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Doctrinal Discussions:
Five Steps To Salvation
August 10, 2001
These studies examine the traditional doctrines held by the Church of Christ to see if they are actually taught in the scriptures. This is not an "anti-Church of Christ" site. I was reared in the Church of Christ and have been preaching since 1968 in the Church of Christ. My desire is that we walk righteously before God, not according to traditions of men. Bernie Parsons
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By Bernie Parsons - August 17, 2001
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Romans 8:9 KJV
Hello, Family & Friends,
One of the techniques that came out of the Restoration Movement of the late 1800's and early 1900's was the use of inductive reasoning, an attempt to use scientific methods to discover the truths of the Bible. Alexander Campbell was a key proponent of this methodology. One of his associates apparently came up with the concept of "command, example, and necessary inference" that is still used today in the Church of Christ to try to determine what we must believe. I hear much talk and debate about hermeneutics, their value, and their short-comings. I think that these man-made devices, as admirable and as effective as they were to move Christians out of the realm of "spiritual experience" to so-called "Bible fact", are no substitute for a Spirit-guided study of the Bible.
The Bible suggests still a third way to learn the truth. It is found neither in a "spiritual sign", nor is it found in "man's wisdom". In fact, both of those techniques are condemned by the Apostle Paul.
1 Corinthians 1:22-24 "For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."
There is very much a spiritual component to the soul's salvation. It is not obtained through dry ritual, through scientifically following a series of steps, as in a science experiment. (Read the discussion on Spirit & Truth). In fact, when we discuss salvation in the Church of Christ, we often refer to the "Five Steps To Salvation", a holdover from the application of inductive reasoning to Bible study. Yet, neither Jesus nor His apostles referred to a "Plan of Salvation" that consists of "Five Steps". If Jesus and His apostles did not present it thusly, why should we? It has led us to discount the role of God's Holy Spirit in our becoming and remaining a Christian. I have officiated at several funerals where the first question usually asked is, "Were they baptized?" Not, "Did they live a godly life?" Others ask, "Did they attend church regularly?", instead of asking, "Were they righteous?" We have substituted baptism and "regular church attendance" for a pure and righteous heart.
John 3:5-8 "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."
Perhaps if we acknowledge that one must be born again of the Spirit, maybe we can convince some of our denominational friends that we must also be born again of the water. We do the gospel of Jesus Christ no service by denying one or the other. But, rather than merely preaching "H-B-R-C-B" as The Five Steps (if you are in the Church of Christ, you know what I am talking about), each Christian must be able to explain what God expects and requires.
1 Peter 3:15 "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:"
If someone asks you how to become a child of God, do you merely recite "Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess, and Be Baptized", or are you able to frankly discuss the scriptures and how the gospel leads a person to Christ?
We must be able to emphasize to our interested listeners how that they must listen to God, our Creator and Judge, and how that they cannot afford to stop their ears against God's truths.
Matthew 13:13-16 "Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear."
Romans 10:13-15 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"
We tell people, "You must hear!" and often fail to tell them why they must hear, what they must hear, and who they must hear.
Luke 4:4 "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."
Luke 9:33-35 "And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him."
John 14:10 "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works."
We tell people, "You must believe!", but we often fail to tell them about whom and about what they must believe. We must be prepared to explain that faith is trust, and that we must trust God, and His holy son, Jesus. If we do not trust the words of God and Jesus, then there is no point in listening, is there? If God is Almighty, and Jesus is His son, would it not be in our best interests to trust them? If we trust them, then we will also obey them. Faith moves us to do the will and work of God.
Hebrews 11:5-6 "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
John 12:42-46 "Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Jesus cried and said, He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me. And he that seeth me seeth him that sent me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness."
Romans 3:23-26 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
Next we tell folks, "You must repent!", and I find that many of us don't quite grasp repentance ourselves. God has continually called for repentance, and wants every person to repent of sinfulness and rejection of His will. We must abandon our rebellion against our Maker and aquiesce to His will, for we cannot save ourselves by following our own inclinations.
Jeremiah 10:23-24 "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing."
Proverbs 3:5-7 "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil."
Eccleisastes 12:13-14 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
Acts 20:20-21 "And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."
Matthew 4:17 "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Luke 24:46-47 "And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."
Acts 17:30-31 "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."
Acts 2:36-39 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. 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? 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. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call."
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
We also tell propsective converts that they must "Confess", but we need to be able to explain what this means, and why it is a good thing to do. I find no commandment to "confess" prior to becoming a child of God, but we do have an excellent example of a new convert doing this very thing. Why would we not want to confess Jesus as the Son of God, as we are being added to His body? We must not be ashamed to worship God through Jesus Christ, nor to honor the name of Jesus. (Read "What's In A Name?")
Acts 8:35-37 "Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
Matthew 10:32-33 "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."
Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
An aspect of becoming a Christian that is controversial with those of Calvinist derivation is the fact that we must be baptized. Again, we must be able to discuss this intelligently and compassionately with those who may have questions about it. We should not take a holier-than-thou attitude, but one of humble service--our goal is to save souls, not win debates. Jesus, and the Holy Spirit-inspired apostles did say that baptism is for salvation. But, as Apostle Peter pointed out, it is not the washing of the body that cleanses us, but the answer of our clean conscience when we realize that the blood of Jesus has cleansed us of our past sins. (Read "Body & Blood".)
1 Peter 3:20-22 "Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 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: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him."
Romans 3:23-26 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
We ought to explain that Jesus set the example of baptism, and that we should follow it. Additionally, He commanded His disciples to baptize each believer for his or her salvation. At the time of this baptism the blood of Jesus washes away past sins, and the Holy Spirit of God then lives within the baptized believer. The new Christian is born again of the water and of the spirit. (Read "Spirit and Truth".)
Matthew 3:13-16 "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:"
Mark 16:15-16 "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
Acts 2:36-38 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. 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? 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."
Acts 22:16 "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
For more on baptism, read "Baptism: Water, Spirit, or Fire?".)
The next time someone asks about being saved, don't just rattle off "Hear-Believe-Repent-Confess-Be Baptized", and don't hand them a tract, or tell them to talk to your minister. Be ready to give an answer of the hope that lies within you!
Christians must be prepared to sincerely and intelligently discuss the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how one is added to the body of Christ, the church of Christ. We must abandon denominational rhetoric and the logic of men, and let the Holy Spirit do His work. Salvation comes not from following a ritualistic set of "steps", nor from the rite of pronouncing certain words--it comes when we are born again of water and of the Spirit of God, when the blood of Jesus cleanses us from our past sins.
God bless all!
Love, in Christ,
Bernie
