What Does It Mean to Be Saved?

This is one of the most important questions a person can ask, and yet the answer is remarkably simple.

Jesus Christ answered this question plainly. So did His apostles and the prophets who came before and after them. Throughout Holy Scripture, the same answers appear again and again.

For anyone to be truly saved, we must believe in Jesus Christ. We must repent of our sins. We must be baptized in His name. We must leave sin behind, keep His commandments, walk in His ways, and become like Him.

Jesus said “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). He taught that unless we are born of water and of the Spirit, we cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). He warned that simply calling Him “Lord” is not enough if we refuse to do the will of His Father (Matthew 7:21).

These teachings are at the heart of the Gospel.

When people asked Peter what they should do after hearing the truth about Jesus Christ, he answered plainly:

To be saved we must first repent and be baptized. Then, we must sin no more.

Jesus told the woman taken in adultery:

He told His disciples, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). He commanded them to become perfect, even as our Father in Heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

The apostles taught the same thing.

Paul asked whether Christians should continue in sin because of grace. His answer was immediate:

Those who have come to Christ are called to become dead to sin and alive unto God. Sin is no longer to reign over us.

John wrote that whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk as Christ walked (1 John 2:6). Peter called the followers of Jesus to be holy because God is holy (1 Peter 1:15–16). The writer of Hebrews warned against deliberately continuing in sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth (Hebrews 10:26).

The Book of Mormon teaches exactly the same Gospel. Jesus declared that no unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God, and commanded His people to repent, be baptized, and become sanctified through Him (3 Nephi 27:19–20). Moroni calls us to come unto Christ, deny ourselves of ungodliness, love God with all our might, mind and strength, and “be perfected in him” (Moroni 10:32).

There is no contradiction.

But Christ does not save us so that we can comfortably remain in the very sins from which He came to deliver us.

His grace is not permission to continue in rebellion. His mercy calls us out of it.

To believe in Jesus Christ means more than believing that He exists. It means trusting Him enough to follow Him. It means turning away from the world and allowing Him to change us completely.

That is repentance.

That is baptism.

That is discipleship.

That is the true life of a Christian.

We will be tempted. We will be tried. But the standard Jesus gave us does not change because the world tells us it is too difficult. He calls us to overcome sin, to become clean, and to walk perfectly in His ways.

Believe in Him. Repent of every sin. Be baptized in His name. Leave the stains of the world behind. Keep His commandments. Walk as He walked. Become like Him.

Jesus Christ has shown us the way.

Our part is to follow Him.