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In "hermeneutics" (how to properly study the Scripture), one of the first principles learned
is to take into account all that the Bible teaches on a subject. Too many are content to select
one or two passages to the exclusion of all else the Bible has to say on the subject. This is
certainly the case when men begin to "search the Scriptures" in considering what man must do in
order to be saved!
If you turn to John 3:16; 8:24; 20:31, you will learn that man is saved by believing in Jesus Christ. However, we also discover in Luke 13:3-5, Acts 17:30 and Second Peter 3:9, that man must repent of his sins. Again, when we study Matthew 10:32-33, Romans 10:9-10 and First Timothy 6:12-13, the good confession of Christ as Lord is a divine requirement for one's salvation. According to Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38; 22:16, and First Peter 3:21, it is learned that unless one is baptized into Christ for (unto, in order to obtain) remission of sins there can be no salvation from past sins. There is not one passage of Scripture that lists every step in just one verse. All verses on the subject of salvation must be considered. Ephesians 1:13 says that hearing and believing are required for one to be saved. Galatians 3:26-27 informs the student that faith and baptism are required by God for salvation. Acts 18:8 forthrightly tells us the Corinthians heard the Gospel, and believed what they heard, and that they were baptized. Acts 16:13-15 tells how Lydia and her household heard the Word and were then baptized. Romans 10:8-17 is inclusive of hearing, believing, and confessing faith as part of what one must do in order to be saved. There is no single passage that spells out:
Many years ago I was handed a tract being passed out by a denomination in the area. It was titled, "What You Must Do to Be Saved." Toward the end of the tract I noticed this statement: "We learn in Acts 16:30-31 the answer to the question 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved, thou and thy house.' STOP READING RIGHT THERE! THERE IS NO NEED TO READ FURTHER! THAT IS WHAT ANY MAN MUST DO IN ORDER TO BE SAVED..." (emphasis in tract). Friend, there is a need to read much further IF you desire God's full answer to the question. Why did that preacher not want us to read further in God's Word? Verse 32 tells us "they spake the word of the Lord unto him" and in verse 33 (just 2 verses after we were asked to STOP reading), "he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was BAPTIZED, he and all his, IMMEDIATELY." (Emphasis mine — JW). Verse 34 informs us they rejoiced "having believed in God" (cf. verse 32). We cannot afford to have a "cafeteria" religion, where we go through the line and pick and choose what we will believe (accept), and what we will not believe (accept). It is a common practice in the denominational and inter-denominational circles of our day for certain preachers to "camp out" on the Scriptures that teach "faith" or "grace" and insist that salvation comes by that one thing alone, just as the writer of the above mentioned tract, "camped out" on a few passages that mentioned "belief" and then insisted that believing in Christ alone would result in salvation. The Word of God MUST be the last word! Let me give you a clue to all of this. If any man stands in the pulpit and declares that you can be saved by _____________ alone, or only — then that man is a false teacher. Any man who fills in that blank with the word faith, or repent, or confess, or BAPTISM, and then indicates "alone" or "only," [he's] a false teacher! There are numerous factors involved in the salvation of any man. You must take into account Jehovah God (John 3:16). You cannot omit Jesus the Christ nor His blood (Hebrews 9:15-22; Ephesians 5:2). The Holy Spirit has revealed the true teaching of what we must do to be saved (John 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:10). The Bible Itself is an integral part leading to our salvation (John 17:17; Hebrews 4:12; James 1:21). There must be both faith and obedience on the part of man (John 8:24; Hebrews 11:6; Romans 1:16; Hebrews 5:8-9). There is a hymn that we sing frequently: "Trust and Obey; for there's no other way..." How very true are the sentiments of that song. The man who teaches that one can be saved without being baptized into Christ for salvation must explain away: Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2, 8, 9, 10, 16, 22, 26; Romans 6:2-6; Galatians 3:26-27; Colossians 2:12-13; and 1 Peter 3:21. Jesus Christ declared: "He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My sayings, hath one that judgeth him; the Word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). God desires that all men be saved (2 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9). Let us never forget that "the Word of God is the Last Word." |