Do I Need to Do Something Extra To Be Saved?

Short Answer Version

The good news is that believing in Jesus as your Savior is all you need to do to become saved. Remember that the work Jesus did on the cross is the thing that saves you, and faith (believing) is the only thing necessary on your part.

It is a common occurrence for an organized group of well-intentioned Jesus followers to add something else to the good news. Don’t get too confused or upset if you are exposed to people like that.

Obviously, if someone tells you that you must believe in Jesus and then do something wacky, like jump up in the air three times, you can probably tell that they are adding something to the free offer Jesus gives.

Sometimes it is not so easy to tell whether to do the extra thing or not. But it IS easy to know that the extra thing someone tells you is not something you must do to become saved.

Long Answer Version

According to the apostle Paul, salvation is a love-gift we cannot earn, that we access only by faith, and even faith is not from our own "steam", it is a also gift from God. An old quote that was eventually turned into a hymn put it this way: Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.

As simple as this message is, many believers find it difficult to accept, because our societies are so full of messages to the contrary. Modern culture paints pictures of religious messages and those who follow Jesus that violate this principle of salvation by grace through faith alone. We might also hear counterfeit messages of salvation based on fear and works used by groups such as cults. Even certain well-accepted Christian denominations de-emphacise grace through faith, and emphacise long hard work to get into heaven, or to keep from losing one's standing in God's eyes. These teachings are not what God wants people to follow.

Sometimes people who stress works salvation cite scriptures that they fail to interpret correctly. For example, one scripture passage says we will be saved if we believe in Jesus and also confess with our mouths that He is Lord. But the first part of that statement, involving believing, is the one and only requirement for being saved. The rest is just what saved people do. It is not a second requirement for getting into heaven.

When people tell you that in order to be saved, you must do certain good works, it can be an honest mistake. It can be caused by misunderstanding one or more Bible passage, or falling short of the best methods to interpret Bible passages.

When you see a scripture verse that seems to add something to believing in Jesus, you might not know that at least ten other verses say that believing is the only thing necessary. So the verse should be interpreted in light of the other verses. The interpretation option that does not conflict with a large number of other scriptures is logically the best. Avoiding poor interpretation is a very powerful way to rule out many of the seeming contradictions.

The example of seeing believing and confessing Jesus as two conditions is not merely poor interpretation. It is also illogical. In fact it is called an "association fallacy" in the field of logic. The mistaken interpretation is illogical, and therefore contrary to the reasonable understanding of the passage. Common sense enters into the picture too. It cannot be true that saying something out loud is an extra thing we must do to be saved. Surely, a person without speech ability is not disqualified from salvation because they cannot confess with their mouth.

Anyone who gets saved is more than likely to inform other people about Jesus as Lord out of sheer enthusiasm. Just keep in mind that if a person believes, they are saved by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross alone.

“Grace” is like giving love or a gift to someone who doesn’t deserve it. God has grace so we receive his love and gifts when we don't deserve them. In the original New Testament language, "grace" and "gift" have the same root word. A further definition of grace, is "undeserved love" or "unmerited favor." None of us deserve His gift of salvation. That is what makes it so special. With God, faith is enough. Even faith is not an action that earns our salvation. It is an act of receiving. God gave us as a gift, the ability to receive Him.

Let's say I handed you a check for my life savings, which I earned through decades of hard work, and you simply reached out your hand and took it. Would that act of accepting the gift be the work that earned the money? Obviously not.

Some people, even whole religions, believe we get into heaven by doing good works, thereby earning our way. The great news is we don’t do good works to get saved, but we do them because we ARE saved. We are so thankful for His salvation that good works just naturally flow out of us.

It is a privilege to do good works. If someone says, “unless you do good works, along with believing, you won’t be saved.” Don’t listen to them. But do lots of good works anyway because it makes God happy when we do. And, by the way, it does not make God unhappy when we don't do good works, so don't beat yourself up if you miss an opportunity to do good works. When we have opportunities to do good works, doing so with delight exhibits a good attitude. If we really understand the free gift of faith, we will comprehend that with sincere faith comes the free gift of wanting to do good works out of love. That is why the book of James tells us, "Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works". Good works are a normal result of faith in action.

