Salvation
Sin is a topic that does not receive much attention in our religious world today, however, the apostle Paul declared in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Further, in James 1:13-16 we read “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone." But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”
Notice, the scripture did not say that all were born under the guilt of Adam's sin, but that “all have sinned”; sin is the result of our choices. Ezekiel 18:20 declares "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.” We do not inherit sin, rather, we become guilty of sin when we violate the will of God. Read the entire chapter of Ezekiel 18.
But through the grace of God we have been given the path to redemption from our sins through His Son Jesus. Through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, to pay the penalty for our sins, we can be forgiven and enter into a relationship as God's children when we obey the gospel of Christ.
The scriptures do not teach the modern concept of the sinners prayer to be forgiven and to be received into fellowship by God (salvation by faith alone). Rather the scriptures teach that faith, accompanied by repentance and confession of faith in Jesus as God's Son, must be accompanied by submission to God's command for baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus declared in Mark 16:15-16 "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” Note, Jesus made no preference for belief over baptism. He clearly stated both belief and baptism are necessary to be saved. This is contrary to what so many teach today with the sinners prayer, the concept that faith alone, asking Jesus to come to you and forgive your sins, is all that is needed for salvation. That baptism is simply an outward sign of what Jesus has already done for us. Simply stated, the idea of salvation by faith alone is false doctrine. Obviously, the unbeliever will not submit to baptism
Peter declared through the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:38 "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Again baptism is clearly tied to forgiveness. In Gal. 3:26-27 we read “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Notice, this passage clearly teaches that their faith led them to Christ, but, it was when their faith led them to submit to baptism into Christ that they actually put on Christ.
Here are examples of conversion listed in the New Testament scriptures:
3,000 at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41): They heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs. 14-39), they believed (Vs 37), they repented (Vs 38), and they were baptized (Vs 38, 41).
The Samaritans (Acts 8:5-13): They heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs 5), they believed (Vs 12), and they were baptized (Vs 12).
The Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-39): He heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs 35), he believed (Vs 37), he confessed his faith in Jesus as God's Son (Vs 37), and he was baptized (Vs 38-39).
Saul (Acts 9:1-18): He believed (Vs 5-6), and he was baptized (Acts 9:18, 22:16). Notice in Acts 22:16 that even though Paul had believed and fasted for three days he still had to be baptized to wash away his sins.
Cornelius (Acts 10:1-48): He heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs 34-44), he believed (Vs 43), and he and those gathered together with him were baptized (Vs 48).
Lydia (Acts 16:13-15): She heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs 13), she believed (Vs 14), and she and her household were baptized (Vs 15).
The Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:25-34): He heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs 31-32), he and his family believed and were baptized (Vs 33-34). Note that when the Philippian jailer and his family were baptized it was in the middle of the night, and not before some gathering of the church.
The Corinthians (Acts 18:5-8): They heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs 5), they believed (Vs 8), and they were baptized (Vs 8).
Pulling the information together, we find that they (1) heard the gospel, (2) believed, (3) repented, (4) confessed their faith in Christ as God's Son, and (5) please note that in EVERY case they were baptized. Again, this is what Jesus said we must do (Mark 16:15-16).
To be a simple Christian, one must simply obey what the scriptures have clearly taught us to do. When we attempt to ignore the simple teaching of the scriptures to try and support the doctrine of salvation by faith alone, then we have rejected what God has taught, and provided, for our salvation and replaced it with the opinions of men. Matt. 15:7-9 “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.""
After obedience to the gospel we must continue to study and grow in the knowledge of God's word, 2 Tim. 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” And as we study we must apply diligence to grow our Christian character, 2 Peter 1:5-7 “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. ”
Finally, as Christians we must work together within the framework of the local church encouraging and helping one another as we seek to do God's will, Heb. 10:23-24 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds”
Please consider God's plan of salvation today and contact us if we can be of help to you as you consider His word.
Notice, the scripture did not say that all were born under the guilt of Adam's sin, but that “all have sinned”; sin is the result of our choices. Ezekiel 18:20 declares "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.” We do not inherit sin, rather, we become guilty of sin when we violate the will of God. Read the entire chapter of Ezekiel 18.
But through the grace of God we have been given the path to redemption from our sins through His Son Jesus. Through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, to pay the penalty for our sins, we can be forgiven and enter into a relationship as God's children when we obey the gospel of Christ.
The scriptures do not teach the modern concept of the sinners prayer to be forgiven and to be received into fellowship by God (salvation by faith alone). Rather the scriptures teach that faith, accompanied by repentance and confession of faith in Jesus as God's Son, must be accompanied by submission to God's command for baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus declared in Mark 16:15-16 "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” Note, Jesus made no preference for belief over baptism. He clearly stated both belief and baptism are necessary to be saved. This is contrary to what so many teach today with the sinners prayer, the concept that faith alone, asking Jesus to come to you and forgive your sins, is all that is needed for salvation. That baptism is simply an outward sign of what Jesus has already done for us. Simply stated, the idea of salvation by faith alone is false doctrine. Obviously, the unbeliever will not submit to baptism
Peter declared through the Holy Spirit in Acts 2:38 "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Again baptism is clearly tied to forgiveness. In Gal. 3:26-27 we read “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Notice, this passage clearly teaches that their faith led them to Christ, but, it was when their faith led them to submit to baptism into Christ that they actually put on Christ.
Here are examples of conversion listed in the New Testament scriptures:
3,000 at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-41): They heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs. 14-39), they believed (Vs 37), they repented (Vs 38), and they were baptized (Vs 38, 41).
The Samaritans (Acts 8:5-13): They heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs 5), they believed (Vs 12), and they were baptized (Vs 12).
The Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-39): He heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs 35), he believed (Vs 37), he confessed his faith in Jesus as God's Son (Vs 37), and he was baptized (Vs 38-39).
Saul (Acts 9:1-18): He believed (Vs 5-6), and he was baptized (Acts 9:18, 22:16). Notice in Acts 22:16 that even though Paul had believed and fasted for three days he still had to be baptized to wash away his sins.
Cornelius (Acts 10:1-48): He heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs 34-44), he believed (Vs 43), and he and those gathered together with him were baptized (Vs 48).
Lydia (Acts 16:13-15): She heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs 13), she believed (Vs 14), and she and her household were baptized (Vs 15).
The Philippian Jailer (Acts 16:25-34): He heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs 31-32), he and his family believed and were baptized (Vs 33-34). Note that when the Philippian jailer and his family were baptized it was in the middle of the night, and not before some gathering of the church.
The Corinthians (Acts 18:5-8): They heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Vs 5), they believed (Vs 8), and they were baptized (Vs 8).
Pulling the information together, we find that they (1) heard the gospel, (2) believed, (3) repented, (4) confessed their faith in Christ as God's Son, and (5) please note that in EVERY case they were baptized. Again, this is what Jesus said we must do (Mark 16:15-16).
To be a simple Christian, one must simply obey what the scriptures have clearly taught us to do. When we attempt to ignore the simple teaching of the scriptures to try and support the doctrine of salvation by faith alone, then we have rejected what God has taught, and provided, for our salvation and replaced it with the opinions of men. Matt. 15:7-9 “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.""
After obedience to the gospel we must continue to study and grow in the knowledge of God's word, 2 Tim. 2:15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” And as we study we must apply diligence to grow our Christian character, 2 Peter 1:5-7 “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. ”
Finally, as Christians we must work together within the framework of the local church encouraging and helping one another as we seek to do God's will, Heb. 10:23-24 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds”
Please consider God's plan of salvation today and contact us if we can be of help to you as you consider His word.