“Believe on the Lord Jesus”

Those Christian missionaries opened the jailer’s mind to a fundamental truth about salvation. It was the same truth that the apostle Peter explained when the Christian congregation was first established. Peter pointed to the central role of Jesus Christ in the matter of salvation, calling him “the Chief Agent of life.” That apostle also said: “There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.” (Acts 3:15; 4:12) Paul and Silas directed the Philippian jailer to this same Agent for salvation when they said: “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will get saved.”​—Acts 16:31.

Requirements for Salvation

So, then, what is required for salvation? The prime requirement is the one that the apostle Paul stated to the Philippian jailer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will get saved.” (Acts 16:31) Heartfelt acceptance of the shed blood of Jesus is essential if we are going to be saved. And what will salvation mean for us? Jesus indicated the answer when he said: “I give them everlasting life, and they will by no means ever be destroyed.” (John 10:28) For most, salvation will mean everlasting life on an earth restored to paradisaic perfection. (Psalm 37:10, 11; Revelation 21:3, 4) In the case of a “little flock,” however, it will mean ruling with Jesus in his heavenly Kingdom.​—Luke 12:32; Revelation 5:9, 10; 20:4.

Some suggest that belief in Jesus is the end of the matter. “There is just one thing that any one needs to do to get to heaven,” says one religious tract. “That is, to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, surrender to Him as Lord and Master, and openly confess Him as such before the world.” Thus, many believe that a sudden, emotional conversion experience is all we need in order to guarantee everlasting life. However, to concentrate on only one essential requirement for salvation to the exclusion of the others is like reading one crucial clause in a contract and ignoring the rest.

This becomes more evident when we listen to the comments of some who at one time thought that professing belief in Jesus was all that was needed to be saved. Bernice says: “I was raised in the Brethren Church, but I came to wonder why, if everlasting life is dependent solely on Jesus, he himself said: ‘This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.’”​—John 17:3.

For nine years Norman was convinced that he was saved. But then he saw that more was required than an emotional profession that Jesus Christ was his Savior. “I saw from the Bible that it was not enough just to acknowledge to God that we are sinners and in need of salvation,” he says. “We also have to do works that befit repentance.”​—Matthew 3:8; Acts 3:19.

Yes, believing in Jesus is crucial to our salvation, but more is needed. Jesus spoke of some who professed faith in him and even did “powerful works” in his name. But he did not recognize them. Why? Because they were “workers of lawlessness” and did not do the will of his Father. (Matthew 7:15-23) The disciple James reminds us of the need to “become doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves with false reasoning.” He also said: “You believe there is one God, do you? You are doing quite well. And yet the demons believe and shudder. . . . Faith without works is dead.”​—James 1:22; 2:19, 26.

Some, though, argue that those who are genuinely saved do all these things anyway. But is that really the case in practice? Denis, who ‘accepted Jesus’ when he was a young boy, says: “The ‘saved’ people I have known feel no great need to examine the Scriptures because they think they already have all they need for salvation.” Indeed, the hypocrisy and unchristian acts of many who claim to be saved have brought the whole subject of salvation into disrepute.

Nevertheless, many insist that the Scriptures say: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.” (John 3:36, King James Version) Therefore, they conclude that once you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, you can never again be lost. “Once saved, always saved” is their watchword. But is that what the Scriptures really say? To answer this, we need to consider everything the Bible says on the subject.