“Man’s Salvation”
Jarrod M. Jacobs
The Bible teaches that Christ died for all (Matt. 20:28; II Cor. 5:14-15). In doing this, Jesus made salvation possible to all if we will hear and obey Him (Matt. 7:21-27, 17:5; Jas. 1:22-25, 2:24; Heb. 5:9). When studying about salvation, we need to understand that God has sent His Son to die for man (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:8); that Jesus came willingly (Rev. 13:8); and that the Holy Spirit has revealed the truth in the Bible (Jn. 16:13; Jude 3). All three in the Godhead had a part in man’s salvation, and now, we must willingly obey if we wish to be saved (Heb. 3:7-8, 5:8-9).
What is necessary to obey God? What has He said is essential to be saved? God has commanded that in order to be saved, one must hear God’s word (Rom. 10:17), believe that Jesus is the Son of God (Jn. 8:24), repent of his sins (Acts 17:30), confess his faith in Jesus (Rom. 10:10), and be baptized (Mk. 16:16). Upon accepting these conditions, one is saved. This is not because man earned his salvation but because he fulfilled the conditions Christ laid out. Have you obeyed the Lord’s plan of salvation?
Sometimes, people balk at this teaching, saying that we cannot find folks obeying this plan in one place in Scripture. Is this true? Can we find a passage where lost people followed these steps? Yes, we can. Let us study Acts 2. The Jews on the day of Pentecost were told to hear the word (v. 22). They then were to believe what was said (v. 36). After hearing and believing that Jesus was the Son of God, they asked, “What shall we do?” (v. 37). They were then told to repent and be baptized (v. 38). As a result of the preaching that day, about 3000 souls were saved (Acts 2:42). Further, we see souls saved daily as a result of daily preaching. (Acts 2:47). No doubt, people who were saved in the days following heard the same message that was first spoken on the day of Pentecost.
Other passages we might study include Acts 8:26-39 and Acts 16:25-34. In Acts 8:26-39, the eunuch heard the word (v. 35), believed and confessed Jesus as the Son of God (v. 37). He was then baptized for the remission of his sins (v. 38-39). In Acts 16:25-34, we see the Philippian jailor hearing the truth (v. 32 – which produced faith, Rom. 10:17). He then “washed their stripes” (repentance, v. 33), and was baptized (v. 33). These and other cases of conversion show us that those who were saved had followed the same plan of salvation as was first preached on Pentecost (Acts 2). Man’s salvation from then until now has always resulted from us meeting the Lord’s conditions and living faithfully for Him as long as we are on earth (I Cor. 15:58).