What the Bible Says About Salvation

I promised I would write my next blog on receiving the gift of the spirit and how to gain the life that flows from it. I really can’t go into some of my practices until we start with the most important first step. What the Bible says about salvation and how to receive it is obviously very important. In order to receive the freedom and spirit of Christ, we have to fully commit ourselves to Gods authority.

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.Acts 2:38

We receive the spirit of God through this commitment. So what is this process? Theologians and political and religious figures have been fighting and debating this for centuries. Wars have been fought over the subject. I want to go through and clearly lay out all relevant scripture on the subject and look at it all as objectively as possible.

Forgiveness

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace  that he lavished on us.Ephesians 1 7-8

What Jesus did for us allows all of our sins to be forgiven and gives us the ability to be with God and enjoy the kingdom to come. Clearly though this forgiveness is not entirely free on our part. In comparison to what Jesus has already done, what we have to do is hold out our hands and ask for it. Unfortunately because of Satan, its not that simple. Satan has to make it more complicated and difficult by trying to deceive us. Despite the confusion, the path is laid out in scripture. This is what the Bible says about salvation.

We must have faith and repent and be baptized for the remission of our sins. We have to do these things in order to accept the gift.

Throughout the rest of this post I’m going to use the analogy of an engaged couple. God proposed to all of humanity and removed all barriers for us to get married. There’s a lot more to accepting that proposal than just saying yes. There is a set of very serious vows that have to be exchanged in front of witnesses. At the end we can’t stay where we are. We cant live in sin and also live with God in his kingdom. We have to leave our current home to be in his kingdom. God doesn’t intend to stay with us in our deadbeat apartment but is asking us to move in with him in his palace. That requires sacrifice. It seems like an easy thing but this squalor we live in is all we remember knowing about. It’s still more comfortable to stay. These steps to salvation are not a series of check boxes you have to hit but things that have to happen to accept the invitation. If you accept the invitation to a party, you still have to drive down there and attend it. In the same way, we have to do certain things in order to receive it. This is a part of free will. God will not knock us on the head and forcibly drag us to the church to get married and chain us up in his palace. He requires us to come to him willingly or not at all.

Faith

One of the obvious and most important things the Bible has to say about salvation is faith in God.

God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faithRomans 3:25

We have righteousness through faith and faith is clearly an essential step to receiving the gift from God.

Repentance

Repentance is one of the most basic and essential aspects of our choice to live with Jesus. It’s one of the most important things that the Bible says about salvation.

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.Mark 1:4

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,Acts 3:19

From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”Matthew 4:17

Repent so that you can be a part of my kingdom. We all live in a 3d world and there’s nothing to suggest that God’s kingdom will be different, therefore we can’t physically be in two places at once. We either remain in the kingdom of darkness or move into Gods kingdom. Based on the laws of the universe God put in play, it’s not possible to be in both places at once.

Continuing to live in sin is clearly not acceptable to God and those that don’t make the conscious decision to change their lifestyle and recognize the evil in it, will not be saved.

I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’Luke 13:3-7

Baptism

Strangely, here’s where all the controversy comes in. There are really three camps that I see in Christendom today on the subject. Some believe that full immersion baptism is absolutely essential to receive salvation through Christ. Most others believe that baptism is not at all a part of salvation and discourage anyone from doing it and instead preach that salvation only comes through the act of Giving God permission to enter them and through faith. “say a little prayer and ask Jesus into your heart”. Others will emphasize how unnecessary baptism is for salvation but still do it “out of obedience to God”.

I want to lay a firm bed of scripture before making any statements here.

• Acts 13:24

• Acts 19:3-6

• Collosians 2:12

• Luke 3:21

• Acts 2:38

• Acts 2:41

• Acts 8:12-13

• Acts 8:36-38

• Acts 9:18

• Acts 10:47-48

• Acts 16:15

• Acts 16:33

• Acts 18:8

• Acts 19:5

• Acts 22:16

• Galatians 3:27

• Romans 6:3-4

• Mark 16:16

This is a list I came up with that has every relevant reference to baptism in scripture. Some are supporting it and others are showing the early church performing baptism as a part of their decision to be a christian.

