“What Do I Need To Do To Be Saved?”
This is an adapted excerpt from Square One, Session 10. Check out the full Square One series here.
It’s crazy how many decisions we make every day, from what kind of milk to buy at the grocery store to which career path to follow. When the stakes are high, it can involve pros and cons lists, long discussions, and some real soul-searching. But eventually, you come to a fork in the road, and you have to make the call.
We’ve looked at the brokenness of sin and the incredible love that sent Jesus to save us. But as that reality sinks in, now what? We now stand at a fork in the road of faith, and we have to make a decision about Jesus.
Some people try to make the hard sell for Christianity, but Jesus did the opposite. He was upfront about the cost of following him. He said that if we put anyone or anything ahead of him — even our own lives — we’re not worthy of him. He taught, "any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33). He doesn’t want half-hearted or reluctant followers, but only those who are “all in” for him.
The Big Idea
Jesus gave his life for us, and now he invites us to give ours to him. This is a total commitment, but it’s not a crushing one. Jesus also gives this beautiful invitation: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me ... and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29). It’s not the easiest life, but it’s the abundant, eternal life Jesus gave everything to bring us.
When people in the Bible understood the good news about Jesus, they often asked a simple, direct question. In the book of Acts, an Ethiopian official was reading a passage about a suffering servant (Isaiah 53) and had no idea what it meant. The Spirit led a Christian named Philip to him, who explained that the passage was about Jesus. Realizing the truth, the man’s immediate response was, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" (Acts 8:36). He understood, and he wanted to act.
His question echoes others asked throughout the Bible. Not long after Jesus ascended into heaven, Peter preached a powerful sermon, concluding that "God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified" (Acts 2:36). The people were cut to the heart and asked the most important question: "What shall we do?" Peter gave them a clear answer: "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:37-38).
Later, a prison guard, after witnessing a miracle, fell before the apostles Paul and Silas and asked, "'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' And they said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household'" (Acts 16:30-31). The very next thing that happened was that the jailer and his entire family were baptized at once.
The answer is always the same: a heartfelt response that involves belief, repentance, and baptism. Paul summarizes it this way: "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom. 10:9). Years earlier, after Paul himself first learned the truth, a man named Ananias asked him a question that still rings true for us today: "And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name" (Acts 22:16).
Once you know and believe, why would you wait? When it comes to salvation, it’s all or nothing.
The Big Question
Are you ready to commit your life to serving the Lord? May God help us find the courage and faith to follow Jesus!