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We all stand at the edge of eternity every day of our lives. As David told his friend Jonathan,
"but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and
death" (1 Sam. 20:3). There are only two choices we face regarding eternity. We can either
take the "strait" gate and the "narrow" way that leads to "life" — Heaven
— or we can carelessly wander through the "wide" gate and the "broad" way that
leads to "destruction" — hell (Matt. 7:13-14). This is why God sent His Son Jesus
to open that "narrow" way by the Gospel (John 3:16). That Gospel contains God's
Plan of Salvation:
For many there are obstacles in the path to being baptized. "King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian" (Acts 26:27-28). The New Testament reveals the many reasons why men do not obey the Gospel. We can turn to its examples of conversion and find the obstacles men overcame to obey the Gospel and be baptized. In Acts 16 the evangelism team of Paul, Luke, Timothy and Silas found a group of Jewish women worshipping God by the river outside the city of Philippi. After these women heard the Gospel proclaimed, the Lord opened their hearts (verse 14). He did this through the word of God — the Gospel. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Rom. 1:16). They were baptized (verse 15). The word of God had found receptive hearts (Matt. 13:23). Later in Philippi Paul and Silas found themselves beaten, placed in stocks and in prison. While singing praises to God at midnight the prison was shaken by an earthquake from God which loosened their bonds and opened the doors of the prison. Paul prevented their jailor from committing suicide. The man brought them outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved" And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:30-31). These apostles did not immediately have the man say a "sinner's prayer." The man and his household had to know what to believe (Rom. 10:17). To this receptive heart, "they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house" (verse 32). The result was that after hearing the Gospel the man and his household were baptized "straightway" (verse 33) and he "rejoiced, believing in God with all his house" (verse 34). God had again found a receptive heart. In Chapters 9, 22 and 26 of the Book of Acts we read of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, enemy of Christ. With fanatical zeal, Saul traveled many miles to persecute Christians (Gal. 1:13; Acts 9:1, 26:1). He had heard the Gospel proclaimed at least once (cf. Acts 7). But the obstacle of religious tradition/prejudice stood in the way of his obedience to the Gospel. "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them" (2 Cor. 4:3-4). All this changed when he encountered the Risen Lord on his way to Damascus. "And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks" (Acts 9:4-5). His experience with the living Word of God changed his prejudiced mind. But Saul was not "saved on the road to Damascus" as some teach, because Jesus commanded him, "Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" (Acts 9:6). The word "must" is imperative and implies that there was something he had to do. Three days of prayer and fasting in total darkness brought no salvation until the arrival of a disciple of Christ, Ananias. He told Saul what he "must" do. "And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16). Now Saul was no longer burdened with religious prejudice and the guilt of sin. All obstacles had been removed from him uniting with the Risen Lord. (Rom. 6:4-5). In Acts 8 we read how Philip came from Jerusalem to Samaria to preach the Gospel, confirmed by miracles (Mark 16:20). Instead of believing the fakery of Simon the magician they believed Philip and the hand of God. Philip not only "preached Christ" (Acts 8:5) and "Christ crucified" (1 Cor. 1:23) but "the kingdom of God" (Acts 8:12) — specifically "things concerning the kingdom of God." Philip's preaching probably entailed (1) that the kingdom had already come with power (Acts 1:8, 2:4); (2) that the kingdom of God equals the church (Matt. 16:18-19); (3) that God would now admit Samaritans into that kingdom — the church; and, (4) how to enter the kingdom (John 3:5). He also preached "things concerning...the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 8:12) or the authority of Jesus Christ. Since Jesus now had "all authority" (Matt. 28:18 ASV) he probably included the terms of salvation, worship, etc. authorized by Christ. All these points were obstacles to overcome in order to obey the Gospel. But they and God won! "...and they were baptized, both men and women" (Acts 8:12). The kingdom or the church of Christ is still an obstacle for many. Is there one church or many (Matt. 16:19-20; Eph. 4:4)? Is the church a temporary thing or purchased by Christ (Acts 20:28)? Did Jesus or men establish the church (Matt. 16:16-19)? In Acts 19 the apostle Paul found twelve disciples of John the Baptizer in Ephesus. They were unsure about the Holy Spirit. "And he said unto them, Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed? And they said unto him, Nay we did not so much as hear whether the Holy Spirit was given" (Acts 19:2 ASV). Paul ascertained that their baptism had not been valid. John's baptism had been valid unto Acts 2. It had been commanded by John in anticipation of the coming of the Christ. Now by His own authority ("in the name of the Lord Jesus" verse 5) Jesus had commanded His baptism (Mark 16:15-16; Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:38). They had evidently been baptized with the wrong baptism. They had an obstacle to overcome. They could get mad at Paul for implying that their baptism was not pleasing to God. Or they could obey Christ and Paul and be immersed. "When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 19:5). Many today have an incomplete understanding of baptism's place in God's Plan of Salvation. Some believe it is not necessary for salvation or remission of sins. If they are immersed it takes place because they believe that they are already saved. But baptism is "for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38) or in order to gain forgiveness of sins (Acts 22:16). Others claim that sprinkling is baptism and it is all you need to be in a covenant relationship with God (i.e., "infant baptism"). But baptism is "immersion" or burial in water (Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12) and it is only one step in God's Plan of Salvation. "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:21). In Acts 8 we read of a man from Ethiopia who wanted to understand the Scriptures. On his way home from worshipping in Jerusalem God arranged for the evangelist Philip to provide that understanding. "And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him" (Acts 8:30-31). God helped remove that obstacle to salvation for the Ethiopian through Philip (Acts 8:35). This man had an open mind. He accepted and believed the word of God from Philip, confessed Jesus as God's Son and was baptized (Acts 8:36-39). God wants all people to accept the Scriptures and become Christians. "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intent of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). In Acts 2 a great throng of people heard the Gospel proclaimed by the Apostles and the Holy Spirit in the temple in Jerusalem. What the word of God revealed was the murderous hearts of many (Acts 2:22-24). Some reacted to the Gospel with shock. The Holy Spirit answered them with a command to obey. "Now when they heard this, they were picked 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 remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:37-38). The command to repent and be baptized involved one of the most difficult of all barriers to scale — obedience. Notice the two commands given by Peter:
What stands in the way of your salvation today? Are you too standing at the water's edge? "Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21). |