What Must I Do to Be Saved?
The Apostolic Response to the Gospel
The question is not new.
When sinners are confronted with the reality of God, judgment, guilt, and the lordship of Jesus Christ, the question eventually becomes unavoidable: What must I do to be saved?
This question appears in different forms across the New Testament. Sometimes it is asked explicitly. Sometimes it is implied by the situation. Sometimes the answer emphasizes faith. Sometimes repentance. Sometimes baptism. Sometimes calling on the name of the Lord. Sometimes confession. Sometimes perseverance. But these answers are not competing responses. They are not contradictory formulas. They are parts of the one apostolic response to the one gospel of the one Lord.
The church must therefore be careful. It must not reduce the apostolic response to one verse isolated from the rest. It must not take one biblical answer and use it to cancel another. It must not say “believe” in a way that excludes repentance, or “repent” in a way that excludes faith, or “be baptized” in a way that excludes faith, or “grace” in a way that excludes the commanded response God Himself has appointed.
The question must be answered the way Scripture answers it.
Not by system.
Not by tradition.
Not by denominational habit.
Not by modern slogans.
But by the full apostolic witness.
The Gospel Comes First
Before Scripture tells sinners how to respond, it first announces what God has done.
The gospel is not man’s search for God. It is God’s saving action in Jesus Christ. Paul summarizes the gospel this way:
“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, NKJV
The gospel begins with Christ crucified and risen. Jesus died for sins. He was buried. He was raised on the third day. He appeared as the risen Lord. He now reigns as the exalted Christ.
Paul also says the gospel concerns God’s Son:
“Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”
— Romans 1:3–4, NKJV
This means the gospel is not merely an invitation to personal improvement. It is the announcement that Jesus is the crucified, risen, enthroned Son of God. He is Lord. He is Christ. He is Savior. He is Judge. He is the one through whom God now commands all people to respond.
Peter declares this at Pentecost:
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
— Acts 2:36, NKJV
The apostolic response begins here. Sinners are not first asked to perform a religious act. They are confronted with Jesus Christ. They must hear who He is, what God has done through Him, what their guilt means before God, and what God now commands in response.
The gospel comes first.
Then comes the response.
The Question at Pentecost
Acts 2 gives one of Scripture’s clearest examples of the apostolic response to the gospel.
Peter preaches Jesus as the one attested by God, crucified by lawless hands, raised from the dead, exalted to God’s right hand, and made both Lord and Christ. When the hearers understand the force of the message, they are cut to the heart.
Luke records:
“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?'”
— Acts 2:37, NKJV
This is the question of convicted sinners. They have heard the gospel. They now know that the Jesus they rejected has been made Lord and Christ. They do not ask for a theological abstraction. They ask what they must do.
Peter answers:
“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
— Acts 2:38, NKJV
This answer must be allowed to stand.
Peter does not tell them that nothing is required. He does not tell them that repentance is optional. He does not tell them that baptism is a later symbol disconnected from forgiveness. He does not tell them to wait for a later denominational explanation. He commands repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, with the promise of the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Then he adds:
“For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the LORD our God will call.”
— Acts 2:39, NKJV
The answer is not treated as a private instruction for one unusual group. The promise is extended outward: to them, to their children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord calls.
Luke then records the response:
“Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.”
— Acts 2:41, NKJV
The pattern is clear: the gospel is preached, the hearers are convicted, they ask what to do, Peter commands repentance and baptism, those who receive the word are baptized, and they are added to the community of believers.
This is not system-driven theology. This is an apostolic proclamation and an apostolic response.
The Philippian Jailer
Another direct form of the question appears in Acts 16.
After an earthquake opens the prison doors, the Philippian jailer falls before Paul and Silas and asks:
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
— Acts 16:30, NKJV
Paul and Silas answer:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
— Acts 16:31, NKJV
This answer is true, necessary, and foundational. Salvation is not by human merit. The sinner must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
But the account does not end with verse 31. Luke immediately continues:
“Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.”
— Acts 16:32, NKJV
The jailer’s faith was not contentless. Paul and Silas preached the word of the Lord to him. He was told who Jesus is, what Jesus has done, and what obedience to the Lord requires.
