“Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” By grace, through faith: it is the gift of God. In Acts 16:31, the Greek word is pisteuō (G4100): to believe, to trust, to put your faith in someone. Strong’s adds ‘to entrust’: to hand yourself over to someone you rely on.
Get DeepWordWhat the original says
Behind the word “Believe” in this verse is the Greek word pisteuō (said pist-YOO-oh).
It means to believe, to trust, to put your faith in someone. Strong’s adds ‘to entrust’: to hand yourself over to someone you rely on.
This form, pisteuson, is a request or command, said to one person: “Believe”. The next words say in whom: “in the Lord Jesus”.
In the Berean Standard Bible, it is almost always “believe” in one form or another: 219 times. It is “entrust” in John 2:24, where Jesus “did not entrust Himself to them”:
Word by word
| Πίστευσον | ἐπὶ | τὸν | κύριον | Ἰησοῦν | καὶ | σωθήσῃ |
| believe | on | the | Lord | Jesus | and | you will be saved |
Original form
What this tells us
It is midnight in a prison in Philippi. Paul and Silas, beaten and locked in the stocks, are “praying and singing hymns to God” (Acts 16:25) when an earthquake throws every door open. The jailer, sure that his prisoners have escaped, is about to take his own life until Paul calls out, “Do not harm yourself! We are all here!” (Acts 16:28). Trembling, he asks, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). The answer turns on one word, pisteuō: believe, trust, hand yourself over to someone. “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” Not a list of tasks to complete, but a person to trust. Paul and Silas then explain more: they “spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house” (Acts 16:32). That same night the jailer washes their wounds, and “he and all his household were baptized” (Acts 16:33). Christians understand the link between believing and baptism in different ways, but in this story the two come close together. It ends at a table: “he and all his household rejoiced that they had come to believe in God” (Acts 16:34). The jailer’s question may be yours too. The answer given to him is short enough to hold onto: believe in the Lord Jesus.
What the original says
Behind the word “grace” in this verse is the Greek word charis (said KHAH-ris).
It means graciousness, favor, kindness shown to someone. The Berean sometimes says “favor”: Jesus grew “in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
This form, chariti, means ‘by grace’. Two words later, sesōsmenoi is the word for ‘save’ in a form for something done whose result still stands: “you have been saved”.
In the Berean Standard Bible, it is “grace” 119 times, and also “thanks”, as in “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15):
Word by word
| τῇ | γὰρ | χάριτί | ἐστε | σεσῳσμένοι | διὰ | πίστεως |
| by the | for | grace | you are | saved | through | faith |
Original form
What this tells us
Paul has just described where his readers started: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Then comes the turn: “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4), made us alive with Christ. In the middle of that sentence Paul breaks in: “It is by grace you have been saved!” (Ephesians 2:5). The word for “grace” is charis: favor, kindness freely shown. Paul says it twice in a few lines, as if to make sure no one misses it. Salvation is “by grace”, it comes “through faith”, “and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God”. The next verse closes a door: “not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:9). The verse after it opens another: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works” (Ephesians 2:10). Good works are the result, not the price. Think of a birthday present: you did not earn it, and the right answer is not payment but thanks. Christians explain how faith and works fit together in different ways, yet these three verses are treasured in all their traditions. Is there something you are still trying to earn from God? This verse says the gift has already been given.
What the original says
Behind the word “confess” in this verse is the Greek word homologeō (said ho-mo-lo-GEH-oh).
Strong’s says it is made from homou, ‘together’, and logos, ‘word’: to speak in agreement, to acknowledge openly.
This form, homologēsēs, comes after ean, ‘if’: “if you confess”. Word for word, what is confessed is ‘Lord Jesus’; the Berean puts it as “Jesus is Lord”.
In the Berean Standard Bible, it is “confess” 18 of its 25 times, counting its other forms, as in “the fruit of lips that confess His name” (Hebrews 13:15):
Word by word
| ἐὰν | ὁμολογήσῃς | ἐν | τῷ | στόματί | σου | κύριον | Ἰησοῦν |
| if | you confess | with | the | mouth | your | Lord | Jesus |
Original form
What this tells us
Paul is explaining how near God’s word is: “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” he quotes, and he calls it the word of faith (Romans 10:8). He takes those two places, mouth and heart, and builds this verse on them. The word for “confess” is homologeō: to say the same thing, to agree out loud. What is confessed is short: “Jesus is Lord.” And it goes with the heart: “believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.” What you say and what you trust belong together. The next verse says it again the other way round: “For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved” (Romans 10:10). A few lines later Paul quotes the prophet Joel: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). He also says that no one can say “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3). Even the words of faith are a gift. Saving faith in this verse is not complicated. It is trusting in your heart that God raised Jesus, and saying out loud who he is to you.
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Behind the word “Repent” in this verse is the Greek word metanoeō (said meh-tah-no-EH-oh).
Strong’s says it means ‘to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider’: a change of mind. Question 8 looks at this word more closely.
This form, metanoēsate, is a command spoken to many people at once: “Repent”, all of you. “Be baptized” is then said to “every one of you”.
