Text:

‘For by grace you have been saved through faith’ – Ephesians 2:8

Thought:

In the Bible, Romans is a wonderful book, filled with faith-assuring verses for Christians, but also showing the pathway of salvation for those who are not. If you have never read Romans, or not for a while, I recommend having a good look at the sixteen chapters it contains. Another passage of the Bible records the desperate question of an ungodly, fearful jailer, who asked, ‘What must I do to be saved?’ ¹ Asking that same question to anyone walking down the High street will result in a multitude of answers. But only one will be right and that’s the one given to that jailer, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved’. ²   To be saved means the assurance that all one’s sins are forgiven and the certainty of eternal life in heaven. Romans chapter ten reveals three aspects about people being saved.

The Promise

‘Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved’ – v13. On the basis of this promise, it is possible for everyone in the world to be saved. It has to be; for Jesus died on the cross bearing the sins of the whole world – past, present and future. ’The Lord over all, is rich to all who call upon Him’ – v12. ‘Whoever’ means anyone and everyone. No one is excluded. All are included in this promise and that includes you!

The Procedure

‘If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved’ – v9. Jesus taught that a person speaks out of the abundance of their heart. ³ You may try to hide what’s really in there, but sooner or later the real ‘you’ is revealed by what you say. From this verse it is clear – belief in your heart about the Lord Jesus, will mean that you will have no trouble speaking out about Him. Many churchgoers never even talk about a personal Saviour. Perhaps it’s because they are not saved!

The Prayer

‘My heart and prayer to God… is that they may be saved’ – v1. Once a person becomes a Christian and knows that they are saved, they naturally want to see others saved too. My prayer is that by reading Today’s Teaching, you will be saved too. This is my  prayer for Saltash where we are commencing a Sunday service in May. It’s my prayer everywhere I go, that I may be able to help someone become a Christian. Although prayer is powerful and can accomplish many wonderful things, it cannot make someone become a Christian unless they want to. That is why I pray that your will may submit to God’s will, being sorry for the things you have done wrong and putting your trust in the Saviour – Jesus Christ. If you do, you will be saved, and my prayer will have been answered.

Finally, just as it’s the responsibility of the one who wants to be saved, to call, so it is the responsibility of every Christian to help people see they need to be saved, and indeed can be. The Christian is salt and light and must not hide their spiritual influence. Do those around you know that you are a Christian? If they do, who else will you share your faith with today?

¹ – Acts 16:30

² – Acts 16:31

³ – Luke 6:45