Jesus Promises Salvation

Mark 16:15-16 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
 
“WHOEVER believes will be saved.” How gracious is our LORD God to promise this remarkable way into his eternal presence! We are born dead in our sins (from Ephesians 2), enemies of God (Romans 5). Yet, Jesus came to earth, so he could do the work of salvation for our souls. When he said on the cross, “It is finished.” (John 19:30), he declared his work to be the way of salvation is done. For God made Christ, who had never sinned, an offering for our sin so that we could be made right with God through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)
   When you consider God paid such a great cost for your sins, you might believe your Lord requires more than your faith to give you salvation. Is it enough to confess just once, “I am a sinner, Jesus. You are risen from the grave, ascended into heaven. You are Lord of my life.”
   The Bible says it is enough because the Holy Trinity is enough. Think of it! The Holy Trinity has demonstrated his love to mankind throughout world history. The LORD did not remove mankind from his creation when we sinned. The LORD has remained faithful to his promise to form Israel as a nation that would bless the nations. (Genesis 12). And God has remained faithful to his promise when that nation Israel sinned. Many times throughout history, God could have justly condemned Israel and all mankind into eternal hell. But he instead continually raised up faithful people to continue to proclaim his salvation promise. He moved all events to fulfill his promise to redeem the world. The personal God personally came to the patriarchs and prophets. He has also come to earth in person to live among us to save mankind into eternal life.
   When you confess Jesus is your Savior, you are confessing God’s love to redeem the world. You are confessing, too, he is sovereign to have move toward the cross, so you can move toward him.
   Your faith in Jesus is your confession to respond to God’s magnificent love. You confess you know he knows your needs because he has lived among us. Confessing Jesus, you also grasp a sense of his love, and you desire to help others know him. Your heart becomes devoted to learning and living into God’s Word.
   Jesus commanded baptism to follow confession. This is to be an outward sign of what God is doing in your heart. Jesus wants you to make a public statement of your faith. Then he commands you to tell others about your Lord. As often said and taught, a true faith is an active response to Jesus’ suffering and triumph. Your true confession will direct you to purposefully work with God in response to his saving grace.
   Are you faithful to your confession?