Then Luke records:
“And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.”
— Acts 16:33, NKJV
The same account that says “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” also records immediate baptism. The jailer hears the word, believes, acts in repentance, is baptized immediately with his household, and rejoices.
Luke concludes:
“Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.”
— Acts 16:34, NKJV
Notice how Luke describes the whole event: he had “believed in God.” Yet that believing included hearing the word of the Lord and being baptized immediately. Baptism did not compete with faith. It was the immediate faith-response commanded under the lordship of Christ.
Acts 16 and Acts 2 do not contradict each other.
Acts 16 emphasizes faith.
Acts 2 emphasizes repentance and baptism for the remission of sins.
Both belong to the one apostolic response.
Saul of Tarsus
The conversion of Saul also answers the question.
Saul encounters the risen Christ on the road to Damascus. He is blinded, humbled, and told to enter the city, where he will be told what he must do.
Jesus says to him:
“Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.”
— Acts 22:10, NKJV
This is important. Saul’s encounter with Christ is real. His faith is awakened. He calls Jesus “Lord.” He obeys the command to go into the city. Yet there remains something appointed for him to do.
Ananias comes to him and says:
“The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.”
— Acts 22:14, NKJV
Then Ananias commands him:
“And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”
— Acts 22:16, NKJV
This passage must not be softened.
Ananias does not treat baptism as an optional symbol. He connects baptism with the washing away of sins and with calling on the name of the Lord. Saul is not told to regard baptism as a later testimony to something already completed. He is told to arise, be baptized, and wash away his sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
This does not make baptism a meritorious work. Saul is not saving himself. He is submitting to the appointed response in the name of the Lord. His sins are washed away because God acts through Christ, not because water has independent power or because human obedience earns salvation.
But the apostolic command remains: be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Any doctrine of salvation that cannot say what Ananias said has departed from the apostolic pattern.
Calling on the Name of the Lord
Some passages summarize the saving response as calling on the name of the Lord.
Paul writes:
“For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
— Romans 10:13, NKJV
But Paul does not isolate this calling from hearing, preaching, and faith. He continues:
“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?”
— Romans 10:14, NKJV
And again:
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
— Romans 10:17, NKJV
Calling on the Lord is not a magical phrase. It is the appeal of faith to the risen Christ. It requires hearing the gospel. It requires believing the message. It requires submitting to the Lord who saves.
Acts 22:16 is important because it connects calling on the name of the Lord with baptism:
“Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”
— Acts 22:16, NKJV
In apostolic teaching, calling on the Lord is not detached from baptism. The baptized believer is calling upon the Lord in the very act Christ commanded. Baptism is therefore not an alternative to calling on the Lord. It is one of the apostolic contexts in which the sinner appeals to the Lord for cleansing.
This matters because some systems quote Romans 10:13 as though it cancels Acts 2:38 or Acts 22:16. But Scripture does not cancel Scripture. The apostolic witness must be harmonized, not divided.
Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
And Saul was told to arise and be baptized, washing away his sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
These are not enemies.
They belong together.
Confessing Christ
Scripture also speaks of confessing Jesus as Lord.
Paul writes:
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
— Romans 10:9, NKJV
He continues:
“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
— Romans 10:10, NKJV
This confession is not a bare religious formula. It is the open acknowledgment that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead. It is allegiance to the risen Christ. It is faith made public in submission to His authority.
Jesus Himself warns:
“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.”
— Matthew 10:32, NKJV
Confession belongs to the apostolic response. The sinner does not merely believe privately. He confesses Christ openly. He calls on the Lord. He submits to baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. He is added to the people of God.
Again, these elements must not be turned against one another.
Faith does not cancel repentance.
Repentance does not cancel confession.
Confession does not cancel baptism.
Baptism does not cancel grace.
Grace does not cancel obedience.
The apostolic response is unified because the Lord who commands it is one.
Repentance Is Necessary
The New Testament does not present repentance as optional.
John the Baptist preached repentance. Jesus preached repentance. Peter preached repentance. Paul preached repentance.
