Jesus said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” So, Jesus said that one must believe (“to believe,” also “to be persuaded of,” and hence, “to place confidence in, to trust,” signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance upon, not mere credence,” Vine) in Him to have eternal life. In this context, He explains to Nicodemus why He came to Earth. He says:
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever [a]believes will in Him have eternal life (John 3:14-15).
When Moses “lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,” those who obeyed God and looked upon the serpent were healed of their venomous snake bites and lived Num. 21). God sent His Son to be lifted up on the cross so that men might be saved from their sins and live (Luke 24:20, 26-27; 44-46; John 8:28; 12:32-34; Acts 2:23).
Jesus would command the apostles later, in Mark 15:15-16:
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 10:9-10:
…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
So, one must believe (believe, be persuaded hence place confidence in, trust) Jesus to be saved, or, as Jesus put it in John 3:16, not perish, but have eternal life.
But does Jesus say or imply that believing in Him is all one must do to be saved? In this article, we will see Jesus’ answer to this question as given in the New Testament.
Repentance
In Luke 13:1-5, reported to Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus responded:
Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? 3 I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
Jesus says that those who do not repent will perish. The word translated, repent, means, “lit., ‘to perceive afterwards’ (meta, ‘after,” implying ‘change,’ noeo, ‘to perceive;’ nous, ‘the mind, the seat of moral reflection’),” according to Vine. He writes, that the word, “signifies ‘to change one’s mind or purpose,’ always, in the NT, involving a change for the better, an amendment, and always, except in Luke 17:3,4…” Jesus later said in Luke 24:46-47:
Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
Notice that Jesus said, “repentance” is “for the forgiveness of sins.” Jesus says one must repent before he can receive the forgiveness of sins. Or, as He put it in Luke 13:3,5, “unless you repent, you will…perish.” Rember that Jesus said in John 3:16:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
So, Jesus said that to avoid perishing and have eternal life, one must both believe in Him and repent of his sins.
Confession
Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33:
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.
Jesus clearly states that confession is necessary for eternal life. How can one have eternal life if Jesus denies him before His Father?
Notice that confession is not merely saying, “I believe in Jesus.” The Greek word translated, confess, means, “to declare openly by way of speaking out freely, such confession being the effect of deep conviction of facts…,” according to Vine. It also involves more than just confessing belief that Jesus lived or lives. Notice again Paul’s words in Romans 10:9-10:
…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
One must confess that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead. Jesus died for our salvation from the consequences of sin (See “Why Do You Need to Be Saved?“). One must confess that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:30-31; Acts 8:26-39; 1 John 4:15; Acts 8:36-37).
Baptism
Jesus told the apostles in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20:
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
In Mark’s parallel account (Mark 16:15-16), Jesus said:
Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.
Jesus commanded the apostles to baptize those they taught who believed in Him. He said, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” Jesus makes both belief and baptism necessary for salvation!
Just forty days later, in Acts 2:37-38, after Peter had convinced a multitude that they had been guilty of crucifying the Son of God, Luke tells us:
Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?”
These Jews now believed that Jesus was the Son of God. Notice what Peter tells these believers to do:
Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Peter tells these believers in Jesus, they must repent and be baptized! Jesus had said just a few days earlier, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16).
Conclusion
Jesus says that to be saved one must believe the gospel (the good news) that Jesus is the Son of God, repent of his sins, and be baptized for the forgiveness of his sins.
