Grace is God’s unmerited favor. The opportunity to be saved is “the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8-9). But grace must be received and responded to.

Faith has been defined as “joyful trust conjoined with obedience.” Faith is both believing that Jesus is the Christ (John 8:34) and responding to that belief with obedience (Luke 6:46).

Obedience is required for salvation. Paul described as lost those who “obey not the Gospel” (2 Thessalonians 1:8).

In order to become a New Testament Christian, we must:

—Hear the word of God (Romans 10:17)

—Believe that word (Hebrews 11:6)

—Repent of our sins (Luke 13:3, 5)

—Confess that Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 10:32-33)

—Be baptized for the remission of our sins (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; 1 Peter 3:21)

—Remain faithful (Revelation 2:10)