Have you ever assembled something like maybe a piece of furniture from IKEA or a new grill or lawnmower you purchased from Home Depot...and when you were ‘done’, there were more than a ‘few’ pieces left over laying there on the ground?

You probably had this gnawing sense inside of you that this was probably not a good sign, but when your spouse pointed them out and wanted to know what those ‘extra pieces’ were for, you quickly dismissed any concern (wanting to save face) by suggesting they were just ‘unneeded,extra or spare parts'. I mean, what you assembled ‘seemed’ to look right and function properly...so why worry over something like things that simply did not ‘fit’ into the overall finished product? And yet...that gnawing concern persisted....with lingering questions.

I think we are guilty of doing that with the Bible at times; especially when it comes to answering questions like some of those early believers asked when they heard the gospel for the first time or experienced the presence of God. We read where they were ‘cut to the heart’ (Acts 2:37) or ‘fell down trembling’ (Acts 16:29) and then asked....”What must I do to be saved?”

When someone asks that question today...there is no shortage of varying responses they will hear, depending on who is answering that question. And this often leads to not only much confusion, but even more division. Hence...the reason we have nearly 400+ ‘Christian denominations’ today and a plethora of ‘churches’ for folks to choose from should they opt to join or attend.

I am not here today to add to the confusion and division, nor am I wanting to offer up a ‘new recipe’ either on how one can be ‘saved’. I have maintained all along these past two years of writing and posting here that my focus is more about what it means to abide in Christ and not debate who is ‘saved’ or not. But I want to approach this topic...carefully today, if for no other reason...to challenge your thinking or thought process. And the only reason I do is because we might be guilty of doing what we have done with assembling other things before and think we have something figured out...all the while ignoring a lot of other ‘leftover parts’ or Bible verses.

We have become a people who love and are easily consumed with ‘sound bites’. We like things short and simple and to the point. Whose got time for lengthy discussion and pondering over matters that are important? Does anyone ever read all the small print on those apps and such you download or do you just scroll through and ‘click to agree’?

So when we read there in Acts 2 how on the Day of Pentecost, Peter rose up after being filled with the Holy Spirit and preached his first public sermon...’those who heard were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do”?’ (37)

Peter responded directly, saying: “Repent...and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit...” (38) And not only does he assure them that this ‘promise’ is not only for them, but also for their children as well, along with any and all who are afar off that the Lord our God will call.” (39).

I think that next verse gets overlooked too often as it reads “And with many other words he testified and exhorted them...” (40)

Then there was the conversion of the Philippian jailer that we read about in Acts 16. Paul and Silas are imprisoned, begin to sing and pray at midnight when an earthquake shakes the prison and all the cell doors open up. We are also told that ‘everyone’s chains were loosed’ (26) but no doubt many probably insisted they would always remain ‘chained prisoners’. (some of you might get that *smile*)

The jailer, visibly shaken, was about to take his own life when Paul reaches out to him to reassure him all was well; and then comes that well-known question...and response: “Sirs, What must I do to be saved?” (30). To which they (Paul and Silas, in unison it would appear) said: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved....you and your household.” (31)

So there you have it: the simple, short and sweet, sound-bite of a religious ‘recipe’ on what all one must do to be ‘saved’. Just believe. Am I aware that I am treading dangerously close to the ‘golden calf’ of many people whose hearts have been captured by the ‘doctrines of men’? You bet I do. Yet all I hope to accomplish here today is to challenge your ‘thinking process’ on much of what we have been taught and led to believe all these years. I realize that ‘faith’ and ‘thinking’ can often be in conflict, yet we were still were given ‘minds’ (to think with) that need to be sanctified (1 Thess. 5:23; Rom. 12:2). And did God not challenge His own people to “consider your ways”? (Hag. 1:5)

The point I want to make here must begin with this statement first: I have a suspicion that so many of us are not really understanding just what it is that we are ‘saved from’, when we speak about ‘getting saved’. And I would submit that this in part is mainly due to our ignorance of what all God’s law entails and how relevant it is today as it was never abolished or done away with. (Matt. 5:17). We might be able to ‘amend’ our Constitution, but we do not have the luxury of amending God’s word and changing it up or diluting it to suit our own desires and ambitions. Yet we do it all the time.

