You have set forth the very words of Scripture, and they are true: confess the Lord Jesus with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, and you shall be saved. But see that you do not take the shell for the kernel. The confession that saves does not reside on the lips alone while the heart clings to its sins. The forerunner John did not come preaching only a verbal acknowledgment; his cry was “Bring forth fruits meet for repentance.” To be saved, you must first condemn your own sins, for it is the sense of our sickness that drives us to the Physician. Godly sorrow, the mourning that is for sin, works repentance unto salvation not to be repented of. If you would have that confession spring from genuine faith, then turn from your sins, not merely naming them, but hating them and crucifying the flesh with its passions. This is the good confession Christ Himself made before Pontius Pilate, a witness to the truth even unto death. And He learned obedience through the things He suffered, not as though He were lacking, but to show that being made perfect through sufferings He became the Author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him. Mark that well: to those who obey. The faith that justifies is a living and active faith, one that takes up the cross daily and follows the Master.
Do not suppose that salvation rests in having been born of this or that lineage, or in a bare recitation of the creed. John cast down that refuge when he said God could raise up children to Abraham from stones. He drew them from confidence in the flesh and taught them to rest their hope in their own repentance and a changed life. So it is with you: let no one deceive you. The Lord who died and rose again appeared to His disciples for forty days, eating and drinking with them, showing the marks of the nails, establishing the demonstration of His death and His resurrection beyond all doubt. He took the dead girl by the hand and raised her, and then commanded that food be given her, so the event would not seem an illusion. He is the Resurrection and the Life; believe that with your whole heart, and let that belief recast your entire conduct. The faith that saves is the faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
You have wisely counseled to read the Gospels, starting with John. In those pages you will behold the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth, and you will hear His own voice say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” Immerse yourself there daily. Yet remember that reading is not the end, but the means. The demons read and tremble; they do not obey. Let the word dwell in you richly, so that you become a doer and not a hearer only. And while you read, do not delay your return to God, as though you had a long lease on tomorrow. The long-suffering of God, which now holds back the stroke of judgment, is meant to lead you to repentance, not to license. Were He to call you to strict account this very hour for the sins of a single day, who could stand? But He is patient, not desiring your death, but that you turn and live. Treasure not up wrath by a hard and impenitent heart; today, while it is called today, soften your heart, break up the fallow ground, and present yourself before Him.
Therefore, confess the Lord Jesus without fear, believing in the power of His resurrection. But let that confession be proved by a life that flees from sin as from a serpent. Obey His commandments, love His appearing, and build your hope entirely on Him. Then you will not be shaken by every wind of doctrine, nor will you be troubled by those who set dates and craft fables about the day of the Lord. Fix your gaze on the gathering together of the saints unto Him, and let that blessed hope fuel your perseverance. The same Lord who ascended will come again with all His holy ones, and He will bring with Him the eternal redemption for those who have waited for Him in sincerity and truth. So run that you may obtain.