This is a C and P from AP. Enjoy, but most of all Obey!
THE ROAD HOME: SALVATION THROUGH
THE "OBEDIENCE OF FAITH"
The only way to find the "road home" to heaven is to follow God"s directions exactly. There are numerous things God has commanded that a person do in order to enjoin the "obedience of faith" and thereby receive the free gift of salvation. According to God"s Word, in order to be saved a person must do the following.
First, the sinner must hear God"s Word (Romans 10:17). Obviously, one cannot follow God"s commands if he has not heard them, so God commanded that people hear what He has said regarding salvation.
Second, one who is lost cannot be saved if he does not believe what he hears. So, God commanded that belief ensue (John 3:16; Acts 16:31).
Third, one who is lost cannot obtain salvation if he is unwilling to repent of his sins and seek forgiveness (Luke 13:3). Without repentance he will continue in sin; thus, God commanded repentance.
Fourth, since Christ is the basis of our salvation, God commanded the penitent sinner to confess Him before men as the Son of God (Romans 10:9-10).
However, this is not all that God commanded. Hearing, believing, repentance, and confession will not rid one of his sin. The overriding question is: How does one get rid of sin? Numerous times within the pages of the New Testament, that question is asked and answered. The Jews who had murdered Christ, and to whom Peter spoke on the Day of Pentecost when he ushered in the Christian age, asked that question. Peter"s sermon had convicted them. They were convinced that they were sinners, and desperately in need of salvation at the hand of an almighty God. Their question then became: "...brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37). Peter"s response could not have been any clearer. He told them: "repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins" (Acts 2:38). Saul, who later would become Paul, the famous apostle to the Gentiles, needed an answer to that same question. While on a trip to Damascus for the explicit purpose of persecuting Christians, Saul was blinded (see Acts 22). Realizing his plight, he asked: "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10). When God"s servant, Ananias, appeared to Saul in the city, he answered Saul"s question by commanding: "And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins" (Acts 22:16).
What, then, is the correct biblical answer regarding how one rids himself of soul-damning sin? The biblical solution is that the person who has heard the gospel, who has believed its message, who has repented of past sins, and who has confessed Christ as Lord must then"in order to receive remission (forgiveness) of sins"be baptized. [The English word "baptize" is a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo, meaning to immerse, dip, plunge beneath, or submerge (Thayer, 1958, p. 94).]
Further, it is baptism that puts a person "in Christ." Paul told the first-century Christians in Rome:
[blockquote]Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-4).[/blockquote]
Paul told the Galatians: "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ" (3:37, emp. added). Little wonder, then, that Peter spoke of baptism as that which saves (1 Peter 3:21).
Numerous New Testament writers made the point that it is only when we come into contact with Christ"s blood that our sins can be washed away (Ephesians 1:7-8; Revelation 5:9; Romans 5:8-9; Hebrews 9:12-14). The question arises: When did Jesus shed His blood? The answer, of course, is that He shed His blood on the Cross at His death (John 19:31-34). Where, and how, does one come into contact with Christ"s blood to obtain the forgiveness of sin that such contact ensures? Paul answered that question when he wrote to the Christians in Rome. It is only in baptism that contact with the blood, and the death, of Christ is made (Romans 6:3-11). Further, the ultimate hope of our resurrection (to live with Him in heaven) is linked to baptism. Paul wrote of "having been buried with him in baptism, wherein ye were raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead" (Colossians 2:12). If we are not baptized, we remain in our sins. If we are not baptized, we have no hope of the resurrection that leads to heaven.
Baptism, of course, is no less, or more, important than any other of God"s commands regarding what to do to be saved (see Jackson, 1997). But it is necessary. And one cannot be saved without it. Is baptism a command of God? Yes, it is (Acts 10:48). Is baptism where the remission of sins occurs? Yes, it is (Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; 1 Peter 3:21).
Some, who no doubt mean well, teach that a person is saved by "faith only." In other words, people are taught simply to "pray and ask Jesus to come into their hearts," so that they might be saved from their sins. This teaching, though widespread, is completely at odds with the Bible"s specific instructions regarding what one must do to be saved.
