Salvation

It's not "steps." If there were steps, everyone would be doing them, and everyone would get saved.

It's actually even easier than steps, but because it's so easy, most people discount it.

"What must I do to be saved?" asked the jailer. And the answer, in a nutshell, was believe that Christ is our savior. But we're not talking about a simple "yeah, I believe"; we're talking about a belief to the saving of the soul. Believing with all your heart, and all your mind, and all your soul that we are all sinners in need of a savior, that Jesus, the son of God/God in the flesh, was that savior, that He paid the price for your sins, that all you have to do is accept (surrender?) the free gift that He has offered each of us.

Dr. Bob, or Dr. Cassidy, or one of the others might be better off explaining this, but that's the simple answer.

Belief, repentence, confession.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bart:
what do the "baptists" teach that a person has to do to be saved?????are there steps???is there just one thing a man must do??????<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Romans 10:9 that 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.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
12 ¶ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

John 6:44 "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:65 And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father."

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

 

Jesus is Lord! The Bible says that salvation is granted only to those who acknowledge Jesus as Lord and are willing to submit their life to Him.

TO BELIEVE IS TBEY

To say you believe and don't obey is to say you don't believe, because if you believe, you'd do what you believe.

Titus 1:16 They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Repentance, confession, and submission to Christ as Lord are necessary elements of true saving faith.

When a man obeys God, he gives the only possible evidence that in his heart he believes God.

The gospel calls for a surrender of the heart, mind, and will- the whole person to Jesus Christ.

Are you sure you're saved? Please check out my web site to see what true saving faith is.
Ye Must Be Born Again

 

Bart,

You didn’t get three different answers. The first two said essentially the same thing in different words. Belief, repentence, and confession were in both. The third reply added the concept of obedience and submission, but one could argue that that concept is included in the Eph 2 passage that Chris Temple gave. So there is no contradiction in these posts, only different people putting it in their own words.

SWAIMJ

 

swaimj:

You're right; there is no contradiction. But I didn't use my own words, I kept to the Scriptures

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by swaimj:
Bart,

You didn’t get three different answers. The first two said essentially the same thing in different words. Belief, repentence, and confession were in both. The third reply added the concept of obedience and submission, but one could argue that that concept is included in the Eph 2 passage that Chris Temple gave. So there is no contradiction in these posts, only different people putting it in their own words.

SWAIMJ<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bart:
what do the "baptists" teach that a person has to do to be saved?????are there steps???is there just one thing a man must do??????<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Nothing.

 

Bart, are you asking these questions for your own information, or are you playing devil's advocate? There is no right or wrong answer, just curious. Was there ever a time in your life when you realized that you were a sinner a needed a Savior, and that Jesus Christ came to die in your place for your sins personally? Did you trust that Christ paid for your sin personally and that by believing that He did so, your sins could be forgiven, and you could be saved?

 

No, obviously repentance is not in Acts 16. Before I continue, please answer the rest of my questions, so that I may better help you to find what you are searching for. Have you ever trusted in Christ's death on the cross in your place for the redemption or payment in full for your personal sins? And, are you playing devil's advocate in order to dispute repentance?

 

If you truly believe on Jesus and believe on him with your heart repentance goes hand in hand with it. The first step in believing in Jesus comes from the realization that you are a sinner. Actually, I've seen a lot more times when repentance and feeling sorry came before believing in Jesus. I don't mean the trite belief that yes, there is a higher power then me, but the deep yes, Jesus is real and I need him and without him I am nothing but a sinner.
That's how I've seen it start.
I came to be saved after much trian and error. I had thought I was saved because I believed in a higher power and I went to church. Although I called him Jesus, I didn't truly feel as if I needed him, although I felt that though I had said I thought he was real and been baptized I was saved. That was when I was quite young.
Later, I totally denied him, was angry. Then I went through a stage of depression and started going to church again. I closely followed the rules, wore long dresses, went to every service, read the Bible, and was very good. I figured I was still saved.
Then I moved, and started at a new church, which I wasn't happy in, so I just quit going. Then some Mormon missionaries came to my door. I argued with them at first, because I thought I was supposed to. It didn't work, and I found their teachings to seem very correct. It felt good, it sounded good, and I got baptized there and thought everything was just great. I just knew I had found the truth.
Then, despite being encouraged not too, I started studying the religion. From their own books. Books that were hard to come by, and deeply questioning the beliefs and what they were founded on. I got the the missionaries to tell me the truth, and not what they call justifiable truth. It was a horrible time in my life emotionally, but very good because of all the studying in the Bible I did to find out how to REALLY be saved and have Jesus in my life.
I studied for hours every day. Spent days and weeks at the seminary, talked to everyone I knew, prayed, studied more. It consumed me, and I burned with the desire to know how I could have this precious gift, how I could be forgiven for all the horrible things I had done.
It would have been much simpler to just read John 3:16. It's all you have to do. It sounds like you really know you need a saviour. You have one. You get down on your knees, or stand, or whatever you feel the need to do, tell him you believe in him and want him in your life. Tell him why. There is nothing else involved. People have been saved on their deathbeds this way. No acts of righteousness or baptism, just a prayer.
The grace of God is amazing. It's all you need. And when you realize how wonderful it is that that's all you need to do you'll begin to love him and be amazed by the grace and love he showed by dying on the cross. Then you'll WANT to serve him, not out of a sense of you have to to keep your salvation or whatever, but because it's the least you CAN do.

 

Bart, I perceive some things in your input; correct me if I am wrong.

