What Must I Do to be Saved?

Mark 1:14-15 says: Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.” Matthew’s account is briefer: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

The gospel of God is the gospel pertaining to Jesus Christ. The word “gospel” means literally, good news. The bad news is that all are sinners and justly under the condemnation of God. Unless the sin problem is dealt with, then all would die in their sins and be justly condemned for them. The good news is that Jesus Christ has come and paid the price, by his death on the cross, for those who would repent and believe in Him.

The gospel then has two parts: repentance of sins and belief in Christ. On the condition of both of these, then the individual can have assurance of the forgiveness of sins, peace with God, and eternal life in the hereafter. Repent is an imperative that means be sorry for, and turn away from sin. The tense denotes an ongoing, habitual repentance. It is a lifestyle of sorrow and of turning away from sin. When Martin Luther nailed on the church door at Wittenburg his 95 theses the very first one stated, “1. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent" (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Such a lifestyle of repentance includes both a regular sorrow for and a confession of sins when they are committed. Likewise, the imperative, believe, denotes a lifestyle of ongoing belief and trust in Jesus as one’s Savior and Lord. These two imperatives go hand in hand. They should be understood as the two-pronged condition for eternal life, so much so that, if one exists without the other, then salvation should be suspect. That is, if someone says he believes in Jesus as Lord and Savior, but has no interest in, nor has demonstrated any repentance of sin in his life, then he should be duly warned. Christ warned strongly against the notion of claiming salvation, but continuing in the lawless state. He said, Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven (Mt 7:21).

Yet, the whole process of salvation, while conditioned upon man’s repentance and faith, is a gift of God. Paul says, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Eph 2:8-10).

It is important to note that while the gospel invitation has two parts, repentance and belief, scripture often cites only one of the two when giving a gospel call or invitation. When this is done, the other is assumed. For example, in Acts 16:31 when the Philippian jailor asks what he must do to be saved, Paul replies, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Why does he not say anything about repentance here? Does this suggest it is possible to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, be saved, and yet not repent? No, it is not necessary to add “repent” here, because it is implied by the command to believe in Him as Lord and Savior. If he is Lord, then a belief in Him demands a submission to Him as Lord, which implies repentance.

Likewise, in Luke 10 a certain lawyer put Jesus to the test by asking him “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” In response Jesus pointed him to the law and said, “do this and you will live” (Lk 10:28). “Do” is in the same tense as the imperative, “repent” in Mk 1:15. Yet, Jesus says nothing about belief in him. What gives? Was he really saying if you practice obeying the law, then you will live? Many take this verse as Jesus saying that if you obey the law perfectly, then you will live. But, he says nothing about perfect obedience. He says only, if you practice obedience to the law (moral law), then you will live. Is this true? Yes, because the only way anybody can obey is by faith. So, faith or belief is assumed here and it is not necessary to state it.

The gospel is simply, repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Confess that you are a sinner, justly under the wrath and condemnation of God and without hope in your own merits. Confess that you are sorry for your sins and that you want to trust Jesus and to follow Him. The good news is that because God is love, he sent his only Son to die that we might have forgiveness, peace with God, and eternal life. If you have not already done so, repent and believe the gospel. May God give you grace to do so.