The key to salvation is believing. When we believe, we are saved. There are no further requirements such as not playing mah-jongg or not drinking alcohol. Neither do we have to control our temper after we believe in order to have the assurance of our salvation. If this were true, no one would be able to be saved. When it comes to our salvation, the key is to not add anything after the word believe. The simple way is the best way—believe. When we add additional requirements, such as not watching movies or not drinking alcohol, the devil, who is very subtle, will use this concept to cause us to question our salvation, and this will hinder us from praising and thanking the Lord for His salvation. Even when we speak of just believing in the Lord, the devil can come to bother us, saying, “What if your faith is not firm? What if your faith cannot endure?” Even though we have believed, the devil has many ways to shut our mouths and cause us to doubt our salvation.
Confessing that we are saved is a critical matter. We must hold fast to the word in the Bible that we are saved as soon as we believe. If we go to a movie, we should repent, but then we must say, “Thank the Lord, I am saved.” If we say this, the movie will be under our feet. This is an amazing thing. Even though the devil reminds us of our old habits of drinking alcohol and playing mah-jongg, we need to say to the devil, “Even if you put all the alcohol in the world in front of me, I have believed in Jesus, and I am saved.” If we confess this with boldness, alcohol and mah-jongg will be under our feet. This acknowledgment, this living faith, this living confession, connects us to the Lord. When an electrician comes to install an electrical lamp, he simply puts the electric bulb into the socket of the lamp; once it is connected to the electrical source, the lamp shines immediately. The only thing that matters is the connection.
We have heard the gospel and have believed in the Lord. Nothing more is needed. Even though Satan does not want to let us go, we have been connected to the Lord. We should not allow the devil to distract us with matters in the past or in the future. All these matters are in the Lord’s hands. Since we have believed in the Lord, we are saved. If the Word says that we are saved, we also should say, “I am saved, and I am in Christ.” This simple confession is quite powerful. There is nothing simpler than receiving the Lord’s salvation. When we believe, we have eternal life: he who believes has eternal life.
We know that we have eternal life when we believe because of the words in the Bible. The Bible speaks very clearly about this. When we believe, our sins are forgiven (John 3:18). When we believe, we are purified by God (Heb. 1:3). When we believe, we are justified by God (Rom. 3:24-25). When we believe, we are regenerated (John 3:6). When we believe, we have eternal life (5:24). When we believe, we are saved (Mark 16:16). When we believe, we become children of God (John 1:12). Believing solves all of our problems before God. This is not a matter of our feeling; it is altogether a matter of God’s Word. According to the Bible, once we believe, we are forgiven, we are purified, we are justified, we are regenerated, we have eternal life, and we become children of God.
The purchase of a piece of land is always based on a contract. If we have a contract, we have the assurance that the land is ours. A contract is a covenant, and the Bible speaks of covenants. The Bible is God’s covenant with us. God has given His salvation to us, and His contract, His covenant, is the Bible. This covenant clearly states that in His Son, we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:14). If a person believes in the Lord but does not know whether his sins have been forgiven, we need to show him the words of God’s covenant. If he does not believe God’s covenant, he makes God a liar (1 John 5:10).
We should never forget that the Bible is a covenant. There is even an old and a new covenant. The old covenant is related to the Jews; the new covenant is related to all the believers in Christ. If we have believed in the Lord Jesus, God’s new covenant has been established with us. According to God’s new covenant, those who believe into His Son have been forgiven of their sins (Col. 1:14), they have been justified (Rom 3:24-25), they have received eternal life (John 5:24), and they have been born of Him (1:12-13). When people ask us whether or not we have eternal life, it may seem humble and polite to say, “I do not dare say that I have eternal life,” but if we say this, we are actually making God a liar. Our politeness and humility are worthless. When people ask us whether or not we have believed in the Lord and have eternal life, we should boldly and simply confess, “Praise the Lord, I have eternal life.”
We know that we have eternal life because the covenant that God has established with us says, “Truly I say to you, Until heaven and earth pass away, one iota or one serif shall by no means pass away from the law until all come to pass” (Matt. 5:18). God said this in His covenant, the Bible, and God cannot violate His covenant. We have believed, and our sins are forgiven. We have believed, and we are saved. We have believed, and we are regenerated. We have believed, and we have God’s life. We have believed, and we are children of God. This is our assurance.