What Must We Do To Be Saved?
© 2003 By D. Eric Williams
Nothing.
That's what you can do to dodge eternity in hell. You can't do anything about it. But perhaps there is someone who can.
You see, in any reasonable legal system there is a punishment imposed for the commission of a crime. According to God's Word, the punishment for sin and rebellion against God is eternity in hell. That's the judgement that has been handed down in the court of God. Yet, there is a clause in God's law code that says you and I don't have to pay that penalty - if we are willing to accept payment made by someone else on our behalf. The catch is, the guarantor must meet certain qualifications. First, he must be human, since the crime was committed by a human. Second, he must be perfect - otherwise he would have to pay for his own crimes not yours or mine. But of course there is no human being who meets the second qualification. Or is there?
Think back for a moment to the second article in this series, the one titled "Who or What is God." In that piece we saw there is someone who meets the above requirements and that someone is Jesus Christ. In the first place He is fully human in His human nature. Secondly, He lived a perfect life. Since He meets the qualifications, He is able to give His life as a ransom for you and I, allowing us to be acquitted of the sentence of hell.
This was the objective of God in coming to earth and taking on human form as a baby: to grow up under the law of God, to live a perfect life, to die on a cross, to rise from the dead. This was Jesus and this was the purpose of His life. In so doing He overcame sin and death and returned to the place of power and glory that was rightfully His. It was an outpouring of love and grace from beginning to end.
However, we don't have to understand all the whys and wherefores of His grace, we merely need to admit our sin, accept the fact we can do nothing to save ourselves and embrace the gracious offer of payment through Jesus. We simply need to proclaim Jesus, our ransomer, is the Lord of our life and believe God raised Him from the dead that He may continue as our Mediator.
In a nut shell, Jesus' death on the cross opens the door of escape for us. We don't have to go to hell. But that's only the beginning; for next week we will conclude this series as we look at the idea of "living in the new reality."
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