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What are the requirements for salvation, that is, for receiving eternal life?
According to the Bible, there is only one requirement for being saved: to believe. There is no need to add anything else to believing. Yet many people think that believing is not enough and that we must add something to it in order to be saved. This is because they do not understand what we believe, what faith is, what the result of a living faith is, and what the expression of a living faith is. As long as a person truly believes, he is saved, and no other requirements need to be added. Let us consider seven conditions which are not required for salvation.
Some people think that in order to be saved we must believe and then implore God earnestly, hoping that God will pity us and have mercy on us so that we might go to heaven. But the Bible does not say that we should hope for God’s graciousness towards us; rather, it says that we must believe that God has already granted us grace. Romans 3:21 and 22 say, “But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, witness being borne to it by the Law and the Prophets; even the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ to all those who believe, for there is no distinction.” Whoever thinks that he must believe and hope does not have a reliable faith and will eventually be one who does not have genuine faith. Faith is to believe what is already accomplished. These people do not know what faith is, nor do they know God’s heart. They consider that God’s forgiveness is given to people reluctantly and that they must plead with God to such an extent that He has pity on them. Actually, God has already forgiven us. Since the Lord Jesus has shed His precious blood, all of our sins are forgiven. Therefore, the work is accomplished. If we believe it, we are forgiven. By faith, the redemption which the Lord has accomplished is ours. Once we believe that Jesus Christ died for us, the grace of God is manifested in us.
Some say that if a man believes but does not confess Christ, he cannot be saved. Indeed, the one who believes must confess Christ. However, salvation is not the result of confession. Confession is not a condition for being saved, and one is not saved by confessing.
Matthew 10:32 and 33 say, “Every one therefore who will confess in Me before men, I also will confess in him before My Father who is in the heavens; but whoever will deny Me before men, I also will deny him before My Father who is in the heavens.” This passage of Scripture does not refer to receiving eternal life; rather, it refers to a man’s future position in the kingdom of the heavens and to the salvation of the believer’s soul. If a person is willing to deny himself and confess the Lord on earth, the Lord will confess him before the Father in the future. It does not refer to a person’s eternal salvation.
Mark 8:38 says, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” This also refers to the time of the kingdom. Mark 8:35 says, “For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever will lose his soul-life for My sake and the gospel’s shall save it.” What does losing one’s soul on the earth mean? It means to be willing while on earth to forfeit all enjoyment of the soul for the Lord’s sake. Whoever is afraid of losing face and being put to shame today will certainly lose face and be ashamed in the future. Whoever is not afraid of losing face and being put to shame for the Lord today will certainly be glorified in the future. Those who are not willing to suffer with the Lord today will surely miss the glory in the kingdom. When the Lord Jesus Christ establishes the kingdom on the earth, many will miss the glory.
Matthew 10:32 and 33 and Mark 8:35 and 38 all speak about the kingdom and not about obtaining eternal life. Entrance into the kingdom is related to a believer’s conduct on earth today. If a believer does not confess the Lord when he should before man, even though he already has eternal life, he will have no portion in the kingdom.
Romans 10:10 says, “For with the heart there is believing unto righteousness, and with the mouth there is confession unto salvation.” This verse seems to say that one can be saved by making confession with the mouth. However, in order to understand this verse we must consider the entire context. The subject of Romans 10 is the righteousness which is by faith. Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness to everyone who believes (v. 4). Faith is the requirement for obtaining righteousness, but what is this faith? The previous verses say that the word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart, and that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. This faith includes two aspects: one is with the mouth, and the other is with the heart. These two matters are the actions of faith; they are two aspects of one thing. They are just like justification and salvation which are two aspects of one thing. Confessing with the mouth is an expression of faith, and faith includes confession. This is why in the subsequent concluding word only faith is mentioned and not confession. Verse 11 says, “Everyone who believes on Him shall not be put to shame.” This verse does not say that whosoever believes and confesses shall not be put to shame. Confession is included in believing, so there is no need to mention it. Verse 14 says, “How then shall they call upon Him into whom they have not believed?” Verses 16 and 17 say, “‘Who has believed what he has heard from us?’ So faith comes out of hearing.” These verses do not mention confession again. Confession is not an independent matter; rather, it is a spontaneous expression of believing. Then how is the confession spoken of here expressed? Confession does not mean standing up to give a testimony. Instead, it is like a child acknowledging his mother by calling her “Mom.” When a person is saved by believing with his heart, he confesses with the mouth and spontaneously calls, “Abba, Father.” Therefore, confession is not a requirement in addition to believing. A person needs only to believe in order to be saved.
