God's Plan of Salvation?
SOCIAL MEDIA STATEMENT ON SALVATION
This is God’s plan of eternal salvation:
1. You must HEAR (Romans 1:16, 10:14,17)
2. You must REPENT (Acts 2:38, 3:19, 17:30)
3. You must CONFESS (Romans 10:9-10, Matthew 10:32-33)
4. You must BE BAPTIZED (Acts 2:38, 22;16, Mark 16:16)
5. You must LIVE FAITHFULLY (Revelation 2:10, Matthew 6:33, Romans 12:1-2, I Corinthians 15:58).
RESPONSE
Let’s take a closer look at each of these…
"Hear" - a natural man cannot receive the things of the spirit of God (I Corinthians 2:14). Those who "hear" spiritual truth are already in possession of eternal life and have faith, because "therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith TO FAITH." (Romans 1:17).
Conclusion: Hearing is an evidence of eternal salvation not a prerequisite.
"Believe" - believing requires faith. Only the regenerate have faith because it is a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22). It follows that believing is an evidence that one is eternally saved not a prerequisite to getting eternally saved.
Conclusion: Believing is an evidence of eternal salvation not a prerequisite.
"Repent" - no man can repent in sincerity without believing.
Conclusion: Repenting is an evidence of eternal salvation not a prerequisite.
"Confess" - Jesus taught "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." (Matthew 12:34) The fallen heart of unregenerate men is "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9) and "their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." (Romans 3:14) Such a man cannot confess Christ in sincerity, else his mouth is not FULL of cursing and bitterness.
Conclusion: Confessing is an evidence of eternal salvation not a prerequisite.
"Be Baptized" - Baptism is a work of righteousness and we're eternally saved "not by works of righteousness which we have done." (Titus 3:5) To be eternally saved by baptism is to be saved by works.
Conclusion: Baptism is an evidence of eternal salvation not a prerequisite.
"Live Faithfully" - living faithfully requires innumerable works of righteousness and thus this requirement likewise promotes salvation by works. We work righteousness as our "reasonable service to God" (Romans 12:1) because that is the new creation is created unto good works (Ephesians 2:10).
Conclusion: living faithfully is an evidence of eternal salvation not a prerequisite.
CONCLUSION
Hearing, believing, confessing, repenting, baptism, and living godly are all good things that Christians ought to do. We encourage all of God’s people to hear, believe, confess, repent, be baptized, and live godly. However, none of these are requirements for obtaining the free gift of eternal life. That is because a man who is dead in trespasses and sins CANNOT perform any of these acts in sincerity, and by the time he can, he is already in a state of eternal salvation. The fact that these are not prerequisites to obtaining eternal life is evidently true by the aforementioned proofs as well as from the many biblical examples of saints of God who did not do all of these things (baptism for example). Hearing, believing, confessing, repenting, the obedience of baptism, and living godly are all evidences of the eternal salvation that men already possess, not requirements for obtaining eternal life. When it comes to eternal salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ met all of the requirements for his people and that is why he is “the Lord our Righteousness.” (Jeremiah 33:16, II Corinthians 5:21)
POSSIBILITARIANISM VS THE GRACE OF CHRIST
At the end of the day, the doctrine of Christian salvation revolves around one question: What did Jesus Christ accomplish? Those who believe he made salvation possible are Possibilitiarians. They may disagree on what else is required for eternal life, but they are all in agreement that the blood of Jesus Christ alone was insufficient for the salvation of any man, apart from man's improvement of that work. Those who believe the Jesus Christ got the job done without any participatory involvement from man at all, are those who believe that salvation is by the grace of Christ (Galatians 1:6).
- Elder Daniel Samons