Jesus said:
“Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
— Mark 1:15, NKJV
After His resurrection, Jesus said:
“That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
— Luke 24:47, NKJV
Peter said:
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.”
— Acts 3:19, NKJV
Paul told the Athenians:
“Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.”
— Acts 17:30, NKJV
And Paul summarized his ministry as testifying:
“Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
— Acts 20:21, NKJV
Repentance is not a human work that earns salvation. It is the required turning of the sinner toward God. It is surrender. It is a renunciation of rebellion. It is the change of allegiance demanded by the lordship of Christ.
Any gospel that minimizes repentance has departed from the preaching of Jesus and the apostles.
The question “What must I do to be saved?” cannot be answered faithfully without repentance.
Faith Is Necessary
Faith is also necessary.
Scripture repeatedly teaches that sinners are saved through faith, not by works of merit or self-righteousness.
Jesus says:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
— John 3:16, NKJV
Paul writes:
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
— Romans 5:1, NKJV
And again:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”
— Ephesians 2:8, NKJV
Faith is not optional. Without faith, baptism is not Christian baptism. Without faith, repentance is not evangelical repentance. Without faith, confession is empty. Without faith, religious acts cannot save.
But biblical faith is not mere mental agreement. It is trust, allegiance, reliance, and obedient response to Jesus Christ as Lord. Paul speaks of “the obedience of faith” at both the beginning and end of Romans:
“Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name.”
— Romans 1:5, NKJV“Made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith.”
— Romans 16:26, NKJV
Faith receives grace. Faith believes the gospel. Faith confesses Christ. Faith repents. Faith submits to baptism. Faith continues in obedience.
A doctrine that separates faith from the response Christ commands is not using faith as Scripture does.
Baptism Is Necessary as the Appointed Gospel Response
The New Testament repeatedly connects baptism with the response to the gospel. Jesus made it part of the disciple-making commission:
“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
— Matthew 28:19, NKJV
Peter commanded it of convicted sinners at Pentecost:
“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.”
— Acts 2:38, NKJV
And the pattern holds across Acts: those who received the word were baptized; the Samaritans, the Ethiopian eunuch, the Philippian jailer, and the Corinthians all believed and were baptized without delay. Paul ties baptism to union with Christ’s death and resurrection (Romans 6:3, Galatians 3:27), and Peter says baptism “now saves us” (1 Peter 3:21). Each of these texts is examined closely in its own article — Acts 2:38 and the Apostolic Pattern, Acts 22:16 and Washing Away Sins, Romans 6 and Union with Christ, Titus 3:5 and the Washing of Regeneration, and Baptism and Covenant Entry. Taken together, they must be received together.
Baptism is not a human invention. It is not a mere denominational ritual. It is not an empty symbol detached from salvation. It is the commanded gospel response in which the believer appeals to God, calls on the name of the Lord, is baptized into Christ, receives the promise of forgiveness, and enters the people of God.
Baptism does not save because man performs a work.
Baptism saves because God acts through the death and resurrection of Christ, and faith receives what God promises in the act God commanded.
Grace and Obedient Response Are Not Enemies
One of the most serious errors in modern theology is the assumption that grace and obedience must be opposed.
Scripture does not teach this.
Grace is opposed to earning. Grace is opposed to boasting. Grace is opposed to self-righteousness. Grace is opposed to treating God as a debtor.
But grace is not opposed to obedient faith. Throughout Scripture, God’s people receive grace through an appointed response without earning it — Noah built the ark, Israel passed through the sea, Naaman washed in the Jordan, the blind man washed at Siloam — and in none of these did the obedience compete with grace; it received the gift in the way God appointed. (This pattern is developed at length in Baptism and Covenant Entry.)
The same is true of the apostolic response to the gospel.
Faith does not earn salvation.
Repentance does not earn salvation.
Confession does not earn salvation.
Baptism does not earn salvation.
Calling on the name of the Lord does not earn salvation.
These are not works of merit. They are the God-commanded response to the gospel of grace.
The danger comes when a theological system defines grace in a way that excludes what God has commanded. That is not protecting grace. It is correcting Scripture.
The apostolic pattern does not need correction.
What About “Not by Works”?
Paul writes:
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.”
