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What Must I Do To Be Saved?
J.C. Bailey
“And he brought them out and said, ‘Sirs,
what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). The mind of man
never conceived a more important question. The tongue of man never
uttered a more needful question.
We are lost. “The wages of sin is death”
(Romans 6:23). “All have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God” (Romans 3:23).
Sin is not something we inherit, it is something
we do. Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever
commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34). We commit sin,
we do not inherit sin from our fathers: “The soul who sins
shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the
father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous
shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be
upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20).
The question is not: What must God do? That was
done long ago. “For the grace of God that brings salvation
has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11). “For I am not
ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation
for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
The
1st
Step: We have learned the first step in man’s
salvation. We must believe. Jesus told some unbelievers: “Therefore
I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not
believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).
Because of the teaching of this verse, and others, some have concluded
that we are saved by faith alone. This is not true for - “faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans
10:17). The word of God says: “And having been perfected,
He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him”
(Hebrews 5:9). We must obey Christ to be saved. We must have an
obedient faith: “And the word of God spread, and the number
of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many
of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).
The
2nd
Step: ‘Truly, these times of ignorance God
overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent”
(Acts 17:30). Repentance is a universal command. Jesus said: “Unless
you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). We must
repent in order to have the remission of sins. “Then Peter
said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
So just as we shall die in our sins if we do not
believe, we shall die in our sins if we do not repent. Repentance
is a two-fold action. We must turn from our sins as did the people
of Nineveh (Matthew 12:41). We must resolve to do the Father’s
will as did the young man we read about in Matthew 21:28,29.
The Lord, has said that those who sin must be punished.
Why is the punishment so long delayed? “The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering
toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should
come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
The
3rd
Step: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the
dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made to salvation” (Romans
10: 9,10). We must confess our faith in Christ in order to be saved
(Matthew 10:32).
The
4th
Step: Our Lord said: “Go into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is
baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned”
(Mark 16: 15, 16). Many people will not accept what the Lord says
here. Many people put salvation before baptism. But Jesus put salvation
after baptism. Do you accept the teaching of Jesus or of men? The
doctrines of men will not save the soul.
Peter commanded baptism for forgiveness of sins:
“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
Although Paul had been praying and fasting for
three days, his sins were not forgiven until he was baptized. Ananias
told him: “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized,
and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord”
(Acts 22:16).
Baptism saves us through the resurrection of Christ:
“There is also an antitype which now saves us, namely baptism
(not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a
good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ”
(1 Peter 3:21).
Baptism is a burial (Romans 6:4). Sprinkling or
pouring are only human substitutions.
Finally:
The Lord says: “Be faithful until death, and I will give you
the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10b). Are you saved?
(Quotations from NKJV)
Copied from Venice’s Bulletin
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