The Plan of Salvation
The
Bible is very clear about what it takes to become a child of
God. Here is the simple plan revealed in God's word:
Step
1: We Must HEAR the Word
Without
first hearing the word of God we would never know we are sinners
and that the "wages of sin" is death (Rom. 3:23 and
Rom. 6:23). Without hearing we wouldn't know of Jesus' sacrifice
for our sins and our need for him.
Step
2: We Must BELIEVE What We Hear
Merely
hearing the word of God doesn't save. We must believe what we
hear or we are not likely to obey the Bible's commands. In John
8:24 Jesus says, "...if ye believe not that I am He, ye
shall die in your sins." But belief is not enough. In Matt
7:21 we learn that just declaring our belief is not enough -
we must "do" what God demands.
Step
3: We Must REPENT of Our Sins
Sin
is what separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). Therefore, if we
intend to seek God's forgiveness, we must be willing to repent
of our sins. Repentence means "turning away from sin"
and making the effort to sin no more. If we aren't willing to
repent of our sins, we cannot be saved (Acts 3:19; Luke 13:3).
Step
4: We Must CONFESS Our Faith
Those
that wish to be saved must confess their faith in Jesus. It was
Jesus Christ himself who said, "Whosoever therefore shall
confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father
which is in heaven" (Matt. 10:32; 1 John 4:15).
Step
5: We Must Be BAPTIZED
There
is considerable religious confusion about baptism. Some think
baptism isn't necessary, others believe we are saved before we
are baptized. Note what the Bible says baptism does:
1.
Baptism shows a good conscience to God
xx(1 Pet. 3:21)
2. Baptism washes away sins
xx(Acts 22:16; 1
Cor. 6:11)
3. Baptism gives entry "into" Christ
xx(Rom. 6:3; Gal
3:27)
In
other words, our sins are not washed away, and we are not "in
Christ" until we are baptized. Since baptism is for the
forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), we are still in our sins (and
lost) until we are baptized. We should also realize that baptism
is a burial or immersion--not sprinkling (Rom. 6:3-4) and baptism
is for believers, not infants (Mark 16:16).
Is
baptism a work? In one sense it is, but Jesus says belief is
a work too (see John 6:29). Are we saved by our works? No! But
we must still do those works, including being baptized for the
forgiveness of our sins. We are saved by the mercy and grace
of God, but He demands we be baptized to wash away our sins.
He does the work, if we follow His instructions.
Step
6: We Must Remain FAITHFUL
While
baptism puts us into Christ and washes away our sins, we must
still be obedient and faithful to God, otherwise, we will lose
our souls. The Bible tells us "...be thou faithful unto
death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Rev. 2:10).
Some suggest that once we are saved, we cannot be lost. Doesn't
that contradict what Hebrews 6:4-6 says?
Check
out the verses above with your own Bible,
pray to God for understanding, and please give this some serious
thought.
