Replies

What must I do to be saved?

Certainly a good question, and one upon which we disagree as a matter of perspective.

It's like asking "what must I do to grow old?"

The Arminian would answer, "Eat healthy foods, don't smoke, exercise regularly, see your doctor annually, avoid extremes, be happy, and don't walk in front of a bus."

The Calvinist would answer, "Eat healthy foods, don't smoke, exercise regularly, see your doctor annually, avoid extremes, be happy, don't walk in front of a bus...AND all these things will originate with and be accomplished by the grace of God alone who has ordained for you (and all creatures) from before the foundation of the world every day and minute and moment of your life, whether you acknowledge this fact or not. Because ultimately God creates everything, knows everything, and if He wants something, it is already cemented in time and space by His pre-existing will for that time and space."

Arminians demand this supernatural working of God's being be understood completely by man. Scripture explains we can never understand completely.

But that shouldn't excuse us from making the mistake of demanding autonomy when God clearly says we have none, and that ultimately salvation, as well as the length of our lives, depend not on our carnal, fallen nature, but upon His unerring, unbounded plan for His creation alone.

If something occurs, God wanted it to occur. If something doesn't occur, God didn't want it to occur. The alternative is meaningless from the perspective of the God who has revealed Himself in Scripture.

"Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the LORD your God promised you; so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things, until he have destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you." -- Joshua 23:15

"I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." -- Isaiah 45:7.

"I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right." -- Isaiah 45:19.

"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." -- Isaiah 46:9-10.

God's will is ultimately behind every stroke of life as we know it -- every leaf that falls, every baby born, every hiccup and heartbeat.

"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." -- Mark 9:23

And if we can believe, it is only through the gift of God's grace upon the fallen sinner.

First grace; then belief. Otherwise it's a work of man's ability to believe; something none of us has unless and until He turns us from darkness towards the light.

Having believed in both perspectives, I can say with my own certainty, life is surer, happier, more confident and less stressful when I understand that everything -- my salvation, my family's salvation and every day our lives -- is secured by God's steady hand alone who has promised us eternal peace because His Son has counted us among His sheep.

But life is not one day longer than He wills, regardless of buses, bullets or Atkins.

Belief in the fact that Jesus Christ was GOD in Man body, He died on the cross arose in three days, the ultimate blood sacrifice forgiveness of ALL sin in ALL men and of ALL times for those who believe.

All who believe this will enter the kingdom of GOD.

Example: The thief on the cross with Jesus.
Luke 23:42 And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!"
43And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

The thief had no time to do anything but believe that Jesus Christ was the promised messiah the Son of GOD.

Paul gives us a little incite to paradise as Paul says in Ephesians 4:9-10 Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.

Catch the last statement "so that He might fill all things"

One point I would like to make is to take notice of the the place Jesus said they would be, 'paradise, not heaven.

We get some incite to where paradise is when Jesus is talking about the rich man and Lazarus. We can see clearly there are two different places. Paradise or Abraham's Bosom a gulf between and where the rich man was, begging Abraham to send Lazarus over. Two different places.

22"Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.
23"In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.
24"And he cried out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.'
25"But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.

IMHO until Christ' death there was an unseen abode of the departed known as paradise or Abraham's' Bosom. The thief and went to paradise unpond his death. Jesus went to those righteous believers of GOD whom had died until his death who were in paradise. Whether He took them to heaven I am not sure but believe He did. Can you just think of the goriest happiness and joy when Jesus arrived to meet Abraham, Noah, Moses etc.

Paradise is a beautiful term of Persian origin that means "garden" which is also used to describe man's first habitation.

I was talking with a brother at chruch who told me of this site and so I asked him to send me a link... please do not hate him for it... LOL... I wish to respond to the post "What must we do to be saved" This is a saying that has a few biblical responses... I have been teaching the following for quite some time... I am not fully sure on how this forum works... Hopefully I have done this correctly... if not, feel free to instruct me on the correct way... so here is the post...

Eternal Salvation

The Answer to the Big Question
What must I do to be saved?

Act 16:30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

And the answer to the question is...

Act 16:31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Act 16:32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
Act 16:33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed [their] stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
Act 16:34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

We must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and be baptized... Please note that the underlined, believing in God with all his house is written after having been baptized, he and all his, straightway.

Was Mark wrong when he wrote the following?

Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Many will teach that all one must do to be saved is simply to believe that Jesus Christ existed... but if we do nothing more then believe of his existence, we have done nothing more then Devils do, for it is written...

Jam 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

If you have not done more then the Devils, you will not be saved. Believing on the Lord Jesus means, believing on what he taught to be saved, and the answer to the question is... A good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ by being baptized... without baptism, we have had no response to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have yet to be saved by his resurrection from the dead... Baptism is that answer of a good conscience towards God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ his son, baptism is our death, burial, and resurrection with Christ. When we are baptized, we have a good conscience towards God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, having answered the commandment to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus...

1Pe 3:21 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:

This is the same Answer that those on Pentecost found for salvation, when they asked Peter and the rest of the Apostles, men and brethren what shall we do?

