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QUESTION 119
This question is asked in Acts 16:30, "What must I do to be saved?" Does this not tell us there is something we must do?

ANSWER:
When we, as gospel preachers say, there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. This means we cannot do anything to take away our sins, or to inherit God's great salvation. We cannot undo any sins we have committed, and just quitting them will not merit God's favour.

There is something we MUST do to get God's salvation. In fact, there are two things we MUST do to saved. Though we are not saved by the commandment, yet there is a commandment we must keep to be saved. This is in Acts 17:30, "..but now God commandeth all men everywhere to repent." This is the commandment we must keep. Jesus said, it is "repent or perish." (Luke 13:3).

Repentance brings us into a condition of soul trouble. It simply means we have discovered in some measure, our sinfulness before God. Though we might be bound by those sins, nevertheless, we don't want to live in them any longer. This brings us into the place where we can do the second thing we MUST do to be saved. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." Acts 16:31. To believe, means we must "trust" Him completely, in order to be saved. We, don't help Him at all. We are still helpless as far as forgiveness and salvation goes. He does it all. However, this He cannot do unless we repent first and then put our trust, 100% in Him and His sacrificial death for us on the cross. We then enter into the, "it is finished" of John 19:30.He made the full provision and He does the work in us when we REPENT and BELIEVE. (Mark 1:15).

Dear reader, "Have you repented?" "Are you trusting Him?" You cannot try, and trust, at the same time. Don't try to become a Christian, but just quit trying and trust with all your heart in Him, and what He has done for you.

All comments and questions to: Harold Smith

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Updated July 2009, by Shelly Allen