The Woods Cross Roads
Power Of Faith
Church of Chirst
In the salvation of man's soul, there are two necessary parts: God's part and man's part. God has done His part, it is a gift. We read in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory." Because of His great love for mankind, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to redeem man. The life and teaching of Jesus, the sacrifice on the cross and the giving of His Word, the Gospel, to mankind is God's part of salvation. God has done everything He can do to make a way, a plan, for the saving of mankind.
Now, it is up to us to do our part by obeying His commands for salvation. The question is, "Are we going to accept God's plan of salvation?" In order to receive salvation (eternal life) we must do exactly what God commands. We can not make up our own rules and expect God to save us. We must comply with the conditions of pardon which God has command in His Word. As we read and study the New Testament we can clearly see what it is that God wants us to do.
Hear
The first thing we must do is hear what it is that God wants us to do. By listening to the Gospel being preached and by reading and studying God's Word we hear what God expects of us. That is how we come to know God and have faith in Him. We are told in Romans 10:17, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." God has given us the Bible so we can know Him and understand what He wants us to do. Jesus said in John 6:44-45, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me." If you want to come to God you must begin by hearing what He has to say.
Believe
In Hebrews 11:6 we read, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to god must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." and John 8:24 says, "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." We must believe or have faith in God and that He will do what He says He will do. God has said that He will save us from our sins if we will obey Him.
Repent
Repentance has been defined as Godly sorrow. That means as we learn about God and what He expects from us, we realize that we are sinners, by not doing the will of God. This causes us to be sorrowful and that sorrow causes us to turn from our sinful way of life and turn to God. Unless we are willing to make changes in our way of life and conform our will to the will of God we will not be saved. Notice what we read in Acts 17:30-31, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."
We see the Apostle Peter telling those who had crucified Jesus on the cross, "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."Therefore, repentance is necessary for salvation.
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Confess
If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and are willing to publicly make that confession, then we will be saved. Jesus said in Matthew 10:32-33, "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father who is in heaven." We are told in Romans 10:9-10 that confession leads us to salvation. "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 unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
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Baptism / Immersion
Is the place where salvation takes place, it is where our sins are washed away. Ananias told Saul, who is later referred to as the Apostle Paul, "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." The blood of Jesus washes away our sins when we are obedient to God's commands. Baptism symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. "Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin." (Romans 6:3-7) Despite what some teach, baptism does save us when we believe in God, repent of our sins, confess Jesus as the Son of God and are baptized for the remission (forgiveness) of sins. The Apostle Peter, in talking about how Noah and his family were saved in the ark by water made this comparison with our salvation today through baptism. "There is also an antitype which now saves us—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." (I Peter 3:21). In Mark 16:15-16 Jesus, Himself said that baptism is required for salvation. "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." So we see that baptism is required by God in order for us to be saved. When we submit to the will of God and obey His plan of salvation He removes all of our sins and we are now in a right relationship with God, we are a child of God, we are a Christian!
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