#1, I don't feel you are convinced Jesus is the way to salvation. If you were, you would be calling on Him; NOW. In all you've experienced and seen, is there anyone or anything that compares to Him. If you find yourself doubting, then please pray to God to be saved and then he will explain things day by day as you give time to study. The christian's walk is one of faith.

Before you finish reading this, you could die; then what? Hell is where you'd go without Him. Just as real, Heaven if you choose to believe. But, I will say this, DO NOT DELAY. Your eternity depends on it.

The Bible says unless the Spirit draw you...,. {see John 6:41-51} Since the Bible also says "For whosoever will may come...", {Romans 10:13}, this means that everyone that believes can be saved, if they are willing; this means you, Bart.

Ask several different true christians what's necessary for salvation, and "EVERY TIME" the common denominator is Jesus Christ. However, there are many different events leading up to being saved. Just like marriage, the proposals differ; doesn't change the fact that they are married once the ceremony is complete.

In Christ there are many circumstances that have caused folks to come to Christ. {read Jude} If most folks were truthful about their answer, most didn't go out looking to find Him. He drew them by the word that was given them, or the example they saw in others. It's not head knowledge, it's heart knowledge.

#2, being "baptist" is irrelevent to salvation. If you allow religion to come between you and salvation, you will spend eternity with millions who have done the same.

#3, I have seen many people like you in ministry. Ones that try to grasp an understanding of salvation outside of the Spirit teaching them. Not possible until Jesus is your Lord. Once Jesus is your Saviour, you begin to see things as He leads you to. Is it a secret step method; hardly, as was inputted earlier, it is by simple faith in Jesus as Saviour.

#4, the story found in Acts 16 is to be taken in context. You can not read a segment of scripture and derive the meaning of the passage. It's like reading the first paragraph of any writing and ignoring what's before and after. The Philippian jailor was ready to be saved in verse 31. He just needed some direction. If you truly are looking for the answer, ask God to show you. He will, but the choice is yours. No one can decide for you.

Lastly, if you believe that Jesus is the Saviour of the world and that he came and died for your sins, AND that he arose, then you are ready to be saved. Till then, it's just a story. I will tell you this, anyone on this board could lead you to Christ, you just need to ask.

Bart, I pray you don't wait too late. I have family and friends that waited too long, and each time I visit their grave side, I'm left with the impression, "what a waste".
When we all stand in front of Him on judgement day, it won't be important who you knew, but who knew you.

 

Is there really any point in telling someone to pray it when they really don't believe it? To be honest, it won't work. You can pray and ask for faith, but praying for salvation while still doubting if Jesus is the Truth will do no good. Whosoever BELIEVETH. Some people just don't. Or won't. I can remember when I really wanted to, and just didn't. It sounds horrible, but it's true. I just simply could not believe in the Truth. I figured that Jesus was probably real, and probably died on the cross, but I didn't really believe it or feel it. I prayed and begged for a long time for God to let me feel that, but it had to happen on my own. It had to be my choice. That may take longer in some than others.
We're all here to show love and understanding and patience. If you suspect someone's here to simply stir up trouble why not just ignore them instead of telling them how "suspicious" they seem. Otherwise just show them what God says.
I never read in the Bible where someone asked "What must I do to be saved" and Jesus responded by asking them why they wanted to know, and what they're real motives were.

 

Bart, thank goodness that you have a desire to get saved. And, yes, you are entitled to the truth. I firmly believe Gina was explaining from her vantage point how she feels about salvation. {i.e. similar to how the 4 gospels may differ in approach, but all are focused on Jesus Christ as Sovereign Lord.}

Once you get saved, and I say that believing soon you will be, salvation will be to you something that may vary a bit from someone else's view. Gina's view, as well as mine, and anyone else that responded is being sincere and ready to rejoice with you when you do accept Him.

Please review the input, I believe everyone is trying to care you through and are already praying for your conversion. In the mean time by faith believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. I guarantee you it is not a bed of roses, but considering eternity options, the risidual is incredibly wonderful.

Bart, I hope the next time I see your input, it is that you are viewing life through the cross of Calvary.

Bart, we truly do love you. Our hope is to welcome you as brother in Christ. If you need to talk verbally, let me know, I'd be happy to give you my home number.

I Timothy 2: 4 & 5.

 

Bart, Sometimes people are instructed in the NT to repent for salvation (cf. Acts 2:38; 3:39), sometimes they are told to believe, and sometimes both concepts are included. The Bible isn’t a book of systematic theological instruction, so to develop theology we have to look at it all. Even in a passage in which “believe” is the instruction, as with the Phillippian jailer, repentance is still evident. Repentance is a change of mind, and the jailer definitely had one as evidenced in verse 36. He went from keeping Paul in the prison to letting him go.

 

I think Bart is trying to understand the entire doctrine of salvation. There are many aspects to it, but only one way to get it. I think he is trying to look at all of the aspects, and turn them into steps. That is the natural thing for man to do. We still think that somehow if we do enough, or do it the right way, or follow all these steps, that we can earn salvation. Therein lies the danger!

Salvation is not earned, it is accepted, like a gift. You see, we deserve to die an eternal death and be separated from God for ever, because of our sin nature. God in his mercy chose to give us grace, in that He took upon himself, the sin and the punishment that we deserve. Because He is God, his death paid the eternal penalty that we are required to pay as guilty sinners. The debt was satisfied, or paid in full. That is the gift. If you believe this, and accept it as yours, you can be saved.

Let me take it just a bit further, and give an illustration. If I wrap up a gift and tell you that it is for you, you can say that you believe it is for you, but if you never take it from my hands and open it, you haven't accepted it for your own. If you try to do something to get it, it is no longer a gift.