepted time; now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Do not wait for a better heart, for you will never find it apart from Christ. Come as you are, with all your sin, all your burden, and lay hold of the Savior who is mighty to save.
For the promise stands sure: the one who comes to Him, He will by no means cast out (John 6:37). There is mercy enough, grace enough, power enough in Christ to save even the chief of sinners. Look to Him and live.
BDD
