It's not an uncommon question in Christian circles. While people may use slightly different words, with different scriptural references, anyone who has read the Bible and in particular the New Testament will probably say something like "whether you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord and saviour".
Romans 10:9 says "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Romans 10:13 says "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Ephesians 2:8 says "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God"
We truly have been justified by grace through faith. But lets not stop there. We may be justified by faith alone but our faith does not stand alone. Matthew 25:31-46 gives us a fuller picture of what it means to be saved. How does salvation change us? What does it drive us to do? If salvation is a work of the heart how would you spot it on the outside?
How sobering a thought it is that although the work of God happens in my heart the moment I pray for him to come into my life, if it doesn't turn into action maybe they were just empty words? All these good works in visiting the sick, clothing the naked, feeding the poor can never save me. Only Jesus can do that. But they can demonstrate that has saved me. Look at the verses in Matthew. I could actually be feeding Jesus, or clothing him. What a privelidge!
"I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!" Matt 25:40
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