Article May 13, 1905 Issue

"What must I do to be saved?"

WILLARD S. MATTOX.

The greatest question of all time has been and will be, "What must I do to be saved?" Every other question engaging the attention of mortals becomes petty, utterly insignificant, in the presence of this query which relates to permanent peace and eternal freedom. Men may busy themselves for a few flickering years with other questions, "What must I do to be rich, powerful, famous?" but the really important thing is to find out what I must do to inherit eternal life, for when I have that, I have all the rest,—I am rich, have dominion, am well known, and though least in the realm of spiritual things, I am greater than he who is dreaming a temporary dream of heights gained and difficulties surmounted. Jesus knew this, hence he said, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." In the endeavor to answer purely material questions of economics or utilities, we miss, not only the primary objects of our search, but the ultimate of man; namely, salvation. On the other hand, if we can only bring ourselves to forget personal needs, ambitions, desires, fears, and doubts, and give ourselves up to the profitable search for salvation, we shall be rewarded by a satisfactory answer to that original question, and when we awake in His likeness, awake to the realization that we are saved; all other questions as to limitation, possession, enjoyment, sensation, will also be answered.

It is not profitable to waste time discussing the human fact that man needs to be saved. If there is one point upon which all men find themselves in practical agreement, it is the necessity for salvation. There is no disposition to dispute human suffering and sin. From these unideal conditions man, every man, no matter what his color, race, creed, or station in life, wants to be liberated. From these conditions the human race has struggled for centuries to free itself; in its extremity it has gone to almost ludicrous lengths, and has involved itself in the most curious inconsistencies. Groaning under an appalling consciousness of discord and misery, the human family has at one moment made frantic efforts to resist pain and death, and at another has tried to reconcile itself to a condition from which there seemed to be no escape, by assuring itself that it was the will of God.

Although we all agree that there are untoward circumstances from which it is highly desirable to be freed, our notions as to the best method of bringing about the object of our desires have been many, varied, and contradictory. The fundamental mistake seemes to have been made when the scheme of salvation was divided up into several parts, and it began to be taught that a man must look in one direction for moral and spiritual improvement, and in an opposite direction for relief from physcal suffering. To this mistaken philosophy we owe our centuries of failure to achieve entire salvation, because, manifestly, when we know how to be saved, and there is the desire to be saved, we are saved. We have fallen short of redemption, not because we did not recognize our need of it, nor because there was not something which could save us, but because we did not intelligently understand and apply this saving power.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

"What must I do to be saved?"

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access