Church
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100 Rena Road Van Buren Arkansas
72956
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Biblical Salvation
“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.” - 1John 5:13
Are you biblically confident of your salvation?
Do Your Best to Answer The Following Questions:
Do you believe in God?
Do you believe in heaven as a reward for those who are judged faithful by God?
Do you believe in hell as a place of torment and punishment for those judged unfaithful by God?
Do you believe that the Bible is God's word, and that in it is contained absolute truth for salvation?
What is your religious background?
What is your understanding about what a person has to do to be saved?
Have you ever been baptized?
What is your understanding of what baptism is for?
If you have ever been baptized, did you believe, at the time, that you were saved without, before, or as a result of baptism?
Would you mind if we looked at a few scriptures about this?
Key Scriptures & Key Questions:
The Necessity of Baptism
Mark 16:15-16 (also Matthew 28:19-20 and Luke 24:46-47)
What is the gospel? (death, burial & resurrection 1Cor. 15:1-4)
If Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved,” is it all right for me to say, “He who believes is saved and then ought to be baptized?”
Acts 1 & 2 (focus on 2:36-41 - It is best if you have a complete understanding of these two chapters)
What is baptism for? - what does it do for us?
If baptism is for the remission of sins, could it be possible to be saved before/without having your sins forgiven?
Romans 6:1-4
What is grace?
How did Paul indicate that the Romans had “died to sin”?
Sin separates us from God (spiritual death). When we are baptized into Christ's death, and buried with Him through baptism into death, it is then that the blood of Christ cleanses our soul by washing
away our sins. Then like Christ rose from the dead, we too come out of the watery grave to walk in newness of life. Since all of this occurs in baptism, how would it be possible to be saved without coming
in contact with the blood of Christ?
Galatians 3:26-27 (It would be to your advantage to understand both the content and the context of this entire chapter - compare this with Genesis chapters 12-17)
After reading verse 26 - What is faith?
What does it mean that we are the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus?
After reading verse 27 - Paul wrote that as many as were baptized “into” Christ have put on Christ.
If you are baptized into Christ, where are you before you are baptized into Christ? If baptism puts you into Christ, and if
before you are baptized into Christ you are outside of Christ, how could be it possible to be saved if you are outside of Christ?
1Peter 3:18-21
Noah and his family were saved from the flood inside the ark. God told Noah to build the ark out of gopher wood. He gave Noah specific instructions about exactly how the ark was to be built. Suppose Noah
had decided, on his own, to build the ark exactly how God commanded him in every point, except he decided to build it out of cedar rather than gopher wood. What do you think would have happened? Peter
wrote that like Noah and His family were saved by water, likewise baptism saves us. If baptism saves us, could it be possible to be saved before baptism saves us?
Water Immersion
Acts 8:26-39 (the Greek word for baptism literally means “to dip or plunge”, “to immerse or submerge” - Thayer's Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament pg. 94-95)
The Greek word baptizo (English: baptism) is literally translated “to dip or plunge”, “to immerse or submerge” (Thayer's). Our English word “baptism” is not a translation, but rather what is called a
transliteration (a Greek word that has been transformed into English). This English word first appeared in the translation authorized by King James of England. King James, as the head of the church of
England, did not hold with immersion as the only method of baptism,
and so his translators, rather than translating the word, to keep from offending their king, they transliterated it to allow king James to interpret it to his liking. Take the time to look up the word
baptize in Webster's Dictionary. Since baptism is symbolic of the death, burial & resurrection of Christ, and since New Testament, Christian baptism involves water, it is more accurate to bury someone
in water as Christ was buried in the tomb.
Why did Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch go down into the water?
Acts 10:47 (It is best to understand the entire context of Acts 10)
New Testament, Christian baptism is water immersion for the remission of sins.
Urgency
Acts 2:38-41 - “that day”
Acts 8:36 - “here is water…”
Acts 16:33 - “the same hour of the night…immediately”
Acts 22:16 - “Now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”
(*Note: If after examining and studying all of these scriptures you would like to discuss them with us further, please contact us by E-mail, phone, letter, or in person. We would love to hear from you
on this matter.)
David Banks