Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved

'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved'

— Acts 16:31

Salvation is obtained by faith alone. It is not obtained by faith and baptism, faith and obedience, faith and experience, or even faith and faithfulness. Salvation is obtained by faith alone, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is true, faith is obedient. Faith is confessed in baptism. Faith does bring both feelings and experience and cause faithfulness. But these things come as the result of salvation and life in Christ. They are not the cause (Eph. 2:8-10).

What is this faith? The Amplified Version gives a helpful translation of this verse: ‘Believe in and on the Lord Jesus Christ, that is give yourself up to him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself to his keeping, and you will be saved.’ ‘Believing on Christ is not a bare historical faith, as only to believe that he was the Son of God, and the Messiah, and that he was come in the flesh, and had suffered, and died, and rose again, and was now in heaven at the right hand of God, and would come again to judge the quick and the dead, for there may be such a faith and no salvation’ (John Gill). Paul’s commandment, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ’ requires us to look to Christ alone for salvation and life, to rely upon Christ, trusting him and committing the care of our immortal souls to him, and to expect peace, pardon, righteousness and eternal life from him. To believe on Christ is to trust him, venture everything upon him, commit everything to him and receive him. Faith is leaving our souls in the hands of Christ.

This faith in Christ is the commandment of God (I John 3:23). I see no reason why I should be allowed to believe, to trust Christ and be saved by him. But God commands me to do so. Therefore I do believe. Without anything to commend myself to God, I trust Christ. Live or die, sink or swim, I trust him. And doing what God himself has commanded me to do, I cannot perish! The sure result of faith is eternal salvation. ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.’ You cannot believe Christ and perish!