Salvation | a 5-Day Skate Church Movement DevotionalSample

How do I Receive Salvation?

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

If you’ve ever skated in a skate contest, you know that there are rules to the contest that you have to follow. If you show up late, skate the wrong section of the course, or break rules (like not paying the entry fee or skating out of turn), you won’t make the cut. I’ve never seen a skater win a contest when he just goes rogue and ignores all of the rules and the structure of the event. Much like a contest, if we’re not intentional to plan our final “exit” like a pro ends his run, we might miss out on the end goal and the reason we were even created. One thing I’ve come to realize about skaters is that they never want to miss out. From skating with friends, watching the latest video part, or evening events like Go Skate Day, it’s doubtful you’ll find many skaters just sitting at home or sleeping in. My hope is that each of us have this same fear of missing out, but with salvation in Christ. It’s easy to get distracted in life or to make decisions that lead us away from God, but if we’re not careful we can end up “sleeping in” and miss out on the life that God created for us.

Have you ever heard statements like, “Just be a good person,” or “Just believe in God,” or even, “Just ask Jesus into your heart”? I’ve heard many people say, “Just repeat this prayer after me and you’ll be saved...” or, worst of all, many are only told that “God loves them” but are never told the entirety of what that statement really means. You see, each of these statements have some validity, but in and of ourselves, we will never be righteous enough to save ourselves. No act of good deeds, good works, or individual attempt in our own power to save ourselves will ever be successful.

But because of God’s mercy, He has made salvation available for each of us. In Acts chapter 16, after sharing the Good News of God’s mercy, those listening responded with this question, “What must we do to be saved?” The disciples replied with, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” (Acts 16:31) Jesus says in John 5:24 that “those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 tells that “God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” God has called us to put our faith, trust, and hope in Him alone. When we fully surrender our lives to Him and let go of the things of this world, it is in that action that we receive salvation. James 2:14 says, “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save us?” You see, true faith in Christ, a fully surrendered life, truly leads to action. Just like the passage in Romans 10:9, when we believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord, we can’t help but to openly declare this faith.

The day you decided that you wanted to learn to skate was as simple as picking up the board. You could have talked about wanting to skate forever, but it wasn’t until you actually picked up the board that this desire was put into action. The same is true with our trust in Christ. Just like a pro plans out his most dialed contest line, my hope is that you will also be thinking about what is to come. The only way to have a perfect “line” in this life, as well as the life after we die, is to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

Pushing Further

1. Like a pro skater knows how to win a contest, what do you think it looks like to win the contest of life?
2. What keeps you from winning the contest of life?
3. Have you made the decision to put your faith in Christ? If not, what is holding you back?