The Will Of God

What God has spoken in the New Testament is clear. He has brought salvation to all men, and He desires all men to be saved. What then is God’s will? God’s will for our lives is that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus so that we might be saved![1]

BELIEVE / HAVE FAITH

On one occasion the apostle Paul was asked, “what must I do to be saved?”, and he replied saying, “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” On another occasion Paul wrote, “by grace you are saved through faith”. Both of these words, “believe” and “faith”, include two things which take place in our heart and mind. With our mind, we understand the facts of the Gospel, and with our heart we trust in those facts to be true for ourselves. When a person hears the message of the Gospel, that Jesus died for their sins and rose again from the dead, and believes it to be true putting their faith and trust in Jesus, then that person will be saved.[2]

RECEIVE JESUS

We are also told in the Gospel of John that those who receive Jesus will become children of God. But what does this mean? When one understands that Jesus is the Savior of the world, and also realizes that He is Lord of all, then one simply receives Jesus into their life for who He is and what He has done. First, as our Savior who died for our sins, we place our faith and trust in Him for forgiveness and salvation; and second, as Lord of all we bend our knee in submission and receive Him as our Lord, repenting of our sins and following Jesus in a life of obedience.[3]

REPENT AND BE BAPTIZED

Jesus told the apostles to go into the world and make disciples, to baptize those disciples, and to teach them to do all that He had commanded. When a person believes in Jesus they have had a change of mind and have taken a new course in which they turn away from any sins they were formerly practicing and begin to do what Jesus commanded. This is what it means to repent. While baptism does not save a person it is one of the first things a new disciple will do as they follow in obedience to Jesus.[4]

CONFESS JESUS

When a person has believed in Jesus as Savior and received Him as Lord, becoming His disciple, then that person will have started a new life in Christ! The new believer will sooner or later have occasion to make known to others this new relationship with Jesus as Savior and Lord. Jesus taught His followers that no one who believes in Him should ever be ashamed to confess Him as their Savior and Lord.[5]

Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:32-33)

The apostle Paul writes: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

THE JUDGEMENT TO COME

God instructs us in His Word that we must believe in the name of His Son Jesus. He has declared that all people everywhere should repent because He has appointed a day in which He will Judge the World. We learn in scripture that Jesus will be the one who Judges the world when He comes again, and the central issue for people today will be how they responded to Jesus and the Gospel message. For those who reject Jesus and the Gospel and continue to live in sin and in disobedience to God there will be certain judgement when Jesus returns to this world the second time.[6]

But God did not send Jesus the first time to Judge the world but to save it. We need only believe in Him before He comes again![7]

When a person believes that Jesus died for their sins and places their faith and trust in Him, when they receive Jesus into their life as Savior and Lord, repenting of their sins and confessing Him as Lord, then that person has understood and followed God’s will for their life, and they will be saved![8]

We invite you to learn more about God’s Word, God’s Love and His Will for our lives. There is more information in the “Library” on these and other topics, and there are other resources available on the “Resource” page to help those who are seeking God!

Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near… Isaiah 55:6

NOTES:

[1] Titus 2:11; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; John 6:40; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 3:23

[2] Acts 16:29-31; Ephesians 2:8-9; I Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 10:9-13

[3] John 1:12; I John 4:14; Philippians 2:9-11; 1 Peter 1:3-9; Romans 10:9-13; Hebrews 5:8-9

[4] Matthew 28:18-20; Acts2:37-38; Luke 24:46-48

[5] Matthew 10:32-33; Romans 10:9

[6] Acts 17:30; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Hebrews 10:26-31

[7] John 3: 16-21

[8] Matthew 7:21; 1 John 3:23