The step that's required is spelt out by the Lord Jesus. In John 10 v 9 the Lord likened Himself to a door, and He said that anyone who enters in shall be saved. I just want to point out a few things that are apparent here regarding salvation:
- Salvation is not a process or partial - you are either saved or you aren't. You are either inside or outside. You are either going to heaven or hell - you can't be going to both or neither. The reason salvation is not a process is because there is no process by which we can make ourselves acceptable to God - there's no way we can undo the sins of the past. Guilt can't be cancelled by law-keeping - law-keeping is what is demanded all the time. But the Gospel tells us that the Lord Jesus has done all the work that's required to bring us into a right standing before God and a right relationship with God. Because all the work has been done and all the price has been paid, salvation isn't a process - it is the immediate possession of all who turn to Christ. It would be good if you located yourself in relation to this door. Have you ever taken that step and entered in?
- Salvation is in Christ - it's not by entering into a church, but it's by recognising that Christ alone can save - He is the only place of shelter from God's judgment, the only place of safety, the only refuge. This is because of what He did on the cross when He paid sin's penalty, meaning He is the only satisfactory answer to the problem of our guilt - it's Christ we need to come to.
- Salvation is personal - every individual has to take that step for themselves, it can't be taken for you by others.
- Salvation is satisfying - the Lord is using the metaphor of a sheep entering into a fold in which there is not only safety from danger but there is an abundance of pasture. So it is with salvation. Those who come to Christ and enter in the door don't spend the rest of their lives looking out longingly at what's on the outside - there is real joy and true satisfaction found in Christ.
