Eternal life is God’s undeserved gift and it cannot be earned. Ephesians 2:8-9 makes this absolutely clear: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” But if we look at everything the Bible says on the subject it becomes clear God does set certain conditions for receiving salvation.
Jesus Christ is the author of our salvation “to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:8-9) and He warns in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” This admonition makes it clear that to inherit the Kingdom of God we must do the will of the Father.
When a wealthy young man asked Jesus: “… what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” Christ’s reply was “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:16-17). This reply completely negates the idea that obedience to God’s law is unnecessary. As the Apostle James points out, “…faith without works is dead” (James 2:20).
James, the half-brother of Jesus Christ, goes on to explain that faith—belief and trust in God—and obedience go hand in hand, making it clear that our obedient works are evidence of our faith: “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” (James 2:21-22).
Jesus also gave another condition for God’s gift of eternal life in Mark 16:16: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (Romans 6:1-23). Through baptism we symbolically put to death the old person with his or her sins. Baptism is to be followed by the laying on of hands, which allows us to receive God’s Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17; Romans 8:9).
The Apostle Peter affirmed these conditions for receiving God’s Spirit, declaring, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission [forgiveness] of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). Repentance means to turn from disobedience to God to obeying Him. So committed obedience and baptism are shown as requirements in the salvation process.
In Matthew 10:22 and Matthew 24:13 Jesus gave another condition we must meet to receive God’s gift of salvation: “He who endures to the end will be saved.” Some believe in the unbiblical teaching of “eternal security” or “once saved, always saved.” But as Jesus tells us here, we can lose out on salvation if we fail to endure to the end. See also (Luke 9:62). The Apostle Paul also realized that he needed to discipline himself to be in total subjection to God—“lest, when I have preached to others,” he wrote, “I myself should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27). He understood that through neglect he could lose out on God’s gift of salvation! (Hebrews 2:1-3).
Our love for and commitment to Jesus Christ and God the Father must be more important to us than any other relationship Luke 14:26-27, so clearly, belief is not all that’s required for salvation. God’s Word spells out certain conditions that must be met. Let us be sure, as Hebrews 2:3 warns, that we do not “neglect so great a salvation.” God’s gift of eternal life to us cost Jesus Christ His life (John 3:16), and each of us must be willing to faithfully follow Jesus even through life’s most difficult challenges.
