Posted on 05/05/2020 2:23:51 PM PDT by RaceBannon
What must I do to be saved? Some people ask this question, and it must be answered! Have you ever heard someone say they are a Born Again Christian? Do you know what it means to be "Born Again"? The Bible says, "John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: Jn 3:2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jn 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of God."
All Adam and Eve had to do was obey one simple thing, to NOT eat of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, but they disobeyed. This event is when Sin entered into Men. Notice the Serpent, though, the Serpent tempted Eve, knowing he was stretching the truth, lying to Eve, to make her disobey God! That is Sin, and that is why we know this Serpent as The Devil, or Satan! Because Satan tempted Eve, and because Adam did what his wife did, sin entered into mankind. God promised them a punishment for that disobedience, that they would Die! Gen 2:15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Gen 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
Some have said a direct translation into English would read, “DYING, THOU SHALT SURELY DIE!” Meaning, when the body dies, the eternal soul dies forever in condemnation! God’s condemnation of sin caused our soul to be dead RIGHT NOW! If our soul was alive, when our bodies die, we would go to Heaven, but if our soul is dead, then when our body dies, we die eternally!
So what did God do to Adam and Eve? We have an open confession in fear, we do have them making an explanation that is accurate. And, it appears God was merciful to them. Notice what Adam and Eve noticed about themselves: they were naked! Even though they were husband and wife, their nakedness was an embarrassment to them, and they had already known each other as being naked before! This knowledge of this was their new sense of right and wrong, that there should be some form of modesty in public for men and women.
They also hid themselves from God: Gen 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they [were] naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. Gen 3:8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. Gen 3:9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where [art] thou? Gen 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] naked; and I hid myself. Gen 3:11 And he said, Who told thee that thou [wast] naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? Gen 3:12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest [to be] with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. Gen 3:13 And the Lord God said unto the woman, What [is] this [that] thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. But look what God did... Gen 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. God took an animal and killed it. he took the skins of the animal and covered the nakedness of Adam and Eve. This is important. God covered what they knew was sinful, wrong, revealing what should have been private or modest, and God did it using the skin of an innocent animal that God himself had provided on Earth for Adam to reign over, and that animal became a sacrifice to cover the knowledge of sin for Adam and Eve. It is important here to see: God provided the sacrifice, God killed an innocent animal to cover the sin of the guilty, God showed that forgiveness came through the shed blood of the innocent; or else Adam and Eve would have been destroyed forever! This example was again demonstrated with Adam and Eve's sons, Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel came to present gifts to God in worship. Abel killed an animal in sacrifice, but Cain took crops he grew from the ground, crops that God caused to grow from the nutrients in the soil and water in the ground. God was not pleased. Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. Gen 4:4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: Gen 4:5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Cain did not understand, God is not pleased with our works when it comes to forgiveness of sin. We are supposed to do good works because God works! But, Forgiveness comes from blood being shed, innocent blood, and Cain would have been taught this from his parents from birth, the original source! And Abel did that which was right! Cain then killed his own brother, he let his sin rule his heart, because he rejected the God of his father.
Something similar happened years later. Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, as an act of worship to God. This sounds horrible, Isaac was the promised son to Abraham, the one whom God promised would be the father of many to bless the world! But Abraham was faithful, and raised the knife to slay his son, and then God stepped in: Gen 22:1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, [here] I [am]. Gen 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. Gen 22:3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Gen 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. Gen 22:5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. Gen 22:6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid [it] upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. Gen 22:7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here [am] I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where [is] the lamb for a burnt offering? Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. Gen 22:9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. Gen 22:10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. Gen 22:11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here [am] I. Gen 22:12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son] from me. Gen 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind [him] a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. Gen 22:14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah–jireh: as it is said [to] this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
Notice here, once Abraham proved he believed God by faith, God stepped in and provided the sacrifice! God provided the innocent animal! The male sheep! Done as a miracle! God did something years later with Moses. When Pharaoh did not let the Jews leave Egypt, God sent an Angel down to slay the first born of Egypt, and warned the Jews that their own first born would die, also, if they did not heed the warning: Kill an innocent lamb and paint the doorposts of your house with the blood of the Lamb, that when the Angel of Death sees the blood, it will pass over that house, and the first born of that house will live: Ex 12:21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover. Ex 12:22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip [it] in the blood that [is] in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that [is] in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning. Ex 12:23 For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite [you]. Ex 12:24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. Ex 12:25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. Ex 12:26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? Ex 12:27 That ye shall say, It [is] the sacrifice of the Lord's passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. Ex 12:28 And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. Ex 12:29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that [was] in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. Ex 12:30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for [there was] not a house where [there was] not one dead.
