Not everything in the Bible is simple. A good Bible student is a diligent “workman” (2 Tim. 2:15).
Many subjects take many hours of study to grasp on a basic level. Even after getting a basic understanding of those subjects, your understanding will be refined multiple times as you continue to study. Answering the question, “What must I do to be saved?” is not one of those difficult subjects! While your understanding of salvation may grow, any sincere, competent person can understand and follow God’s pattern for salvation.
When I speak of a “pattern,” I mean something along the lines of a blueprint for building a house. The Bible, like a blueprint, was designed to instruct us how to build a “complete” “man of God” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). When we read the New Testament (NT), we not only find instructions for how to become a Christian but also examples of those instructions being carried out. Let us examine God’s pattern for salvation. We begin, like a good builder, by laying the foundation for salvation.
The Foundation for Salvation
We don’t get very far in the NT before we find out why we need saving and who will save us. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Sin is acting contrary, in any way, to the will of God (1 John 1:4). God has always said that the punishment for sin is death (Rom. 6:23; Gen. 3:1-3). This punishment comes in two forms of death. Our bodies die as a result of being separated from the Tree of Life, a punishment at the occasion of the first sin (Gen. 3:22-24). Our souls die as a direct result of our own sin. God cuts sinners off from a spiritual relationship with Him because He will not and cannot continue in a relationship tainted by sin (1 John 1:5-6; Isa. 59:1-2; Eph. 2:1-3). If we physically die while spiritually dead, our souls will be excommunicated from God to a place of eternal torment (2 Thess. 1:7-9; Matt. 10:28; Mark 9:43-48). “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of [God’s] throne” (Ps. 89:14). So, God will certainly not “leave the guilty unpunished” (Exod. 34:6-7). As sinners, how, then, can we be saved?
The angel told Joseph that the baby in Mary’s womb was sent from “the Holy Spirit” and would “save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). Jesus explained how this salvation would be possible: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28). Jesus would sacrifice Himself in order that by His death He could ransom others from death (John 1:29). Jesus “bore our sins in His body” in that He innocently suffered death, the punishment for sin, on our behalf (1 Pet. 2:24). Three days later, He rose from the dead proving the truthfulness of all His claims (Rom. 1:4; Acts 13:32-38), His power over sin and death (1 Cor. 15:50-58; Heb. 2:14-15), and His ability to serve as our eternal High Priest (Heb. 2:17; 9:11-12, 24). Though we are separated from God because of our sin, Jesus provides “the way” we can be reconciled to God (John 14:6; 2 Cor. 5:14-21).
Therefore, another way of asking, “What is God’s pattern for salvation?” is to ask, “How does one receive the saving benefit of Jesus’ death and resurrection?”
Things That Save Us
The NT teaches many things are involved in the plan of salvation. Both God and the sinner have an active role. We must understand all that is involved and the importance of each step in the pattern. Leaving anything out would no longer constitute God’s pattern for salvation.
God’s love and mercy motivated Him to send His Son to save us as a “gift by His grace” (John 3:16; Tit. 3:3-5; Rom. 3:24; Eph. 2:5, 8). Jesus’ “blood,” representing His death, saves us because, through it, God can justly justify sinners having offered a death for the punishment of sin (Rom. 3:24-26; 5:8-9). Jesus’ “life” (resurrection) saves us “since He always lives to make intercession for” “those who draw near to God through Him” (Heb. 7:23-25). Therefore, the only way people can be saved is by the “name” (authority) of Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; John 14:6).
As we consider man’s role in salvation, it is important that we think properly about it. Some think it is incorrect to speak of man having a role in his salvation because they think it contradicts the idea that we are saved by grace. However, nothing we do earns our salvation. Without Jesus’ death and resurrection we would remain lost. Salvation is still a gift we do not deserve even though we must do something to receive the gift. We must respond to God’s grace in Christ by accepting that grace in the way in which He has prescribed. This is covenant language. Jesus’ death and resurrection established the New Covenant (Luke 22:20) and we must choose to enter and remain in the covenant.
While God’s role in saving us can be summed up as “by grace,” our role in accepting salvation can be summed up as “through faith” (Eph. 2:8). Biblical faith is not mere belief but trust that motivates one to obedience (Heb. 11). One must come to trust in Christ through “the gospel” (Rom. 1:16). The gospel confirms Jesus is “the Son of God with power” by presenting us with solid evidence that He rose from the dead (Rom. 1:4; 1 Cor. 15:3-8). When we accept the truth of the gospel, we must confess that “Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 4:15; 1 Tim. 6:12-13). Then, we must “obey” the Son of God by obeying His “gospel” (2 Thess. 1:8; 1 Pet. 1:22). The gospel calls us to repent of our sins (Luke 13:3; 24:47), be baptized (1 Pet. 3:21; Rom. 6:3-4), and strive to faithfully obey NT teaching for the rest of our lives (Rev. 2:10; Matt. 28:18-20). It is important to remember that forgiveness of sins is not the goal but the means to a greater end. The purpose of salvation is that we become “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). Therefore, we must strive to be faithful and grow if we wish to remain in the saving covenant of Jesus Christ (Heb. 10:19-39; 2 Pet. 3:17-18). Though we may fail at times, God continues to extend His grace through Christ as we repent of our sin and “walk in the light” (1 John 1:5-2:2).
Biblical Examples of People Following the Pattern
It should be no surprise to us that when we turn to the book of Acts, all of the things said to be involved in salvation are exemplified in the inspired accounts of the earliest conversions to Christ. On Pentecost, the gospel was preached (2:14-36) and the people believed the message (2:37), obeyed the command to “repent and be baptized” (2:38-41), and “continually [devoted] themselves to the apostles’ doctrine and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (2:42). When Philip preached the gospel to the Samaritans (8:5), they believed and were baptized (8:12). One of the Samaritans sinned after becoming a Christian but repented and asked others to pray for him (8:18-24). Afterwards, Philip meets up with an Ethiopian eunuch and “preached Jesus to him” (8:35). From that sermon, the eunuch understood he needed to be baptized and he was (8:36-38). We continue to see a similar pattern in every conversion account throughout Acts (9:1-18; 10:34-48; 16:13-15, 25-34; 18:8).
There is one thing that often surprises most people when examining these examples of conversion. While some of the elements of salvation are not explicitly mentioned in every conversion account, the one element many religious groups deny is necessary for salvation is explicitly mentioned in every account. Baptism is always the defining moment in these accounts when one becomes a Christian (2:41; 8:12, 38; 9:18; 10:48; 16:15, 33; 18:8). This should not be surprising to those who know Jesus’ last command before ascending to heaven that baptism is referred to in this way (Matt. 28:19). Not only did the apostles constantly preach the necessity of baptism in Acts but Paul spoke of it as the point in which one enters Jesus’ death and it becomes our death for sin (Rom. 6:3-7; Col. 2:11-13). It is through baptism that we “call on the name of the Lord” and wash away our sins (Rom. 10:13; Acts 22:16). It is the way in which we “appeal to God” to save us “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 3:21). We must not ignore the clear teaching of Scripture because of the teachings of men.
Upon hearing/reading the gospel with understanding, we must believe its claim and confess that Jesus is the Son of God. Believing the gospel demands we obey it. The gospel calls us to repent of our sins, be baptized into Christ, and strive to faithfully obey NT teaching. This is the pattern God has given us and the one we must follow if we desire to receive His salvation.
Be saved today.
Thanks for reading, but it will only be profitable to you, when you do it.
Contact Benson Omole Th.D, D.D,
+234-8060066660.
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