One Book...Rightly Divided
Expanded Edition
By Dr. Douglas D. Stauffer

Chapter 18

What Must I Do?

God commands that we worship Him in Spirit and in truth. However, everyone has his own opinion concerning what constitutes worshipping God in this fashion. The first step, after becoming a Christian, involves joining a local church that preaches and teaches the word of God without changing it. Doing so enhances a person’s chances of scripturally worshipping God. Yet, too many people get the “cart before the horse.” Spiritually speaking, they try to run before they learn how to walk.

John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

All of the information in this book, and indeed all the books that have ever been written, will profit you nothing if you are not first a child of God. The person of salvation is the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone.

This book covers the Bible from Genesis through the book of the Revelation and back again. The information provided may seem useful, but will not profit you if you have never been saved (Romans 10:9-13). In this final chapter, let us revisit the Church Age one more time. For a moment, forget all the confusion in the world, and gain the assurance (I Thessalonians 1:5) that you have this one issue settled. How does a person insure that heaven will be his home?

Almost anyone, when asked, will tell you that he desires to go to heaven when he dies. Many individuals assume that heaven will be their home as long as they try to be good people and live a good lives. Living a good life is a commendable endeavor, but certainly is not sufficient to earn a place in heaven. God gives four principles in the Bible that a person must understand and act upon in order to go to heaven.

First, you must understand . . . you are a sinner.

.Romans 3:22 ...for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Think about this: How many banks would you have to rob in order to comprehend that you are a bank robber? Only one, of course. The same principle holds true concerning sin. Committing even one sin should convince you that you are a sinner. For example, if you ever told a lie or simply disobeyed your parents as a child, you broke a biblical command and sinned. Therefore, you are a sinner.  Every person is a sinner. You must first understand and accept the fact that you are a sinner (Romans 5:12). The end of verse 22 refers to the fact that it does not matter whether one is a murder, prostitute or a “petty” sinner “for there is no difference...all have sinned.”

Second, you must understand . . . the penalty for being a sinner.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Wages are what a person has earned or deserves. Because of your personal sin, you have earned and deserve death. Death indicates a separation. There are two types of death. These are the physical death (the separation of the soul from the body) and the spiritual death (the separation of the soul from God). The preceding verse refers to eternal life (spiritual life) and, consequently, to an everlasting death—also spiritual (Matthew 25:41, II Thessalonians 1:8-9).

When the body dies (physically), the individual experiences the first death. Following the judgment of the lost, the individual experiences the second death.

Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

If you pay what you owe as a sinner, you must spend eternity in the lake of fire (hell), separated from God. Do not reject the truth and remain unrepentant.

Third, you must understand . . . what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for you.

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

The Lord Jesus Christ was not a sinner, yet He suffered death and separation from God the Father on the cross. The Bible says He did this for us!

Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

The Lord was buried and three days later arose from the grave. Why was this necessary? God requires payment for sin. The Lord Jesus Christ paid your debt and mine. He took responsibility for all of our sins while hanging on the cross (II Corinthians 5:21), and God punished Him in our place to satisfy the debt that we owe (Acts 2:27, 31). Praise God!

God draws the sinner to Himself. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:44) He offers the gift of eternal life through the death and blood shed by the Lord Jesus Christ. However, as with any gift, unless the receiver accepts the gift from the Giver, there is no benefit. This brings us to the fourth principle.

Fourth, you must understand . . . that by faith you need to accept what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for you.

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?. . .

To call upon the name of the Lord, you must believe in Him. You cannot just believe on a mental or intellectual level. The word believe means to trust; to depend upon; to rely on. The act of believing involves a turning to Christ. A necessary complement to a true belief in Christ is repentance, for the Lord said, “Nay; but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3).

Repentance and belief are the two sides of a single coin. To repent is to turn from something. You must turn from believing and trusting in your own efforts, church membership or your own religion. You must turn to believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance is not the lost sinner’s promising to clean up his life in exchange for salvation. It is certainly not contingent upon the promise of some future behavior. (See the in-depth discussion on repentance at the end of this chapter.)

The choice is now yours. You must either accept or reject the gift of God. There is no middle ground. Either you believe or you believe not. To believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is to accept the facts that you are a sinner; that you owe the sin penalty; and that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the debt you owe. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ means placing the matter of your eternal life in His hands, and not attempting to add anything to His complete and perfect salvation.

John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

If you continue in unbelief, you are condemned because you must believe in order to be saved. You can choose to change your eternal destination today. Once you have accepted Him as Saviour, the peace and assurance of knowing that you have eternal life is yours.

1 Timothy 1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

If God is dealing with you about the matter of salvation, please take time right now to put your belief and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour.

If you have never before made a true profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we would like to hear from you. Please take time right now to contact the publisher or the author of this book that we may rejoice with you. We will also send you some additional information to enable you to live a victorious Christian life. The Lord Jesus Christ indicated that salvation is only the beginning when He spoke the following words:

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

The Lord Jesus Christ wants you to be saved (to have life). Once you are saved, He wants you to serve Him (that is, to have life more abundantly). You cannot serve without salvation; you cannot have salvation without accepting His payment for your sin. If you would like more information or further study materials, contact the author or publisher for a list of other materials available including a verse by verse study of the scripture.