If we can’t get to Heaven by working, neither can we prevent ourselves from getting to Heaven by periods of not working. This is a sensible concept. Failing to do something extra, thinking that extra thing will help save us, cannot disqualify us from salvation once we believe.

Some well-intentioned believers will tell you it is not enough to believe in Jesus as your Savior to receive entrance to heaven, you must also believe in Him as your Lord. Those people are a little off-base. Calling Jesus your Lord is not a condition of being saved. But the people who are advocating that you make Jesus the Lord of your Life are actually suggesting something very worthwhile.

When you make Jesus the Lord of your life, it means you let Him be the pilot of the “airplane” you call your life. You admit He is higher than you, and you trust Him to lead you. It is in every way good to accept Jesus as not only your Savior, but also your Lord. Everyone would benefit from it. There is never a downside to doing it.

Believing in and treating Him as your Lord, is the appropriate thing to do and will bring much blessing to you. So, do it even if making Him your Lord is not required. It is not a good work that saves you. The good work of Jesus your Lord saves you. He is called "the author and finisher" of our faith and salvation.

He starts your salvation by giving you new birth spiritually. Then He finishes it throughout your life by developing a rich friendship with you making you a better, more spiritually in-tune person. The more you recognize Him as your Lord, the better your life will be.

There are many other variations of the error that adds something to the good news. Some are pretty wild, more so than jumping up and down, which is not really a thing. It was a joke. You are excused from all kinds of weird gyrations people say will make you saved. Just believe in Jesus and don’t accept any counterfeits.

For new believers, it is common to wonder if they could disqualify themselves from salvation by sinning too much, avoiding good works, lacking faith, being angry at God, or even turning their backs on Him. My response is always "Why would you want to?" I went through this fear when I was a new believer. I didn't know all the reassuring scriptures that would have calmed my worries.

If you believe in Jesus for salvation, understand that a part of the package is His ability to save us from our own unwise or self-destructive thinking. He is always there working in us who believe in Him, even if we are trying to work out our own salvation and seemingly failing to do so.

Jesus gave us the Parable of the Sower. In it He compares three types of people that hear the good news of salvation in Jesus. He does this with the illustration of a "sower" (a person trying to grow crops by scattering seeds). Three types of ground represent the three types of people who hear the gospel. The seeds on hard, rocky ground do not grow because the ground is bad. The seeds that fell among thorns and thistles grew quickly, but the plants were choked out by the weeds right away. The weeds represented the cares, riches, and pleasures of this life. But the seeds that fell into fertile "good ground" grew and fluorished producing a harvest.

The point is it is not the works we do, but the kind of ground we are when we contelplate our reception to the good news. I think Jesus was getting people to want to be "good ground" for the seed of the gospel, so the seed would take root, grow deep, and provide much abundance in our lives. It is very wise to apply our hard work before we are saved, by preparing our ground to be fertile and nourishing to the seed of the gospel. Even that is not work that earns our salvation, but if there is any most important work to be done, it is the work of softening our hearts and preparing ourselves to become good ground.

Part of the preparation is to do what a wise builder does before starting a project. Jesus said we must first count the cost. A person who exemplifies good ground may someday experience suffering, loss, or death for their faith. It is best to be willing from the beginning to face these things for Jesus. Jesus paid the entire cost of salvation. There is a saying, ''hope for the best, but prepare for the worst'' I think that is what Jesus meant.

The apostle Peter said: ''brothers and sisters, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if you do these things, you shall never stumble: for thus shall be richly supplied unto you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.'' In a sense this means that even if we believe we were called and elected by God to be saved, we should do the work of making sure in our inner selves to walk in our calling and our new identities as saved believers.

Similarly, the apostle Paul said, "Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? With these things in mind, every believer should strive not to "neglect so great a salvation". This appreciation of their salvation is a healthy practice as believers. In the same passage, the point is made that we "must give more earnest heed to the things we have heard." This is good advice, no matter what else happens.