— Titus 3:5, NKJV
This is true and essential. Salvation is not earned by works of righteousness. No sinner can stand before God on the basis of personal merit. No act of obedience places God in man’s debt.
But the same verse continues:
“Through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
— Titus 3:5, NKJV
Paul does not oppose mercy to washing. He opposes mercy to works of righteousness done by us. God saves according to His mercy through washing and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
This matters. The New Testament does not treat baptism as a work of self-righteousness. It treats baptism as the commanded appeal of faith, the washing connected to regeneration, the burial and resurrection with Christ, the putting on of Christ, and the place where faith trusts in God’s working.
Colossians 2:12 says believers were:
“Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God.”
— Colossians 2:12, NKJV
The power is God’s working. The response is faith. The context is baptism.
Therefore, the proper contrast is not faith versus baptism.
The proper contrast is God’s merciful saving action versus human merit.
Baptism belongs to the former, not the latter, when it is received by faith in the working of God.
The Apostolic Pattern
When the conversion passages are read together, a consistent apostolic pattern emerges.
The gospel is preached.
The sinner hears the word.
The sinner believes in Jesus Christ.
The sinner repents.
The sinner confesses or calls upon the Lord.
The sinner is baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
The sinner receives forgiveness, washing, the gift of the Spirit, union with Christ, and incorporation into the body.
The sinner continues in the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, worship, holiness, and obedience.
This pattern is not a mechanical checklist. It is not a ritualistic formula. It is the living response of faith to the risen Lord. But because it is apostolic, the church has no right to rearrange it, reduce it, or redefine it.
Apostolic preaching should produce an apostolic response.
If a church preaches a response that Peter did not preach, that Ananias did not command, that Paul did not teach, and that the conversion accounts do not show, then that church must test its doctrine.
A Warning Against Partial Answers
Many errors arise by taking one biblical answer and using it against another.
Some say, “Believe only,” and use that phrase to exclude repentance, baptism, confession, and obedience.
Others say, “Repent,” but treat baptism as secondary.
Others say, “Call on the name of the Lord,” but ignore that Saul was told to call on the Lord in baptism.
Others say, “Baptism saves,” but fail to emphasize faith, repentance, and Christ’s resurrection.
All of these partial answers distort the apostolic witness.
The biblical answer is not reductionistic. It is whole.
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Repent.
Confess Christ.
Call on the name of the Lord.
Be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Continue in the faith.
These are not competing answers. They are the unified response to the one gospel.
Continuing in the Faith
The apostolic response does not end at conversion.
Those baptized at Pentecost continued:
“And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.”
— Acts 2:42, NKJV
Jesus said:
“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”
— John 8:31, NKJV
Paul exhorted believers:
“Continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel.”
— Colossians 1:23, NKJV
And again:
“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”
— Philippians 2:12, NKJV
The apostles did not preach a momentary decision detached from persevering discipleship. They preached entrance into Christ and continued life under His lordship.
The one who asks, “What must I do to be saved?” must therefore hear the full answer: come to Christ by faith, repent, confess Him, be baptized into Him, receive His promise, and continue in Him.
Salvation is not earned by endurance, but those who belong to Christ are called to endure.
Jesus said:
“But he who endures to the end shall be saved.”
— Matthew 24:13, NKJV
Conclusion: Let the Apostles Answer
The question “What must I do to be saved?” must not be answered by modern slogans.
It must be answered by Scripture.
Peter answered: repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Paul and Silas answered: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and then immediately preached the word of the Lord and baptized the jailer and his household.
Ananias answered Saul: arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Paul taught: confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.
Jesus commanded: make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that He commanded.
The apostles do not give competing answers. They give one unified response to the one gospel of the one Lord.
Hear the gospel.
Believe in Jesus Christ.
Repent.
Confess Him as Lord.
Call on His name.
Be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Continue in the apostles’ teaching and faithful obedience.
This is not salvation by human merit. It is salvation by grace through faith in the crucified and risen Christ, received in the way Christ and His apostles commanded.
The church must let the apostles answer the question.
What must I do to be saved?
Respond to the gospel the way the apostles taught.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