Some people think, “I am a sinner and need to have good behavior. Being saved just by believing in Jesus is too cheap. I should believe in Jesus and do good works so that I will be assured of being saved.” But this is not the teaching of the Bible. Although God saves us unto good works, that is, we have been “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph. 2:10) and “prepared unto every good work” (2 Tim. 2:21), nevertheless, we must remember that the Bible tells us that good works come after being saved. Salvation is not a result of good works, nor is it the result of good works in addition to believing. A child cannot walk before he is born; in like manner, we have to be reborn first, and then good works come. It is impossible to expect a person to do good works before he is reborn.
Romans 4:4 through 6 says, “Now to the one who works, his wages are not accounted according to grace, but according to what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted as righteousness. Even as David also speaks blessing on the man to whom God accounts righteousness apart from works.” The wages of the one who works are not accounted according to grace but according to what is due. He deserves his wages because he has done a good work. But the faith of the one who does not work but believes (let us note the word “believes”) on Him who justifies the ungodly is accounted as righteousness. We can be saved not by works but by faith. Something else in addition to believing is not needed. We must remember that faith alone is sufficient. David said that “the man to whom God accounts righteousness apart from works” was blessed. “Apart from works” shows that salvation has nothing to do with works.
Ephesians 2:8 through 10 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works that no one should boast. For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we would walk in them.” Verses 8 and 9 tell us that we are saved by grace through the faith which God has given to us and not by our own works. Verse 10 tells us that God has saved us to do the good works which He prepared for us. We are saved by grace through faith; after being saved we should do the good works which God prepared for us.
Some people think that praying should also be a condition for salvation. They do not realize that salvation is by faith not by prayer. Since the Lord Jesus Christ has already borne our sins and been judged by God, we do not even need to pray; all we have to do is believe. To pray is to ask God to do something, but to believe is to accept what God has already accomplished. We believe that God has judged Jesus Christ and that Christ has died for us. The cross has fully accomplished the work of redemption so that whoever believes in what God has done shall be saved.
However, someone may ask, “Does not Romans 10:13 say that ‘whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved’? Does this not show us that we must pray to be saved and that if we do not pray we will not be saved?” But let us read the following verse which says, “How then shall they call upon Him into whom they have not believed?” Believing comes first, and calling comes after. First there is the believing, and then there is the calling. To call is an expression of faith—it is not an independent or additional requirement. Believing includes calling, and believing spontaneously produces calling. Furthermore, the calling in this verse is not an ordinary plea; it is an invoking of the name of the Lord. This is similar to what was spoken in the previous text about confessing the Lord Jesus with the mouth. It is also referred to in 1 Corinthians 12:3: “No one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit.” The name of the Lord is salvation. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord or says that Jesus is Lord will be saved. Can one say Jesus is Lord if he does not believe that Jesus is Lord? On the other hand, can one who believes that Jesus is Lord not say that Jesus is Lord or call on His name? Therefore, prayer is not a requirement of being saved. Faith and faith alone is the requirement.
