There are two parts to God’s plan of salvation.  The first, and by far the most important, part of the plan belongs to God.  We are saved by grace because God did for us that which we could not do for ourselves, beginning with the sacrifice of His one and only Son.

John 3:16 (ESV)
¹⁶  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Thank God every day that Jesus was willing to become the propitiation for our sins.  We cannot put into words the love, grace, and mercy that was involved in Jesus giving up the riches of heaven, taking on a human body, and dying in our stead (Galatians 3:13; 1:4).  We should be thankful that He was willing to pay such a high price.

The death of Christ, however, was not enough.  For Jesus to become our Savior, He had to be raised from the dead by the power of God (Romans 4:25).  Jesus knew this was true and implied it when He promised to build His church.  He said, “…I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).  This tells us that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, hell would have been victorious, and Jesus never would have become the Savior of the world.  Thank God He was raised for our justification.

Without God graciously acting on our behalf, there would be nothing we could do to secure for ourselves eternal life.  Salvation is truly a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9).  This does not mean, however, that there is nothing for man to do to be saved.  The idea that if God gives man commandments to obey in order to be saved, He loses His sovereignty over man’s salvation, and that salvation is no longer a matter of grace, is absolutely absurd.  Man does play a part, a God-given part, in the salvation of his soul, and that is never going to change.

What must a person do to be saved?  Jesus tells us.

John 6:45 – “Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.”

John 8:24 – “…for unless you believe that I am He you will die in your sins.”

Luke 13:3 – “…but unless you repent, you will likewise die in your sins.”

Matthew 10:32 – “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father.”

Mark 16:16 – “He who believes and is baptized will be saved…” 

What do we find in these passages?  A person must hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized.  This is not my opinion, theory, or interpretation of passages, but rather the clear teaching of Jesus based on His direct statements regarding what a person must do to be saved.  It is never going to change.  Man has endeavored to come up with other plans from “faith alone,” to “the sinner’s prayer,” but God’s plan remains the same.

God’s plan of salvation is the only one that works.  Let’s make sure that it is the only one that we teach others.  If you have not obeyed it yet, I pray that you will do so soon, even this very night.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.