Act 2:37 Now when they heard [this], they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men [and] brethren, what shall we do?

And Peters answer to the question, what shall we do was??

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Those on the day of Pentecost who gladly received the words of Peter were baptized for the remission of their sins in the name of Jesus Christ, by the authority of Jesus Christ...

Act 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added [unto them] about three thousand souls.

And God adds to the church daily, such as should be saved... this is how we know there is one church, because God does not add us to a church he has not authorized or given us... He only adds us to the church of his son Jesus Christ... all the saved are in the church of Christ and outside the church of Christ is no salvation... Jesus purchased his church with his own blood and it bears his name, the church of Christ... and his people are called by one name, not a thousand different names, just one, Christian... Think hard on this, did God add you to His church, or did you join a church made by man and accept a name not given by God?? If so, you are not in the church of Jesus Christ, because you have not obeyed the truth through the Spirit... The Lord adds to the church daily such as should be saved... those who have been baptized for the remission of their sins are added to his church and translated into his kingdom of his dear son, which is the church of his dear son, the church of Christ...

Act 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

If you cannot consciously say you have been baptized into Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, into Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, then you cannot have a good conscience towards God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ... then you must be baptized again correctly even as those at Ephesus, who did not answer it correctly and had to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus...

Act 19:1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,
Act 19:2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.
Act 19:3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
Act 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
Act 19:5 When they heard [this], they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

If we have not been baptized as Christ has said, our baptism is not by his authority, and rendered useless even as those at Ephesus were rendered worthless, until they obeyed the truth of the gospel... Peter says, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible seed, by the word of God... If we are not baptized as God has set forth, then the seed was not from the word of God and any seed which is not his cannot produce the wheat it should, but produces tares...

1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, [see that ye] love one another with a pure heart fervently:

We have not obeyed the truth through which the Spirit has given us if we have not followed the instructions given by Him... our souls are purified when we obey the truth He gave us... God has given us explicit instructions on how to be saved, and even as those at Ephesus, if we have not obeyed the truth through the Spirit, we are not saved until we do... The Ephesians followed a teaching which was not by the authority of Jesus, when Jesus had died and given instruction unto his Apostles, they had followed a teaching that was in effect prior to Jesus being Crucified and resurrected, and it was no longer in effect... (John's baptism) so we must know exactly what Jesus said and instructed his Apostles to teach if we want our baptism to by the authority of Jesus Christ... Don't think just because you were baptized, that your baptism is any more correct then those of the Ephesians were until Paul taught them the truth and the authorized way of Jesus to be baptized...

The following is what you need to do to become saved... I pray that you will obey the truth through the Spirit... the consequences are separation from God for eternity in a place known as hell, and the lake of fire, the second death... Satan has waged a war with God, and has Lost already, he was defeated by Jesus Christ upon the cross at Calvary victorious over sin and death... and was resurrected from the dead by the Power of God and his blood is the atoning sacrifice that takes away our sins, if we will be baptized in his name, having faith in God to take away our sins in baptism... I pray you will take this teaching and learn of it and the ways of the Lord, that one day you will stand before God and his throne and not be condemned with the world, having Jesus Christ as your advocate and savior... God has done his part, now its time for you to do your part... either you love God and want to obey him, or you are the enemy of God and will perish in your sins and spend eternity in torments and eternal flame, its time to make your choice whom ye will serve... Winners win, and Losers Lose, God has won and Satan has lost... Will you choose life or death? What will your "ANSWER" be??

How to be saved from your sins...
God's Part:

God, in His infinite Love and Mercy, extended GRACE to man at the cross at Calvary. Jesus Christ, the sinless Lamb of God, was crucified shedding his blood for the sins of man, was buried, and rose again the third day victorious over sin and death!
(1Cor.15:1-4)

Man's Part:

1) To HEAR the gospel... So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
(Rom. 10:17), Rom. 1:16)

2) To have FAITH ... which only comes by hearing the Word of God and without which it is impossible to please God
(Rom.10:17, Rom. 1:16, Eph.2:8-10, Heb.11:6)

3) To REPENT ... of (turn from) your sins
(Luke 13:3,5, Acts 2:38, 3:19, 2Cor. 7:10)

4) To CONFESS ... with your mouth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God
(Rom.10:9-10, Matt. 10:32, Luke 12:8, Acts 8:37)

5) To be BAPTIZED ... (immersed in water) into Jesus Christ to have your sins forgiven (washed away)by the blood of Christ
(Matt 28:19-20, Mark 16:16, John 3:3-5, Acts 2:38, 8:35-39, 10:47-48, 22:16, Rom.6:3-7, 1Cor. 12:13, 15:29, Gal. 3:27, Eph. 4:5, 5:26, Col.2:11-13, 1Pet.3:20-21)

6) To CONTINUE in faith ... to live a faithful life in Christ and not allow yourself to be moved away from the hope of the Gospel
(Acts 14:22, Col.1:23, Rev. 3:5)