Some may rightly think that salvation is not dependent on hope, confession, works, or prayer, but still think that one must both believe and be baptized in order to be saved. This concept is also incorrect. Even though Mark 16:16 says, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved,” we have to pay attention to what the word “saved” refers to. In the Bible there are several kinds of salvation: the eternal salvation by which one obtains eternal life, the believer’s daily salvation, the salvation through affliction, the salvation of the body, and the salvation of the soul in which one reigns with the Lord in the kingdom of the heavens. The salvation related to baptism is our salvation from the realm of the sinful world. This is different from having eternal life. Having eternal life is a personal matter of receiving eternal life, but being baptized is to be saved out of a sinful realm. If a person only believes but is not baptized, although he has eternal life, in the eyes of the world he is still not a saved one. He must rise up to be baptized and declare that he has nothing to do with the sinful realm. Others will then acknowledge that he has been saved. In order to receive eternal life, deliverance from condemnation, and eternal salvation, all that one has to do is believe; there are no additional requirements. The first part of Mark 16:16 says, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved,” and the second part says, “But he who does not believe shall be condemned.” The second part does not say that “he who does not believe and who is not baptized shall be condemned.” In order to be saved from the sinful realm of the world, one must believe and be baptized. In order to be condemned, however, all that he has to do is not believe. In other words, the requirement for not being condemned is just believing; it is not baptism in addition to believing. The criminal on the cross was not baptized, yet the Lord said, “Today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:40-43). He believed and was not condemned; rather, he was saved and had eternal life. Therefore, baptism is not a condition for receiving eternal life.
Some have said that our sins are like strips of paper hanging one by one on the cross. When we confess one sin, one strip is taken off the cross, while the sins which we have not confessed are still hanging there. But the Bible does not say this. Nevertheless, this does not mean that we do not need to confess our sins. We should confess our sins, but the confession of sins is not a condition for salvation.
However, some may reply, “Since 1 John 1:9 says, ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness,’ does this not indicate that we must confess our sins?” Indeed, this verse is in the Bible. But 1 John is not written for unbelievers. The word “we” indicates Christians, which means it is written for believers. This book mentions three kinds of Christians: (1) little children, those who have the life; (2) young men, those who are strong; and (3) fathers, those who are experienced. First John is different from Romans because the entire book speaks to Christians. The subject of 1 John is fellowship. If a Christian commits a sin, he must confess his sin; otherwise, his fellowship with God will be hindered. If he wants to restore the fellowship with God, he must confess his sin. However, it is wrong to tell an unbeliever to confess his sins in order to be saved. The Holy Spirit convicts a sinner of sins, righteousness, and judgment and causes a person to believe the works which the Son of God has accomplished. When a person believes, his sins are forgiven before God. The condition for a sinner to be forgiven by God is faith. We cannot find a passage in the Bible that says a sinner must believe and confess his sins before he can be saved. Jesus Christ has accomplished redemption, and whoever believes the testimony God gave of His Son will be saved.
Many say that salvation depends on repentance. The book of Romans presents the matter of salvation very clearly, yet this book does not mention that salvation is by any kind of work. The Gospel of John is the clearest book concerning the gospel, yet it contains no indication that salvation is by repentance. Salvation is by faith, not by repentance.
Then is repentance unnecessary? According to the Bible, those who believe must first repent, and a saved person must also have repentance. There is a repentance before believing, and there is a repentance after believing. If a person never has a change in his view concerning sin, himself, the world, and the Lord, he cannot be saved. The word repentance means to have a change of mind. For instance, what one person treasured before his salvation is no longer treasured after his salvation. Therefore, repentance is not a condition of salvation but a part of believing and a part of salvation.
What is believing? To believe does not mean to believe in some theological doctrines. To hear is to hear the doctrines, but to believe is to believe in Christ. Ephesians 1:13 says, “Having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in Him also believing.” We hear the word of truth, the gospel, but we believe in Christ. Some people say that they believe, but actually, they only agree with the doctrines—they do not really believe in Christ. Some with other motives may say that they have believed, but they have never known Christ. These persons are not saved. Therefore, preaching doctrines is not our aim; our aim is for people to believe in Christ.
What does it mean to believe in Christ? First John 5:9 through 12 says, “If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, because this is the testimony of God that He has testified concerning His Son. He who believes into the Son of God has the testimony in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar because he has not believed in the testimony which God has testified concerning His Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave to us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” Therefore, believing is receiving the witness that God gave of His Son. Whoever believes in His Son has eternal life.
We rejoice because we are saved by believing and not by anything else. We should have good works, confess Christ before people, confess our sins, repent, be baptized, and pray frequently to be pleasing to God. We should not neglect these things and bring about God’s displeasure. However, we are not saved by doing these things. Our salvation is only by believing.