I want to be fair and I’ve found some of the most important proof texts for those that oppose baptism.

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”Luke 23:40-43

And it shall come to passThat whoever calls on the name of the LordShall be saved.’Acts 2:21

And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”Acts 16:30-31

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,Romans 5:1

Thief on the Cross

The most low hanging fruit simple argument is that the thief on the cross was not baptized and therefore baptism isn’t important or essential. Yes I believe that the thief was saved by his faith and his repentance. Also what about an old lady that’s on oxygen and could die if she was fully immersed? Is she damned to hell because she couldn’t get dunked all the way under water. For heavens sake NO!

I am not under the illusion that a simple physical act of being immersed in water saves you. If that were the case would everyone that’s ever been swimming before and went all the way underwater been saved? NO!

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.Romans 6:3-4

to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,1 Peter 3:21

Yes the physical act is just a representation of the death you are sharing with Christ and freedom you gain from him. Those that can’t, don’t have to experience the physical baptism but you must undergo spiritual baptism. That is still technically a work and that obedience is clearly shown as a key part of salvation.

But what about those that choose not to be baptized but still believe? In order to answer this, I need to go back to my analogy.

I believe that baptism is like the wedding ceremony. There are many important things that happen in that ceremony. From that moment on, the bride changes her name to be that of her husbands and the old person and the old name dies. All direct ties are cut off and the bride from that point on, lives with the groom. There are crucial vows that are made that ensures permanent faithfulness. Then the two can become one flesh and be truly united. The holy spirit in a way is our consummation with God because it’s through the spirit that we become one.

Now what if the bride said yeah I love you, your cool dude, I’ll stick by you. Would that be good enough? Far too many people give themselves away to each other for far less. God doesn’t accept that. He wants a full commitment.

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.Luke 9:23

You have to change your name and the old person has to die. You have to move in with the groom and choose to leave everything in your old life.

If two people wanted to be united but there was no minster and no one that could be there as a witness, could two people be rightfully united? Yeah if there is an exchange of vows and if its done being present to God and allowing him to be your witness. However, this is very far from an ideal situation. Only under circumstances that can’t permit it would it be alright to do so. I’m a fan of eloping and I don’t like the idea of a big massive production of a wedding but I wouldn’t be satisfied if I wasn’t married by someone and in the presence of my family and friends.

Baptism is another ceremony that establishes our commitment to God. God really likes symbolism and ceremony. Just look at what he made the Jews do. Even at the time of Jesus, they performed four extremely important festivals that exist for remembrance. We eat and drink communion because God wants us to remember. Just read through Leviticus and Deuteronomy some time and look at all the things God had the Jews do in order for their sins to be forgiven. I don’t see why things should be different now.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.Mark 16:16

So let’s discuss some of the other key arguments.

Baptism isn’t always mentioned

And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”Acts 16:30-31

Verses like this don’t refer to baptism at all in reference to salvation. That must mean it’s not important.

Well that verse also doesn’t mention anything about repentance and I think most of us are pretty sure that that’s necessary. You will find several scriptures describing different aspects of salvation. We look at a tiny piece of what was discussed and assume that that’s all there is. I could say that Acts 2:38 suggests that you don’t need faith to be saved right? You only have to repent and be baptized. We have to remember the context.

God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it.Acts 2:32

These people heard Jesus and they were witnesses to all of this crazy stuff happening. For them at this moment in the question “what shall we do to be saved?”. This question proves that their hearts have already moved towards God and faith. Peter had no reason to mention that they need to believe because clearly they did or they wouldn’t have asked Peter that question. The Bible wasn’t written for you to support your petty theological debates. It was recorded in a larger context. The same is true of Acts 16.

Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.Acts 16:32

Faith is the first and most important step and that’s what Paul needed to explain to the man but clearly that wasn’t all he had to say to him. I would imagine he had a great deal to say about repentance and dying to sin and coming to life through Christ in baptism.

Taking scripture out of context isn’t about taking only a little sliver of scripture to support your view but using scripture without thinking of the intention of the passage in its original context. This is the kind of nonsense Jesus was talking about when he said: “You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”

On both sides of the dispute, the scripture is used as a weapon of debate. The intent is clearly not to further their own knowledge but to win an argument. The attitude is “Ha! I got you!” For this reason I usually refuse to debate with people on this. I try not to let people know about what denomination I am a part of because inevitably there’s a guy that thinks it’s his job to set me strait. Those that preach baptism and those that don’t will both be equally lost if they aren’t connected to the spirit of God. If they were connected they would be thinking of all this from Gods perspective. Ultimately the christian walk is about getting abundant life from loving and being loved by God.

Baptism symbolizes the beauty of the process of becoming reconciled to God. The act shows a sign of faith, The submersion signifies the burial which is the repentance and the act of casting off the old man of sin, the rising is the new man that represents life from God that you can now have in abundance. This is what God wants us to get from baptism.

Jesus was baptized and the spirit came upon him at the exact moment of his baptism.

At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.Matthew 3:16

I just noticed that Matthew specifies that at that moment in particular the holy spirit descended on him. Whether or not Jesus had been granted Gods full spirit until that moment I don’t know but clearly this moment was set up to communicate that the spirit comes through baptism.

FAITH ALONE!(not)

“Well baptism is just about being obedient to God, its still not necessary for salvation”

What does that mean? Really I would like to understand. It’s not necessary even though God commanded us to do it? I am not aware of any commands God made that are optional. I understand why that distinction is so important.

FAITH ALONE! you cant be justified by works! no works! faith ALONE. You can’t work your way to heaven!

This is really how I have heard it said, they might as well be shouting it at me. Yes baptism is a work, you have to use your legs to walk to water and get dunked. The much harder work is thinking about the decision your making to follow Christ. You wanna get technical? I can get technical. Your brain has to use energy in order to say the prayer to ask Jesus into your heart. I’m not sure how many neurons have to fire but I’m sure if you hooked the new believer up to an EEG and measured it, scientists would tell you that their brain did in fact perform work. Do you see how absolutely ridiculous this is?

It’s exactly the same kind of madness that Jesus fought against. Yes I hate rules and the religious laws and technical morality. Yes obviously you can’t be a good enough person to make it to heaven but clearly you cant just sit on your butt and do nothing and expect God to carry you the whole way. Never in scripture does it tell us that following Jesus doesn’t require work. In fact quite the opposite.

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.Luke 9:23

I wonder sometimes why the idea of faith alone is such a touchy subject. I think subconsciously, believing in faith alone absolves us of responsibility and allows us to do what we want. That’s not what it looks like to be a child of God, not even close.

Conclusion

So to summarize we need to have faith in God

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.Hebrews 11:6

Also note the the writer of Hebrews mentioned that equally important to believing in God is that he rewards those that seek him. Chew on that one for a while.

The next essential piece is repentance

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,Acts 3:19

And finally the capstone is baptism. Baptism illustrates every step in the process and requires action to go along with your pledge to follow God. You do these things(not like a check list) but out of a true desire to know God and you will have access to peace, joy and a power you can’t possibly understand yet. That’s what the Bible has to say about salvation.

I’m sorry this has to be so long, there are so many people twisting this subject that it takes a while to untangle all the gunk. I will promise you that becoming a Christian is hard and if your doing it right, everyone will probably start hating you. It requires you to sacrifice everything but I will tell you that what you can gain through the spirit in this life right now is almost worth all the pain and suffering already. I have already begun to experience incredible life and I’ve barely begun the journey. How much more could we experience in the next life?

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