"WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?"

ACTS 16:2

A. THE QUESTION, BY THE STARTLED JAILOR, REVEALS TWO GREAT GOSPEL TRUTHS WHICH EVERY SINNER MUST REALIZE
  1. The true condition of the sinner:
    1. He is lost--body, soul, and spirit - Rom. 3:9-18
    2. He must realize that he is lost - Luke 18:13
    3. Finally, he must confess his lost condition - Rom. 7:24
  2. For the encouragement of the penitent sinner:
    1. He knows that he can be saved from his sinful condition - 1 Tim. 1:15
    2. But, he must want to be saved -
      1. "Lord save me" - Matt. 14:30
      2. "Lord save us: we perish" - Matt. 8:25
    3. Most of all, he must do something about it to be saved -
      1. The prodigal son acted - Luke 15:20
      2. Blind Bartimaeus acted with persistence - Mark 10:46-52
      3. Zacchaeus acted - Luke 19:5-9
B. HEAVEN'S ALL-SUFFICIENT ANSWER
  1. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ"
    1. He is able to save to the uttermost - Heb. 7:25
      1. The thief on the cross experienced it - Luke 23:44
      2. So did the woman of Samaria - John 4:1-28
    2. He is the sinners' only hope - Acts 4:12; John 3:16
    3. "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you" - John 6:53
  2. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house":
    1. Saved from what? Matt. 1:21; Gal. 2:17; 1 John 3:8
    2. Saved for what? For the kingdom of God and His services.
C. RESULTS OF SALVATION THROUGH CHRIST
  1. Salvation affects us personally:
    1. It affects our attitude,
    2. Our actions,
    3. Our relationship - Luke 19:8; John 4:26-29
    4. It makes us ready and willing - Acts 9:6
    5. It makes us happy in the service of the Lord - EXAMPLES -
      1. The jailor - Acts 16:32, 33
      2. The Samaritan woman - John 4:28, 29
      3. Peter's mother-in-law - Matt. 8:14; Mark 1:30; Luke 8:29, 30
  2. Best of all, salvation includes, not only character, important as that is, but it includes the hope of eternal life:
    1. "godliness is profitable unto all things having the promise of the life that now is, and that of the world to come" - 1 Tim. 4:8
    2. This salvation includes the fruit of the kingdom of God - John 15:1-11; Matt. 21:38-43
  3. "What must I do to be saved?"
    1. That word "must" is a very strong word and deserves careful consideration.
    2. Let us note, briefly, how it is used in the Bible-
      1. "Ye must be born again" - John 3:7 That means that there is no other way to get into the kingdom of God.
      2. "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship in Spirit and in truth" - John 4:24
      3. "He must increase, but I must decrease" - John 3:30
      4. "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" - Acts 14:22
      5. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ" - 2 Cor. 5:10
    3. God's musts leave no alternative; the sooner we realize that, the better it will be for us.


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