So if a modern day ‘seeker’ asks the question of what must they ‘do to be saved’, many would be quick to tell them: ‘Just Believe on Jesus’, or ‘’accept Christ into your heart’. And while we want to be careful not to ‘add’ anything to that and create some ‘formula’, we might also strongly encourage they ‘profess with their lips that God raised Jesus from the dead’; you know – make it public so others are aware of your decision. It is ‘faith alone that saves us’, many would make their rallying cry. To suggest anything else would be to suggest one is ‘saved by works’. Yet the very people who would suggest that premise remain steadfast that a person is ‘saved’ because they ‘said some words’. (Hang with me here...please)

Now we can’t ignore those who want to ‘add’ to the ‘recipe-formula’ the need to be ‘baptized in water’. I mean, Jesus did say “He who believes and is baptized will be saved but he who does not believe will be condemned”. (Mark 16:16). I know, lots of folks don’t like those last few lines in Mark’s gospel and have added a lot of footnotes to imply we can skip over those verses.

And let’s not forget our Pentecostal brothers and sisters who will make a strong case you are not ‘really saved’ yet until you have been baptized in the Holy Spirit (Ghost) -with the evidence of speaking in tongues- given that is how Peter answered those who asked ‘what must they do’ in Acts 2:37-38. So before you know it, we end up doing what the early religious system did back prior to Jesus’s first coming and took God’s laws and began to add to and chisel away creating all kinds of ‘requirements’ and added laws and regulations. In fact, Jesus Himself pointed out how they had basically ‘laid aside the commandments of God’ and began to uphold their own traditions and formulas (doctrines) and as a result, made God’s word of no effect. (Mark 7:7-13)

You don’t think that could have happened again...with us?

So imagine now, your friend or neighbor who asked you that question...’what must they do to be saved’ given their heart is being softened as they look around at all the darkness and despair in the world and seem to know something is missing in their lives. And you tell them...”just believe Jesus is the Son of God and was raised from the dead’. That’s it? If they do that...they are now...’saved’? (To which we want to make it all about ‘not going to hell when they die’.)

Now what? They just ‘said they believed’. You might have even led them in a simple prayer affirming this ‘belief’ as you encouraged them now to ‘invite Jesus in’. I mean, He is ‘standing at the door, knocking, asking to come in’, is He not? (Rev. 3:20). And once they ‘do this’, we want to reassure them that a party just broke out in heaven and all the angels are rejoicing because their name was just written down in the book of life and heaven awaits them when they die. (Luke 15:10) Sound familiar? [cue sound track of radio announcer who bellows out: “But Wait! There’s More!]

Depending on which ‘camp’ you reside in, you may have gone to extra lengths to reassure them, almost ‘doubling down’ to convince them that they are ‘now eternally secure’, meaning they can never do anything to ever ‘lose their salvation’. It’s a done deal; guaranteed, or as many like to say ‘once saved - always saved’. Ok. So again the question arises: “Now what?”

Well...this is where it gets...complicated. We want to assure them they’ve ‘done’ all they ‘must do’, but now comes the long list of what they ‘should’ start doing. You know, quit smoking, swearing, and drinking, and start going to church ‘regularly’; and let’s not forget they might want start reading the bible ‘regularly’. Okay...so how often ‘should’ they go to church? Weekly? Every time the doors are open? What if they miss? Are they still ‘good with God’? I mean, some folks have invested heavily in travel league baseball for their kids and they play nearly every Sunday. Do they have to ‘give that up’? Can they still ‘remain saved’ and show up to church just once in a while?

And about that bible reading...it can be hard to understand and which version is permissible? Can they read other ‘good religious’ books and devotionals and still be ‘good with God’?

Then comes the well manufactured ‘spins’: “Well...if you ‘really believe’...you’ll ‘want’ to attend church regularly and want to read your bible and want to give up all those bad things we’ve listed (Depending on which church you attend). (Are your eyes glazing over yet?)

So there you have it...the recipe on how to get saved which leads to these three phrases: “Must Do, Should Do, and Want to Do”. But all is good with their soul because they ‘confessed with their mouths and believed in their hearts’ just like Paul wrote in Romans 10:9-10 and now they are ‘saved’. The only problem with that...is there are all these ‘extra parts and pieces’ laying strewn about in our Bibles that don’t seem to ‘fit’ with what we have created. And therein lies a big problem. Join me tomorrow?