“Get With The Plan”

Thursday, January 16, 2014

What is the biblical plan of salvation?

Sincerely,
Confused

Dear Confused,

God’s plan for our salvation is a very straightforward process that can be logically seen and understood through the Bible.

1. Hear the Gospel and recognize your need for salvation.  The Bible tells us “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23).  The vast majority of people live life without considering their eternal condition.  Unless we are in Christ, we are lost.  Jesus is the only way to get to heaven (Jhn 14:6), and only when we have faith in Him are we saved (Acts 4:12).  The Bible is God’s good news about Jesus, and it is impossible to know how to be saved without knowing what the Bible says.
2. You must believe what the Bible says.  It is impossible to please God without placing your faith in Him (Heb 11:6).  It is impossible to have faith without the Scriptures (Rom 10:17).  Faith alone won’t save you (Jas 2:22-26), but faith in God needs to be what directs your choices.
3. Repent of your sins. ‘Repent’ means to ‘change your mind’. That change of mind always involves a change of action as well. Repentance is when we change our mind about what is important and submit ourselves to Jesus and His Word. Repentance is a necessity of salvation (Mk 6:12, Lk 13:5, Lk 15:7).
4. Confess Jesus to others. If we have sworn our allegiance to Jesus, we must be prepared to publicly confess Him as our Lord. If we won’t confess Jesus before men, He won’t confess us before God (Matt 10:32-33, Lk 12:8-9).
5. Be baptized in the name of Jesus for salvation. Many groups baptize people, but very few baptize people for the right reasons. Baptism isn’t merely an “outward showing of an inward faith” or “for membership”. Baptism is what saves us (1 Pet 3:21). Baptism is the point where someone goes from being lost to saved because they are buried and resurrected with Christ (Rom 6:4-5). Baptism is the final requirement to become a christian (Acts 2:37-38, Mk 16:16, Acts 2:41). There is not a single example of someone becoming a christian without baptism. Baptism is just as necessary as the other four requirements.

After that, there remains nothing else but to find a faithful congregation to assemble with (Heb 10:24) that teaches God’s Word and God’s Word only (see “Finding a Church” for more details) and to continue to grow in knowledge and practice of God’s Word (1 Pet 2:2).

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