the Third Week after Easter
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Daily Devotionals
Grace for Today
Romans 10:13-17
Five things that are essential to your salvation
Read 2 Thessalonians 1:1-10
It is plainly written: ‘He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned’ (Mark 16:16). Salvation comes to sinners by simple faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe Christ and you will be saved. Yet anyone who reads the Bible, except those whose minds are blinded to all reason by modern religion, knows that true, saving faith is based upon certain revealed knowledge (Romans 10:13-17). In order for a person to be saved, these five things are essential. The Word of God makes it abundantly clear that true, saving faith involves these five things.
1. You must know God in his true character (Exodus 33:19; Exodus 34:5-7). Very few people know who God is. The god they worship is but an idolatrous figment of their imagination (Psalms 50:21). God’s true character is revealed in the Scriptures. God is absolutely and universally sovereign (Isaiah 46:9-11; Daniel 4:35-37; Romans 9:11-24). God is inflexibly just (Ezekiel 18:20; Galatians 3:10). God is infinitely gracious (Micah 7:18-20; Romans 3:24-26).
2. You must know yourself in your true character (Ephesians 2:1-3). Man is spiritually dead. His heart is depraved (Matthew 15:19). His actions are evil. He is justly condemned by the law of God. And he has neither the desire nor the ability to change his condition (John 5:40; John 6:44).
3. You must know the Lord Jesus Christ in his true character (1 Timothy 3:16). Jesus Christ is God in human flesh. He is both God and man in one person. Because he is man, he is able to suffer the penalty of sin. Because he is God, he is able to satisfy the claims of divine justice.
4. You must know what happened at the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 9:12; Isaiah 53:10-11). By his one great sacrifice for sin, Christ satisfied the justice of God for us and put away the sins of his elect.
5. You must be reconciled to God in your heart (2 Corinthians 5:20). To be reconciled to God is to justify God (Psalms 51:4), willingly bow to Christ as Lord (Luke 14:25-33) and trust Christ alone (Romans 10:9-13).