Two Covenants

We should not be confused with the Old Testament passages that show believers as having to work their way into God's favor. Those messages were given to show that no matter how hard a person tries, they cannot fulfill the Old Testament laws. Prior to the first coming of Jesus, God stressed to His people in Israel that they were being held to a very high standard to live in righteous ways. This was part of the Old Covenant that God made with Moses and his followers. When Jesus came God initiated a new covenant with us, one of grace, not laws.

Jesus brought light to this plan of God when He said, ''Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill them.'' That means He did the work to fulfill all the requirements of the Old Testament law, and He substituted His righteousness to replace our unrighteousness in the Father's eyes. In Ephesians 2:14-18 of the Bible, the apostle Paul attributes this to Jesus' work on the cross. In all these things and more Jesus fulfilled the predictions and teaching of the Old Testament prophets.

The Old Covenant focused on overcoming in life by increasing in righteousness by devotion to following the Law of Moses. The New Covenant teaches salvation by grace, through faith. Before Jesus, the scriptures taught living holy lives and obeying the law. It was a different covenant that God had made with people long ago. It was true that dedication to living a life of good works produces blessing, love, good character, and happy lives on earth. But God knew people would repeatedly choose to reject the principle, and fail to remain faithful to Him. It was because the law pointed out their sin and they rebelled by sinning.

The New Testament backs this up, in many passages. For instance Romans 3:20 says "because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the law a righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe". It is amazing that faith in Jesus Christ results in God's righteousness being put inside us who believe.

Jesus proclaimed at the Last Supper that the new covenant, was based on His blood (a word picture synonymous with His atoning death that earned our salvation). Jesus announced this new covenant just days before He died for our sins.

After taking the step of believing in Jesus, if you notice you are not perfect in this area of loving others and wanting to good things for them, know it is a common experience, but ask God for His help by the Holy Spirit to give you more love and motivation to do good. Ask Him to energize you to grow into that kind of a person by His transforming new life in you.

''Blessed Assurance''

An old hymn says "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine. Oh what a foretaste of glory divine." Some denominations believe in having what they call "assurance" from the Holy Spirit that you are saved. The Bible says ''The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God''

We can know by the assurance of the Holy Spirit that we are born again. But even if we don't feel anything, it is by faith, not feeling that we are saved. If you ever wonder if you are truly saved, just remember that you believe in Jesus, and that it is the only thing necessary. Believe in Jesus. Love Him and do things pleasing to Him. Jesus loves you too much to let you down.

Just a reminder, even though you can tell Jesus every day that you believe in Him, you only have to make the decision once and then you are saved. You don't need to worry that you will lose your faith, or your belief is waning. You don't need to be concerned that you must exercise saving faith over and over. These are not healthy thought patterns. Jesus taught us not to fear about our salvation after we believe.

The time when a person probably should be seriously afraid of missing salvation is in the beginning, before they decide to Believe in Jesus. But, after they receive Jesus as their Savior, they have good reasons to stop fearing for their eternal life. Jesus tells us not to fear, but instead to trust God. Paul in reminding his hearers to be humble, wrote "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling  for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." Note that Paul did not tell them to work FOR their salvation, but to work OUT the salvation that was already in them. God, who was working from within them, was thereby named the real hero in the salvation they possessed.

The fear that Paul told his readers to have was the respect and awe toward Almighty God inside them and around them working for His good pleasure. Paul was reminding them to be humble and not to take lightly the privilege of hosting God.

Remember God is FOR us. He always gives us the gift of faith as we go to Him for it, even the gift to believe in Jesus for the first time. Thereafter, we can never truly lose or run out of faith, no matter how we feel. He can easily grant us more faith, and restore faith we think we might have lost, when we ask Him.

Remember God is FOR us. He always gives us the gift of faith as we go to Him for it, even the gift to believe in Jesus for the first time. Thereafter, we can never truly lose our faith, or run out of faith, no matter how we feel. He can easily grant us more faith, and restore faith we think we might have lost, when we ask Him.

Be at peace in knowing that God is loving, patient, helping, and in control. Look to Him for spiritual assurance that your salvation is real and permanent. Trust in Him to deliver on His promises.

Believe in Jesus as your Savior, and you WILL be saved. Then start living thankfully knowing the goodness of Heaven awaits you.