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How Important Is Obedience in Salvation?

Many religious people will tell you that it really isn't necessary for you to obey God to be saved. But if obedience is not essential to salvation, then I ask what really must one do to be saved?

Someone says, "Well, just accept Jesus as your Lord." But in Matthew 7:21, Jesus said: "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." So how can a person accept Jesus as His Lord without obeying Him?

Someone else says, "You need to call upon Jesus as your Savior to be saved." But then Hebrews 5:9 says that Jesus is "the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him." So again, how can I accept Jesus as Savior if I don't obey?

Again we are told, "God will save you if you sincerely love Him, regardless of whether or not you obey." But Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love me, keep my commandments." So how can I love Him without obeying?

But many preachers say, "Obedience has nothing to do with salvation. Just believe on the Lord with all your heart," But James 2:24,26 says, "faith without works is dead," and "by works a man is justified, and not by faith only."

Surely it is essential to love God and to believe in Jesus and to recognize Him as our Lord and Savior in order to be saved. But the Bible shows that all of these things require obedience. All these things are essential to salvation, yet not one of them can be accomplished without obedience.

For more information about salvation and what it requires, please visit our Bible Instruction web site at /instruct/ and study our in-depth article about obedience and also our article about salvation by faith only vs. obedient faith.

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