Believe and Be Saved

"Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved" Mark 16:16

The pastor asked the inhabitants of the island of how someone must be saved.

An old man replied, "We will be saved if we repent, and forsake our sins, and turn to God."

"Yes," said a middle-aged female, "and with a true heart too."

"I agree," answered a third, "and with prayer." And, added a fourth, "It must be the prayer from the heart."

"And we must be diligent too," said a fifth, "and keep the commandments."

After each had contributed to the discussion, they felt that a decent creed had been compiled. They all turned and waited for the pastor's approval.  But instead they had aroused deep pity in his heart.

The worldly mind always tries to map out a way we can do works and become great, but the Lord's way is just the opposite.  Believing and being baptized aren't deeds to be gloried in. They are so simple that boasting is impossible, and God deserves all the praise for the free grace He has given.

To believe is simply to trust, to depend, to rely on Christ Jesus. To be baptized is to submit to the ordinance which our Lord fulfilled at Jordan, to which the earliest believers submitted at Pentecost, and to which the jailer obeyed the night of his conversion. The outward sign of baptism does not save, but it encompasses our death, burial, and resurrection with Jesus, and, like the Lord's Supper, shouldn't be neglected.

It may be that you are unsaved. What is the reason? Do you think Jesus' singular path of salvation is unclear? But how can that be when God has given us His own word and His assurance of its clarity? Do you think it is too easy? Why, then, do you not accept and embrace it? Its ease leaves those who choose to neglect it without excuse.

If you are not a believer, then remember there is only one door, and if you will not enter by it you will perish in your sins. But if you do believe in Jesus, then my dear friend, dismiss your fears, for you will surely be saved.

Question: Do we sometimes put too much confidence in our own good works? How can we begin to focus more on God?