Scripture is full of verses that speak to the level of urgency we need to have in “loving our neighbor.” Biblical Christians must be willing to share the plan of Salvation. In fact, in the book of Matthew, Christ sets only one thing above caring for our fellow man.

Matthew 22:37-40 – And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

However, not only must we be willing to share, we must have the tools in place to know what to share, unique to every divine appointment.

Below is a note from a reader asking THE profound question….

The Question

“Hi Jeff! I have a question if you don’t mind me asking please..? I understand that you have said we should believe in our hearts that Jesus died and rose again and ask for forgiveness of sins. Is this true repentance and how we are actually saved?”

One Way of Answering that Question

Good morning …. Your question is, without overstating, the most important question one could ask during their lifetime. That’s because we all will live an eternal life beyond the grave and that experience will be dependent on the answer to your question on this side of the grave.

What you have so clearly stated in your question is the first step in the answer. Think of salvation as a two sided coin ….

On the first side of the coin, we need to “believe in our hearts that Jesus died and rose again, and ask forgiveness of our sins.” That is the SAVIOR side of what Jesus did. We need to accept Him as our Savior and ask for forgiveness of our sins (as you said, repentance). Also, you used “the heart” not the head in your question as to where the source is of that acceptance of Jesus as Savior and the repentance of our sins.

In 1989, there was a period of about three months where I believed with my mind (logic through apologetics) that Christ was real and I needed to accept Him as my Savior…. However, I resisted that belief in my heart because I did not want to change my behavior. There is an interesting verse in Scripture where God reminds us that “even the demons believe and shudder” (James 2:19). The point being that they know the truth but refuse to respond to it. In my case, for those three months I was convinced of the truth (in my head), but refused to respond to it (in my heart).

Still on the Savior side of the coin, we need to believe that our salvation is not something we can earn by being a good person or doing good deeds. You might remember that when Jesus died on the cross there was a thief who died along side Him. Christ told that thief, who voiced belief that Jesus was the Son of God, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Point being, the thief on the cross could do nothing to earn a place in Heaven. As with that thief, our salvation comes from an acceptance of Christ who died on the cross for our sins, and not as a result of our own “works” or effort. The Bible verse that summarizes all this is …

Ephesians 2:8-9 – For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

That brings me to the second half of the answer to your question, i.e. the other side of the coin.

We not only have to believe in Christ as our Savior, we also have to accept Him as the Lord of our life. So many in this world see Christianity as a one-way street. They believe Jesus died for our sins, but that is where it ends. In fact, the Bible is clear that there needs to be a change in our lives as a result of our heart’s acceptance of Jesus as our Savior. That change is a desire to submit to Him as our Lord. When we do that, we long to strengthen that relationship by reading His Word (the Bible), fellowshipping with others who are like-minded, praying to Him, and desiring for Christ to guide our decisions in life. A verse that makes that point (showing an outward sign of our inward heart change) is …

James 2:14,17 – What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?… So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

So faith is an acknowledgment of a heart change because it goes beyond facts (apologetics). As a born-again Christian, others should see a change in our behavior as a result of that newfound faith, which is a demonstration of our acceptance of Christ as our Lord.

Romans 10:9 – If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Both Sides of the Coin

The bottom line of all this is we need to believe in our heart that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave as our Savior. AND we need to accept Him as Lord of our lives, recognizing we will never be perfect or without doing bad things from time to time. So, we need to repent and ask forgiveness of our sins (Savior) as we continue to submit to Him (Lord).

The starting point of all that is what I did three months after believing, with my head, that it was all true. I went to a park, alone… sat on a big rock, bowed my head and, in my heart, offered a prayer similar to the words below. From that point on April 15th 1989, I have remained a sinner, but have been in the loving hands of God.

“God, I’m a sinner and deserve the consequences of my sin. However, I am trusting in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I believe that His death and resurrection provides for my forgiveness. I trust in Jesus, and Jesus alone, as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord, for saving me and forgiving me! Amen!”

You can do the same thing as I did so many years ago.

Conclusion

Each time we are called to “tell our story” of God’s love and grace, it will be different based on many factors. We throw seeds out across mission fields. And, we water those seeds by checking up on folks from time to time. Some seed falls on good soil and germinates (seekers), which is encouraging (Matthew 13:18-23). However, as ambassadors of Christ, we much never forget that He is the one that actually causes the growth. Salvation is a transaction between only two parties, the Trinity and the individual.

1 Corinthians 3:7 – So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.