What Must I do to be Saved?

When I was first convicted of sin, I desperately sought a path for atonement and a way to make-up for my transgressions. At the time, I knew enough about Jesus Christ to know that I was in violation of God's laws, but I didn’t know how to apply this newfound realization.

It was a long journey with many wrong turns before I realized there was nothing I could do; no recitation of prayers, no kind deeds, no good behavior, and no confessions to mortal men. The weight of salvation did not rest on me or any of my perceived acts of righteousness.

In Acts 16:30, the Philippian jailer asks Paul and Silas, “…what must I do to be saved?”. They answer, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ…”. (vs. 31)

When I believed, the Lord led me through a series of trials to show me that in all of my “goodness,” I was still filled with sin, pride, and corruption. There was nothing inherently righteous about me and I was not suddenly made “good” simply because I believed.

For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

-Ecclesiastes 7:20

The Lord broke my heart, my pride, and my will until I was made to yield to His majesty, and it was all done for His glory. Now I pray that I am made to yield more each day.

God’s saving grace is not dependent on anything we’ve done. If it were, there’d be many questions about the status of our salvation. Instead, we have the assurance that our righteousness is in Jesus Christ alone.

Salvation belongeth unto the LORD -Psalms 3:8

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

-1 John 1:9

Image Credit: Mahdi Rezaei via Unsplash

Reliance

My Father,

When thou art angry towards me for my wrongs

I try to pacify thee by abstaining from future sin;

But teach me

that I cannot satisfy thy law,

that this effort is a resting in my righteousness,

that only Christ’s righteousness, ready made,

already finished, is fit for that purpose;

that thy chastising me for my sin is not

that I should try to reform, but only that I may be more humbled,

afflicted, and separated from sin, by being reconciled,

and made righteous in Christ by faith;

Image Credit: Noah Sulliman via Unsplash

that a sense of my sufficiency and ability in him

is one means of my being immovable;

that I can never be so by resting on my own faith,

but by trusting in thee as my only support,

by faith;

that if I cast away my faith I cast away thee,

for by faith I apprehend thee,

and as thou art very precious,

so is my faith very precious to me;

that I fall short of the purity thou requires,

because in thinking I am holy I do not seek holiness,

or, believing I am impotent, I do no more.

Humble me for not being as holy as I should be,

or as holy as I might be through Christ,

for thou art all, and to possess thee is to possess all.

But to make the creature something

is to make it stand between thee and me,

so that I do not walk humbly and holily.

Lord, forgive me for this.

— Valley Of Vision

Worship Osmosis

“Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:

They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they,

but they smell not:

They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they,

but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.

They that make them are like unto them;

so is every one that trusteth in them.

— Psalm 115:4-8

Metropolis – Fritz Lang

John Calvin called the human heart an idol-making factory. This psalm tells us that we become like what we worship. If we would be more like Christ, we must worship Him and Him alone in spirit and in truth. But if we worship idols, we are handling stone and metal rather than the word of truth, and we become more dull and insensate.

This is playing out before our eyes with those who want to believe that “technology” will merge with our biology and make us immortal. They are becoming more and more like what they worship – silicon and hardware. Wearable technology like smart watches are just a gateway drug to brainchips being developed and tested by companies like Neuralink, Neurable and Nexmind. Make no mistake about it, if you put your trust in AI, you will become more and more robotic, with brain chips and VR equipment connecting to every organ of your body. They are making sure of it.

Because of what the Bible has taught me about God’s sovereignty, I do not believe AI will destroy the world per se, but it may destroy you if you give your heart to it. So keep your hearts with all diligence, because robot companions are already here.

“The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.” — Proverbs 10:29