“They must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).

 

“What must I do to be saved?”  Perhaps this is a question that you have been asking yourself.  You know that you are not saved.  You know that you are still in your sins and you know that if you die in this condition then you will definitely be sent into hell.  You know that God is holy and just and as long as you are in your sins, He will never allow you into heaven.  What, then, must you do to be saved?

 

In this verse, we are told what the apostle Paul preached when he visited people in their homes.  He said to them that they must “turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

1.  You must turn to God in repentance.

 

This is the first thing everyone must do if they want to be saved: they must repent.  What does it mean to repent?  To repent means two things.

Firstly, to repent means you must admit before God that you are a sinner and that you are completely unable to save yourself.  You must understand that you do not have anything good in you and that you are completely unable to please God by your own works.  You must understand that no matter how hard you try you will never please God by your efforts.  You must understand that you are a sinner through and through.  This is something you need to admit before God in prayer.  When you pray to God do not try to tell him that you are good.  Rather, admit before him that you have a heart of sin and that you are guilty before Him.

 

Secondly, to repent means to turn from your sin and to keep turning from it.  It is not enough to admit that you are a sinner.  That by itself will not save you.  You must be determined to turn from your sins.  You must be resolved in your mind that you are going to part company with sin forever.  This is something you must do the rest of your life.  It is something that God demands of everyone who comes to him for salvation.  God is holy and just and pure.  He will not receive those who love their sin and are not willing to give up their sin.  He will only accept those who are determined to flee their sins all their lives.

 

 

 

2.  You must trust Jesus Christ alone to save you from your sins.

 

If you want to be saved you must turn from your sins and you must turn to Christ.  You must come to Christ in faith and trust Him alone for your salvation.  You must go to Him in prayer and admit that you are completely unable to save yourself.  You must pray to Him and ask Him to save you.  You must ask Him to take away the penalty of your sins and to wash you in His blood.  You must pray to Him and ask Him to remove you from the power of sin and to remove the wrath of God that is upon you.

 

The Bible tells us, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).  This is the specific purpose why Jesus came.  He came to live a perfect life so that we might be righteous through faith in Him.  He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.  He shed His blood on the cross so that we might be cleansed from our sin and be freed from slavery to sin.  When He died on the cross, the anger of God that was upon us was poured out on Him.  He suffered so that we should be forgiven.  He bled so that we should be cleansed.  He died so that we should live.  He alone is the way of forgiveness and cleansing and salvation because He alone was sent by God into the world to save sinners.  He alone died in the place of sinners, no one else has ever died for us.

3.  You must repent and believe in Christ today.

 

You have seen, then, that in order to be saved you must turn from your sin and you must turn to Christ.  Now you need to realise that you need to do this today.  Do not say to yourself, “Okay, now I know the way of salvation.  One day definitely I will turn from my sins and trust in Christ.” 

 

This is something you need to do today, simply because you do not know if that “one day” will ever come.  Remember that each day you live in sin your heart is getting harder and harder against God and His word.  Each day your heart grows in its love for sin.  If you leave this matter, the day will come when you will not be able to repent and believe because your heart is so hard.

 

Remember also that you do not know how long you will live.  Maybe today you are young and have good health.  But that does not mean you will live a long time.  Many people in our country die in their youth.  This matter is too important.  Do not leave it.  Come to Christ today and you will be saved.

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Determine from today to leave your sin and to be delivered from all your sins. Do this today: come to God and tell Him that you are willing to flee from your sin and trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of yours sins. If you come to Him He will receive you and save you.