First, the Scriptures teach clearly that God does not hear (i.e., hear to respond with forgiveness) the prayer of an alien sinner (Psalm 34:15-16; Proverbs 15:29; Proverbs 28:9). Thus, the sinner can pray as long and as hard as he wants, but God has stated plainly how a person is to be saved. This makes perfect sense, since in John 14:6 Christ taught: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one cometh to the Father but by me." The alien sinner cannot approach God on his own, and, as an alien sinner, has no advocate to do so on his behalf. That is one of the spiritual blessings reserved for Christians (Ephesians 1:3). Thus, it is fruitless for an alien sinner to pray to God to "send Jesus into his heart." God does not hear (i.e., hear to respond to) such a request.
Second, the Scriptures plainly teach that man cannot be saved byfaith alone. James, in his epistle, remarked that indeed, a man may be justified (i.e., saved), but "not only by faith" (James 2:24). This, too, makes perfect sense. As James had observed just a few verses earlier: "Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well; the demons also believe, and shudder" (James 2:19). It is not enough merely to believe. Even the demons in hell believe, but they hardly are saved (see 2 Peter 2:4). It is obvious, therefore, that mere faith alone is insufficient to save.
Also, where, exactly, in the Scriptures does it teach that, in order to be saved, one is to "pray to ask Jesus to come into his heart"? Through the years, I have asked many within various religious groups this question, but have yet to find anyone who could provide a single biblical reference to substantiate such a claim. Salvation is not conditioned on prayer; it is conditioned on the "obedience of faith." Saul, as Christ"s enemy-turned-penitent, prayed earnestly. But the fact remains that his sins were removed ("washed away") only when he obeyed God"s command, as verbalized by Ananias, to be baptized. Prayer could not wash away Saul"s sins; the Lord"s blood could"at the point of baptism (Hebrews 9:22; Ephesians 5:26).
CONCLUSION
The biblical message"from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22"is that mankind is in a woefully sinful condition, and desperately in need of help in order to find his way "back home." A corollary to that message is that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11), and genuinely desires that all should be saved (John 3:16). But in order to be saved, one must do exactly what God commanded, in exactly the way God commanded it. When a person hears, believes, repents, confesses, and is baptized for the forgiveness of his sins, that person becomes a Christian"nothing more, and nothing less. God Himself then adds that Christian to His Son"s one true body"the church. The child of God who remains faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10) is promised a crown of life and eternity in heaven as a result of his faith, his obedience, God"s mercy, and God"s grace (John 14:15; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 1:5). What a joyous thought"to live the "abundant life" (John 10:10b) with a "peace that passeth understanding" (Philippians 4:7) here and now, and then to be rewarded with a home in heaven in the hereafter (John 14:2-3). What a joyous thought indeed!
Good read. Some other things to concider as the world is foscusing on Passover at this time of the year.
Choosing a lamb was obedience to a commandment given, (I choose Christ, ect), but didn't apply "the Blood". Slaying the chosen lamb also didn't apply any blood, although it was obedience again to a commandment given. Gathering a handful of hyssop was obedience, but didn't apply the blood. God didn't apply the blood. The death angel didn't apply the blood. Only when the head of the house dipped the hyssop into the blood and physically brushed the doorposts and lintles in complete obedience, was the blood applied.
That didn't get them out of bondage, only spared the firstborn, (The Church of the Firstborn). They had to continue in obedience and roast the Lamb, make the unleavened bread, prepare the bitter herbs and eat it ALL. Eat it gird about with a belt, sandals on their feet, and a staff in hand. Ready at a moments notice to obey the next commandment given. None were safely out of Egypt until they were baptised in the sea, and in the cloud and followed in perfect obedience the directions given by God through his choosen vessel. Before this time of obedience, no one ate manna from Heaven, drink water from the Rock, had their enemys driven out before them, ect. None crossed Jordan without first crossing the Red Sea, (baptized in the sea and in the cloud). Until Jordan was crossed, they continually were led by the cloud by day, and the Fire by night.
We are not our own, we are bought with a price.
Second, the Scriptures plainly teach that man cannot be saved byfaith alone. James, in his epistle, remarked that indeed, a man may be justified (i.e., saved), but "not only by faith" (James 2:24). This, too, makes perfect sense. As James had observed just a few verses earlier: "Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well; the demons also believe, and shudder" (James 2:19). It is not enough merely to believe. Even the demons in hell believe, but they hardly are saved (see 2 Peter 2:4). It is obvious, therefore, that mere faith alone is insufficient to save.
TF
WOW, now this goes against what the bible says. Hmmmm.....8For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved ([c]delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;
I guess some of you enjoy just selecting a few scriptures to meed your man made beliefs.
How to be saved by the Blood of Christ
