…and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these useless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them, who in bygone generations allowed all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." Acts 14:15-17

Last time we were reminded that what we need most is to hear—and believe the gospel. The good news of the gospel does not save everyone. If that were true, the end of the Bible (Revelation 20-22) would only be about Heaven. But the end of the Bible is not only about Heaven. It is also about God’s wrath in Hell. If everyone were saved, that would be unnecessary.

So how do people receive the benefit of what Jesus did to save His people? In other words, how do we know we are are one of those people Jesus came to save? The one thing God requires of those who are saved is faith. We need to believe the gospel. All of it:

We must believe that we are sinners, with no ability to deliver ourselves from God’s wrath.
We must believe that Jesus is the only way by virtue of who His is and what He has done (see the previous post).
We must trust in Jesus and in Jesus alone, not in anyone or anything else, for if we trust in any one or anything else in addition to Christ, we do not believe Jesus alone is sufficient.
Those who truly do believe (trust in Jesus) must and will repent: have an earnest desire to turn from sin to follow Christ as the absolute Lord and Master of our lives.
Those who truly do believe (trust in Jesus), love Jesus and what Jesus loves, including God’s Word and the Church. Conversely, those who love Jesus hate what He hates, including our own sin and sin in general.

One last thought: What responsibility do those who know the Lord have toward those who do not know Him?