In the Berean Standard Bible, this word is always “repent” or one of its forms, 33 times in all:
Word by word
| Μετανοήσατε | καὶ | βαπτισθήτω | ἕκαστος | ὑμῶν |
| repent | and | be baptized | each one | of you |
Original form
What this tells us
It is the day of Pentecost, and Peter has just preached about Jesus: “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!” (Acts 2:36). The crowd is “cut to the heart” and asks, “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Peter’s first word is metanoeō, “Repent”: change your mind, turn around. Then, “be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” And there is a gift at the end: “you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The promise is wide: “This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off” (Acts 2:39). That same day, “Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day” (Acts 2:41). Christians read this verse differently: some see baptism as the outward sign of a turning that saves, others as part of how God gives forgiveness, and this question does not settle it. All agree the call begins with turning to Jesus. The crowd’s question was honest: what shall we do? Peter’s answer starts with turning toward the one they had rejected, and it ends with a gift.
What the original says
Behind the word “justified” in this verse is the Greek word dikaioō (said dee-kai-OH-oh).
It means to count someone as just, to declare them right. Strong’s says it comes from dikaios, ‘just, righteous’.
This form, dedikaiōmenos, describes the man as he went home: already justified, and still so.
In the Berean Standard Bible, it is “justified” 30 times, counting its other forms. Paul uses it in “since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God” (Romans 5:1):
Word by word
| κατέβη | οὗτος | δεδικαιωμένος | εἰς | τὸν | οἶκον |
| went down | this man | justified | to | the | house |
Original form
What this tells us
Jesus tells this story “To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt” (Luke 18:9). Two men go up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee prays about himself: “God, I thank You that I am not like the other men” (Luke 18:11), and he lists his fasting and his tithes. The tax collector “stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven.” His whole prayer is seven words: “God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” The word for “justified” is dikaioō: to count someone in the right, to declare them right. Jesus says this man, and not the other, “went home justified.” Paul puts the same truth plainly: “since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God” (Romans 5:1), and God is the one “who justifies the wicked” (Romans 4:5). Jesus ends the story with a reversal: “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” The door in this story is open to the one who knows he has nothing to bring. You do not need a long prayer or a good record to be heard. The shortest prayer in this story is the one that sent a man home right with God.
What the original says
Behind the word “saved” in this verse is the Hebrew word yasha (said yah-SHAH).
Strong’s says its first sense is to be open, wide, free, and so to be safe. It also means to set free, to rescue: to save.
Here it has ‘and’ (וְ) in front, and is a command in a form that means ‘be saved’: “and be saved”. The first word of the verse, penu, is “Turn”: turn and face me.
In the Berean Standard Bible, it is “save” 157 times, counting “saved”, and “Savior” 12 times, as in “there is no Savior but Me” (Isaiah 43:11). It is also “help”: Moses “rose up to help them” (Exodus 2:17):
Word by word
| פְּנוּ | אֵלַי | וְהִוָּשְׁעוּ | כָּל | אַפְסֵי | אָרֶץ |
| turn | to · me | and · be saved | all | ends of | earth |
Original form
What this tells us
The LORD is speaking through Isaiah to a world full of idols. Just before this verse he says, “There is no other God but Me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but Me” (Isaiah 45:21). Then the invitation goes out, not to one nation only, but to everyone: “all the ends of the earth”. The word for “be saved” is yasha: to be set free, rescued, brought out into the open. The verse begins with “Turn to Me”: face me, look this way. Salvation here is not climbing up to God. It is turning around to face the One who is already calling. The next verse says how it all ends: “Every knee will bow before Me, every tongue will swear allegiance” (Isaiah 45:23), words Paul later applies to Jesus (Philippians 2:10–11). Jesus spoke of a similar look: “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up” (John 3:14), remembering the day in the desert when whoever was bitten and looked at the snake on the pole “will live” (Numbers 21:8). Turning to God can be as simple as looking up. This verse is addressed to the ends of the earth, which means it is addressed to you too.
What the original says
Behind the word “save” in this verse is the Greek word sōzō (said SOH-zoh).
It means to save, to rescue, to keep safe. It is also the word for being healed: “your faith has healed you” (Mark 5:34).
This form, sōsei, means ‘he will save’: a promise. Strong’s says the name Jesus is ‘of Hebrew origin’: it is Yehoshua (Joshua), which Strong’s says is made from the LORD’s name and yasha, the word you met in Isaiah 45:22.
In the Berean Standard Bible, sōzō is “save” 87 times, counting “saved”, and “healed” 14 times, as in Mark 5:34:
Word by word
| καλέσεις | τὸ | ὄνομα | αὐτοῦ | Ἰησοῦν | αὐτὸς | γὰρ | σώσει |
| you will call | the | name | his | Jesus | he | for | will save |
Original form
What this tells us
Joseph has learned that Mary is pregnant, and he plans to end their engagement quietly. Then an angel comes to him in a dream: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). The word for “save” is sōzō: to rescue, to keep safe, and also to heal. The angel gives the child’s name and the reason for it together: “you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.” The name itself is a promise. Two verses later Matthew gives him another name, “Immanuel”, and explains that it means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). Jesus later said why he came: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). And Paul writes, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15). He saves people not only out of their troubles but from their sins. The question ‘How do I get saved?’ has a name for an answer. The One who saves is the one whose very name says so.
Behind "saved" are 10 different words
Your English Bible says "saved" 272 times. Behind it stand several Hebrew and Greek words:
Reflect
Read it as yours
The man in Luke 18 had nothing to bring but this. Read it slowly:
Name it
What are you trusting in? Ephesians 2:8 says saving is “not from yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Tell God plainly where you stand.
Carry with you
Ephesians 2:8 calls it “the gift of God”. Is there anything you are still trying to earn?