Biblical Salvation

What does the Bible say about being saved? In order to really answer that question, there is an important principle of biblical interpretation that must be followed. We must remember that no single verse can stand alone to develop doctrine. The entire context of scripture must be considered when understanding the meaning of any verse in the Bible. Scripture interprets scripture. That is a steadfast rule that must be followed to understand the true meaning of any scripture verse or passage.

John 3:16, 17 says, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son the whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that through Him the world might be saved.”

Because so many have taken this passage alone to define salvation, cheap grace has become all the rage for Americanized Christianity. All you must do is believe, right? Pray a simple little prayer and 'ask Jesus into your heart.' Right? Wrong!

According to Romans 10:9, 13, you must believe and then publicly confess what you believe. So, you can see through these two scripture passages that there are at least two elements to being 'saved.'

Romans 10:9-13 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Matthew 10:22 says, “He that endureth to the end the same shall be saved.”

Oops, so much for once saved, always saved. In fact, this phrase appears twice in Matthew, 10:22 and 24:13.

The Apostle Paul did not believe ‘once saved, always saved.’ He said, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” – I Corinthians 9:27

In the Amplified Version, “But [like a boxer] I strictly discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached [the gospel] to others, I myself will not somehow be disqualified [as unfit for service].”

If the Apostle were concerned enough to consider the possibility that if he did not ‘endure to the end’ that he would be disqualified, why are so many convinced that they can not be ‘castaway?’ There is no way the Apostle portrays that cheap grace in any of his writings.

So far, we have three requirements for salvation: Belief (faith), endurance (making it through life’s trials and maintaining your faith and testimony, and confession). But there is more.

Mark 16:15, 16 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

So much for baptism not being a requirement for salvation - He that believes and is baptized shall be saved. Jesus said he who believes and is baptized shall be saved, not just he who believes. What? Do you mean belief is not enough? Not according to God’s Word. Belief must be accompanied by a public confession and baptism, and then you must endure to the end, faith is accompanied by faithfulness. A commitment to live by God’s Holy Standards.

So, why is baptism required? The answer is found in Acts chapter 2. “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the 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?” - Acts 2:36, 37

When Peter had finished preaching, the men were pricked in their hearts. They were convicted by the Holy Ghost because of their sinful lives – they believed that Jesus, whom they had shouted to crucify, was both Lord and Christ. They had the first element of belief and wanted to know what to do now that they believed.

Peter did not lead them in a prayer to ‘ask Jesus into their hearts.’ He called them first to repentance for their sin; he called them to turn away from sin and turn to Jesus. Then he instructed them to be baptized. Why? For the remission of sin.

Remission means to cancel a debt, charge, or penalty. Baptism is for the forgiveness of sin. We owed a debt, a debt we could not pay because of our sin. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.”

We had a death sentence hanging over our heads, and for it to be remitted, we must be washed in the waters of baptism. How can baptism wash away our sins? Only one way, when it is done in the name of the one who shed his blood to pay our sin debt and set us free from the bondage of sin. Only when you are baptized in the name of Jesus can you be forgiven for your sin.

And how are we to be baptized? In Matthew 28:19 Jesus instructed His disciples to make disciples of all nations and to baptize them in the name of the father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. So why did Peter instruct these men to be baptized in the name of Jesus. In Fact, everywhere anyone was baptized in the book of Acts, they were baptized in the name of Jesus and never in the titles Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

'Name' in the Greek in Matthew 28:19 is the singular form. Jesus was speaking of a single name. So, Jesus was instructing them to baptize in the only ‘name’ in scripture given to God, His name, the name of Jesus. Or do you think the disciples misunderstood or disobeyed the Lord? I doubt that they all could have misunderstood Him in exactly the same manner. If they disregarded or disobeyed Christ's instruction, that would invalidate anything else they taught. But they did not misunderstand or disobey Jesus. They understood clearly what they had been commanded and they obeyed.

In summary, faith in Jesus is required for salvation; faith must be followed by a confession that you believe. What must we do? That is a confession of faith. It is essentially saying, ‘We believe what you have preached concerning Jesus, and we want to be saved.’

Confession must be followed by repentance. You must turn from your sin and follow Jesus in obedience and surrender. You must die to yourself and live for Him. After you have turned your back on sin, you must be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission (forgiveness) of sin.

Once you have done all this, then you need to seek the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is an essential key to being saved. Why isn’t the Holy Ghost just a gift? Do I have to have the Holy Ghost to be saved? Yes, for two reasons. First, let us go back to John chapter three, “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. 4 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? 5 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.” – John 3:3-5

So, the first reason you must have the Holy Ghost living within you is because you are not truly ‘born again’ without the Holy Ghost. It is the Holy Ghost that transforms you. It is the Holy Ghost that ‘makes all things new.’ It is the Holy Ghost that gives you a new nature and gives you new life (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Secondly, without the Holy Ghost taking residence in your heart, you do not possess the power to overcome the sinful nature and be His witness. A witness is one who testifies of the truth. Jesus changes us by the power of the Holy Ghost and our changed life, our testimony, witnesses to the world of the life changing power of Jesus.

In the book of Revelation, it says, “And they overcame him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” – Revelation 12:11 KJV (Emphasis added)

Without the indwelling of the Holy Ghost there is no power, and without that power there is no way you will endure to the end. I have already established, through more than one scripture, that in order to be saved you must endure to the end. You must make it through all of life’s tests and trials with your faith intact. If you stray from repentance and obedience, if you fail to keep your commitment to Christ and Holy Living, you will be disqualified (I Corinthians 9:27).

So, salvation begins when you come to understand who Jesus is and acknowledge that He died for your sins. Then you confess that Jesus Christ is your Lord. Next you must have your sin remitted by being baptized in the Name of Jesus. And then you must be filled with the Holy Ghost so that you can make it through the toils of life with your faith undiminished by discouragement and doubt. Then you shall be saved.

7Ellen Schelin, Darlene McTee and 5 others

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