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Part 1 (Hearing the
Gospel)
Once when I was teaching a Wednesday evening Bible class one of
the ladies in the class spoke up. As a part of what she said, she
commented on what she referred to as, The so-called plan of
salvation. For those of you who may not be familiar with what we
in the church of Christ believe concerning salvation, allow me to
offer this brief explanation. Someone, years ago, boiled down
God's plan for saving man into a simple formula. It was in no way
intended to ever be a formal church doctrine or creed, but rather
a helpful, five-step guide to lead the lost to Christ. The
formula was this, 1 Hear, 2 Believe, 3 Repent, 4 Confess, 5 Be
Baptized. This formula has been used extensively for many
years and has proven to be quite reliable. I was unfamiliar, at
the time, with hearing a member of the church questioning the
validity of that plan.
Being dedicated to the continuing work of fully restoring New
Testament Christianity to be a Christian and serve God in as
biblically accurate a manner as possible, I have come to believe
that it is a good and necessary thing for us in the church of
Christ to continually question the biblical soundness of what we
preach. Therefore, for the next few weeks, Lord willing, I will
attempt to test the validity of this formula.
The apostle Paul, quoting from the prophet Joel, wrote, Whoever
calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Joel 2:32). Paul,
himself, knew that this statement was somewhat ambiguous and
therefore he offered an explanation. He wrote, How then shall
they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall
they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:13-14). Certainly, it
should go without saying that before one can believe in Christ
(John 3:16) or obey the gospel (2Thessalonians 1:6-10), that one
must first hear the word of God. There are, however, those who
teach that all one must do to be saved is to believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God and accept Him as the Savior. Not being
satisfied with that teaching, I believe that hearing the complete
gospel of Christ should be stressed so that there can be no
misunderstanding it. As Paul continued, So then faith comes by
hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17). If the
apostle Paul was concerned enough to stress the importance of
hearing the word of God, so should we be.
Part 2 (Believing the Gospel)
A couple of weeks ago, I began a series of articles in which I
intend to examine the validity and also the reliability of the
so-called plan of salvation. Allow me again to state my opinion
that the formula of Hear, Believe, Repent, Confess, Be Baptized
was never intended to be a formal church doctrine or creed, but
rather a helpful, five-step guide to lead the lost to Christ.
Allow me also to state that it is my full understanding and
belief that the biblical requirements for salvation are far more
comprehensive and life-consuming than these initial five steps
which say nothing, for example, of the necessity of daily
devotion, church involvement, partaking of the Lord's Supper,
prayer, etc. These too, along with many other commands are
biblical requirements and a part of God's overall plan for saving
man.
The writer of the book of Hebrews wrote, Without faith it is
impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe
that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently
seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6). One might assume that most everyone
agrees that belief is a requirement for biblical salvation. There
is, however, some disagreement about what exactly we must
believe. Certainly, from a biblical standpoint, we must believe
that there is a God and that Jesus is the only-begotten Son of
God, sent to save those who believe (John 3:16). Since faith
comes by hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17), we must also
believe that the Bible is God's word, and that therein is
contained God's plan for saving man. Jesus sent out the apostles
with these words, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved;
but he who does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:15-16).
In this context Jesus is not talking about the basic belief in
God, but rather believing the gospel (good news of Jesus' death,
burial and resurrection (1Cor. 15:1-4). Common sense tells us
that when one hears the gospel that believing it is essential to
salvation. Where we often differ, however, is in our beliefs
concerning baptism. Jesus didn't mention baptism as an after
thought, but rather as a pre-requisite for salvation. It is clear
that if we are baptized without an accurate belief in the nature
and necessity of it that our baptism was ineffective and
therefore it was not biblical, New Testament, baptism at all.
Belief in God (i.e. faith) is unquestionably essential for
salvation. What you believe about God requires diligent seeking.
Let us not be satisfied with what man says we must believe, but
rather let us search the scriptures openly and honestly to find
out what we must believe.
Part 3 (Repenting of Sins)
We have already looked at Hearing and Believing the Gospel. It is
clear to me that these first two steps, have not only strong New
Testament support, but they also make good common sense. For
example, if one never heard the gospel how could that one
possibly believe in something that he/she knows nothing about
(Romans 10:14)?
