BY FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST

Perhaps the most important passage in the Bible, when it comes to comprehending that our salvation cannot be achieved by religious works but must be accepted as a gift from Almighty God, is found in Ephesians 2:8-9, which reads:  "For by grace (unearned, unmerited favor) you are saved by faith; and it is not of your own doing:  it is the gift of God:  not of works, so that no man can boast."  [Note:  all quotes are from the SLV (Skip's Lighthouse Version)].  The righteousness (right standing with God) necessary to be worthy of spending eternity with God in heaven, is a gift from God, as seen in 2 Corinthians 5:21:  "For He (The Father) has made Him (His Son) to be sin for us, Who was Himself sinless (see Heb. 4:15); that we might be made the righteousness of God by faith in Him."  Here are a few verses which support the fact that salvation is by faith and not by religious works:

*  Acts 15:8-9 - "And God, Who knows the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as He did unto us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith."

*  Romans 1:17 - "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:  as it is written, The just shall live by faith."

*  Romans 3:22, 28 - "Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference....Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law."

*  Romans 5:1-2 - "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:  by Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God."

*  Romans 9:32-33 - "Wherefore?  Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that Stumbling-stone; as it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a Stumbling-stone and Rock of Offence:  and whosoever believes on Him shall not be ashamed."

*  Galatians 3:11, 26 - "...no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident:  for, the just shall live by faith....For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus."

*  Galatians 5:4 - "For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith."

*  Philippians 3:9 - "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."

If you believe that Jesus died to pay for your sins, that He was buried, and that God raised Him from the dead according to Scripture (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), all you need to "do" to be saved, is to "...confess with your mouth your faith in the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved.  For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  For the Scripture says, Whosoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ shall not be ashamed" (Romans 10:9-11)!