On Salvation

Forget Religion. It won’t save you.

 

Forget church names, too. Jesus didn’t leave one during His short stay. Otherwise, we’d all rush to that church and become members of it.

 

What do we have left? The Bible and, in it, we have the Word of God.

 

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”– 2 Timothy 3:16-17

 Okay, almost all churches get that part. But most of them do not fully understand what God wants us to obey. Most of these churches base their doctrine on a few verses alone. We must understand that the Word of God does not contradict itself—it’s always in harmony. One verse cannot say this way while another will say there’s a different way. Not even an apostle or an angel from heaven can contradict the Word of God. Paul said in Galatians 1:6-9: “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” 

Now let us examine the three most common beliefs of people around us and let’s see what the Bible has to say about it:

 

GOOD WORKS WILL SAVE US

 

Doing what’s good is just right. But make no mistake—it cannot save you.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast”—Ephesians 2:8-9

 

RECEIVE JESUS AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR AND YOU WILL BE SAVED

 

There is not one verse in the Bible that states that kind of practice will save us. Many churches who teach this as a way of salvation base their doctrine on John 1:12. It says: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” There’s nothing wrong with that verse, of course. In fact, it is right but people oft misunderstand this verse. It states that when you receive Jesus, you will have THE POWER TO BECOME the son of God. It does not say that you automatically become the son of God but you are only given the power TO BECOME one. If you stop at this point, you missed the plan of salvation. Can you choose to change from the “to become” stage to a “real and approved” son of God position? The answer is the following verse, verse 13 of John chapter 1: “which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, not of the will of man, but of God.” The answer is NO.

 

BAPTISM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST WILL SAVE YOU

 

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”—Matthew 28:18-19

 

There is nothing wrong with what Jesus commanded. In fact, we should obey it. But the issue is that most churches do not know how to apply it. They simply say it as it is without understanding what Christ said. They baptize and say, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

 

A little flashback. Jesus told Peter in Matthew 16:18-19: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Not literal keys as we can imagine but the how-can-a-sinful-man-enter-heaven type of key.

 

Fast forward. What did Peter and the rest of the apostles teach? “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter, and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”—Acts 2:36-42

 

In the name of Jesus? Yes. Do you think Peter will disobey Jesus in preaching the plan of salvation? You must be foolish. Why not baptize in the name of Jesus? When we pray for healing, we let authority over sickness flow by the name of Jesus. When we cast out demons, we say the name of Jesus. Did you ever cast out a demon using “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost? The demon may laugh at you. But use the name of Jesus, the demon flees. He knows that’s the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Remember, the Devil used to be the worship leader in heaven. He knows and trembles at the mention of the name Jesus. When I go to the bank to withdraw money and the teller asks for my name, I won’t tell her “the son of my mother”, “the brother of my younger sister” or “a former student of La Salle”. I’d give her my full given name. Only then will my request be honored. Yes, I am indeed a son, a brother and a former student of La Salle. But there is no authority in those titles that will allow me to withdraw my funds. Same with baptism. What name? Acts 4:10 tells us in the name of Jesus. Why in the name of Jesus? Acts 4:12 answers that clearly: “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Peter knew Jesus is the name of the one true God: Father during Creation, from being a spirit donned the human flesh—thus, becoming the Son of God—to save us from our sins, and dwells in the hearts of men in the form of the Holy Ghost. And hey—Matthew, the one inspired by the Holy Ghost to write the Book of Matthew was there when Peter preached Acts 2:38. He never objected. He, too, knew what Jesus meant.

 

WHAT SHOULD WE DO IN ORDER TO BE SAVED?

 

We must be born again of water and of the Spirit. A lot of fake “born again Christians” roam the world today. They associate it with simply being baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. That’s just it. Let us check what Jesus said about it:

 

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”—John 3:3-8

 

Necessary? No question. What do you mean about “Of water and of the Spirit”? All those amniotic fluid and our first breath of air? Nope. Jesus said it: That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. We can’t fit into our mommies’ tummies again (have mercy!). What’s the correct way then? Well, Peter and the apostles preached it and did it. ACTS 2:38: Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. We baptize by immersion—which is the correct way—not by sprinkling or pouring of a glass of water on the forehead of somebody who is too young to decide for himself. To be baptized by immersion in the name of Jesus Christ means being born of the water. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”—Mark 16:16. Then we receive the Holy Ghost with the initial sign of speaking in other tongues—languages that we don’t even know how to speak. “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;”—Mark 16:17. Check the entire history of the first church in the book of Acts. You’ll that this is the very teaching of the apostles. Does it end there? Nope. That’s just the beginning. We should live a holy life, a life patterned after Christ, a life based on the teachings of the Bible. Check out your dusty Bible.

 Hurry! Time is running out!