The third step in the plan is to Repent. The word translated
repent literally means to perceive afterwards, and it signifies
to change one's mind or purpose (Vine's Expository Dictionary of
Old & New Testament Words pp. 279-280). To truly change one's
mind or purpose is not an easy thing to do. It must be preceded
by a great personal conviction. From the New Testament
perspective repentance means to change one's mind from a purpose
that leads to destruction to the purpose that leads to eternal
life (Matthew 7:13-14). On the day of Pentecost (Acts 2) the
Jews, after being convinced of their guilt in crucifying Jesus
their Lord and Christ, were commanded to Repent and let everyone
of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission
of sins (Acts 2:38). They had done a terrible thing which they had
no ability to change. They had only the power to change their
mind and purpose.
In 2 Corinthians 7:1-12 the apostle Paul described what happened
as a result of repentance in the church at Corinth. He wrote,
Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, For
observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner:
What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves,
what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal,
what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear
in this matter. (vv.10-11). As we can see, along with change of
mind and purpose we are led to change what we can change and
accept the reality of what we cannot change.
Repentance, however, is not said to take away sin, but rather it
produces in us a desire to be vindicated. While it is certainly a
requirement for salvation, it is only a step in the process.
Part 4 (Confessing Christ)
I acknowledge that any system of doctrine that comes from man,
even if it gives merely the appearance of impropriety, if it
makes us appear denominational, we would be better off never
mentioning it. My question is, How can something so Biblically
based be considered to have come from man rather than from God?
Let us consider this further.
The fourth step in the plan is to Confess. The critical question
here is, when exactly does salvation occur? Many believe and
teach that one is saved at the point when they confess Christ, or
call on His name, and therefore, give themselves to Him. This
contention, in my understanding, is based on the concept that by
grace you have been saved through faith, not of works lest anyone
should boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus said, Whoever confesses Me
before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in
heaven. (Matthew 10:32). Paul wrote, If you confess with your
mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart
one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, `Whoever believes on
Him will not be put to shame.' For there is no distinction
between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all
who call upon Him. For `whoever calls on the name of the Lord
shall be saved.' (Romans 10:9-13).
The above passages, and others, removed from their immediate
context and from the overall context of the Bible, would make it
appear that all one has to do to be saved is believe and call on
the name of Jesus. For example, when Paul continued in Romans
ten, he wrote, 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 unless they are sent? But they have not all
obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our
report?" (vv. 14-16). If, as claimed, one is saved at the moment
that they believe and call on the name of Jesus, what then is
this reference to obeying the gospel?
Jesus said, Go into all the world and preach the gospel. He who
believes and is baptized will be saved. (Mark 16:15-16). Ananias
said to Saul, Why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and
wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (Acts
22:26). Confession/calling on the name of the Lord is essential
to salvation, but nowhere does the Bible claim that believing in
Jesus and calling on His name is all that is required for
salvation.
Part 5 (Water Immersion for the Remission of Sins)
Jesus commissioned His apostles to, Go into all the world and
preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is
baptized will be saved; but, he who does not believe will be
condemned. (Mark 16:15-16). In obedience to this command, the
apostles went and preached the death, burial and resurrection of
Jesus, to Jews and Gentiles alike, and commanded the people to,
Repent, and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins; (Acts 2:38).
In Jesus' own words baptism precedes salvation (Mark 16:16).
Peter and Paul also said that baptism causes the forgiveness of
sins (Acts 2:38, 22:16). In baptism we come into contact with the
blood of Christ. To the Christians at Rome the apostle Paul
wrote, As many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were
baptized into His death. Therefore we were buried with Him
through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from
the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk
in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4). In baptism we find entrance
into Christ. Paul wrote, As many of you as were baptized into
Christ have put on Christ. (Galatians 3:27). Peter wrote, baptism
saves us (1Peter 3:21). Baptism is not a sign of salvation, but
rather a New Testament requirement for salvation.
Hear the gospel, believe it, repent of your sins, call on the
name of Christ, and be immersed in water. These are all New
Testament requirements for the forgiveness of all your past sins.
Without the forgiveness of sins one is not redeemed and therefore
cannot be reconciled to God. These, therefore are all preliminary
steps in God's plan of salvation.