“Is this what happened to you?”

Sunday, May 21, 2017

We are told that there is a “common salvation” (Jude 3). This means that if you are a Christian, then anyone familiar with the Bible should know exactly what you did to be saved. Does that describe you? If not, something is amiss.

Anyone who was born again did so after receiving the word of God, which is what is able to save our souls (I Pet. 1:23; James 1:21).  The gospel of Jesus Christ needs to be heard in order to produce faith (Rom. 10:17; Acts 11:14). There is no way anyone can be saved without first hearing the message about Christ (Acts 8:35).

Not everyone who hears the gospel message believes it.Only those who believe the message can be saved (John 8:24; John 20:31: I Cor. 1:21). Keep in mind that faith makes it possible to be saved, but faith alone does not save (James 2:26). Those who believe the gospel message are those that gladly receive the word (Acts 2:41).

Those who truly believe in Jesus must be willing to confess their faith in Him (Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 8:37). It is possible to believe in Jesus but not be saved if we are unwilling to confess Him before men (John 12:42-43). Again, confessing Christ only makes it possible to be saved, but just confessing faith in Christ does not save you (Matt. 8:28-29).

When someone is willing to confess their faith in Jesus, he or she must make up their mind to change their ways, turn to Christ and repent of their sins (Acts 3:19; II Cor. 7:10; Acts 2:38). There must be a desire to turn away from walking in sin (Col. 3:5). But again, just stopping sinful activity does not save you. It just makes it possible to be saved.

To be born again, one must be born of water and the spirit (John 3:5). This is where one puts off the old man AND puts on the new man by being baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:3-7; Acts 22:16; Col. 2:12). Like the previous point, baptism does not save unless the other steps were also done. If not, one just gets wet (Acts 19:1-5). Does this describe perfectly what you did to be saved? If not, then something is wrong. Please contact us if you want to discuss further.

Chuck 

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