"Believe in Jesus" - Is Belief in Jesus Enough for Salvation?

 What must I do to be saved?

* You must believe that Jesus sacrificed his life for our sins. (Acts 16:30, 31; 1 John 2:2) This includes believing that Jesus was a real person and that all of what the Bible account says is accurate. 

* Learn what the Bible really teaches.  ( 2 Timothy 3:15)  The Bible says that the apostle Paul and Silas told a jailer: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will get saved." Then, after that, they began to teach "the word of Jehovah" to the jailer. (Acts 16:31, 32)  This indicates that the jailer could not truly believe  in Jesus unless he had a basic understanding of God's Word.  He needed accurate knowledge based on the Scriptures. - 1 TIMOTHY 2:3, 4.

* Repent. (Acts 3:19) You must also repent, or feel deep sorrow, over previous wrong attitudes and conduct. Your repentance will be obvious to others as you stop practices that offend God and do "works that befit repentance." - ACTS 26:20.

* Get baptized.  (Matthew 28:19) Jesus said that those who become his disciples would be baptized. The jailer mentioned earlier was baptized.  (Acts 16:33) Similarly, after the apostle Peter taught a large crowd the truth about Jesus,  "those who gladly accepted his word were baptized." - ACTS 2:40, 41.

* Obey Jesus' instructions.  (Hebrews 5:9)  Those who "observe all the things" that Jesus commanded show buy their life course that they are his followers. (Matthew 28:20)  They become "doers of the world and hot hearers only." - JAMES 1:22.

* Endure to the end. (Mark 13:13)  Jesus' disciples "need endurance" in order to be saved.  (Hebrews 10:36)  For example, the apostle Paul maintained strict obedience to Jesus' teachings and loyalty to God, and he endured in this course from the day he became a Christian until he died. - 1 CORINTHIANS 9:27. 

Next time:  "Believe in Jesus" -Is Belief in Jesus Enough for Salvation? - What About the "Sinners' Prayer"? 

From the j.w.org publications