The Bible repeats this theme in the New Testament, all men are now sinners! Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: We have a term, that those who are UNDER THE BLOOD are saved, are born again, this is where it came from, the blood of an innocent lamb, painted on the door posts and top door jamb, over the head of the door... So, Why did Jesus die on the Cross? Did He come to earth to just be a good man? Did He come to be a good teacher? No, those are incomplete definitions, and if that is all you know, then you do not know enough! Jesus came from God himself. Jesus was NOT born of a man, but from God, from God's Holy Spirit, in a miracle through a chosen woman, Mary: Luke 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, Lk 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name [was] Mary. Lk 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, [thou that art] highly favoured, the Lord [is] with thee: blessed [art] thou among women. Lk 1:29 And when she saw [him], she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. Lk 1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. Lk 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. Lk 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: Lk 1:33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Lk 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? Lk 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Lk 1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. Lk 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. Lk 1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
From here, we can see there is something about human childbirth, that if a human MAN is involved, then SIN is involved, for Jesus had NO SIN. God provided the sinless one, the innocent one; To die for us. How is this? John the Baptist called Jesus: Jn 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Jesus was that LAMB of God, to die on the Cross, to take the sins of the WORLD upon Himself, so that all who believe on Him, will receive eternal life. So, why does a person need to become a Born Again? These things are not a recipe, but, understand, that they go together, God knows your heart, He knows your works, he knows what you mean, consider what these verses say: Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; All men have sinned, me, you, and everyone: Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God [which is] by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Just as Cain's works were not recognized, but Abel's faith WAS recognized, we CANNOT please God when it comes to our salvation, we are NOT made righteous by our good deeds: Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Remember, God IS a God of LOVE, He is NOT waiting to judge us for our sin, no matter how much we deserve it, He is waiting to receive us in forgiveness!! Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So, what should we do? Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
God did not create hell for us, He created it for Satan and his evil angels: Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: THIS WAS NOT CREATED FOR MEN! Hell was created for SATAN and the angels that fell with him!
Men do NOT have to go to hell!
There is only one reason men go to hell, it is because we reject Jesus: Jn 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
The act of willfully believing that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah, brings Salvation to the sinner, and God promised to bless us to make us alive again, who were once dead in sin.
So, what does it mean to be “Born Again”? Before a man or woman believes on Jesus Christ, our spirit inside us is considered DEAD by our Lord: Eph 2:1 And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins; That is what it meant when God said, “Gen 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. DYING, We Shall Surely Die! That means that the living spirit inside men and women does not have eternal life, it is dead! God promised us that when we believe, He would send us HIS spirit to dwell in our hearts by faith: Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Once we believe, our spirit in us is MADE ALIVE, we are QUICKENED by God’s spirit living in us!
Paul made it clear, if you are a believer, you have the Spirit of God living inside you RIGHT NOW! 1Cor 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? To be BORN AGAIN means you have gone from Death Unto Life! Jesus said: Jn 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
That is what it means to be BORN AGAIN, but…
The Bible is clear, to be BORN AGAIN, you must repent of your sin and believe on The Lord Jesus Christ!
The Bible declares, those who have the Spirit have repented of their sins and believed on The Lord Jesus Christ! 2Cor 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, [is] God; 2Cor 1:22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Eph 1:13 In whom ye also [trusted], after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Will you repent of your sin and believe on the Son today? If you do, you will receive ETERNAL LIFE! Jn 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 1Jn 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 1Jn 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; [and] he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 1Jn 5:13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. For spiritual help, please contact: sidewalkministry@att.net
Romans 6:3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
Romans 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection,
Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin;
Romans 6:7 for he who has died is freed from sin. Romans 6:8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
Romans 6:9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
Romans 6:10 For the death that He died, He died to sin, once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
Romans 6:11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Though, I would not discount Christ’s own words in John 6 or Matt 25 as well...... Letters to the Romans is good for sure, but Christ’s own words should matter as well...
Apparently, it involves a lot of words.
Baptism does not save you.
1 Peter 3:20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
1 Peter 3:21 And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you-- not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience-- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
1 Peter 3:22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.
In 1st Peter, it actually clearly says that it does when one obeys the command to be baptized with the heart, genuinely. It is very clear.
1Pet 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
1Pet 3:19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
1Pet 3:20 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.
1Pet 3:21 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:
1Pet 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
Baptism here is the LIKE figure, such as what was quoted in Romans earlier.
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also [in the likeness] of [his] resurrection:
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with [him], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Rom 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Rom 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Buried with Him in baptism, is a metaphor, when Christ died, we died and when Christ rose again to eternal life, we rose out of the water as a public statement that we have believed, we put the label on the can.
http://www.middletownbiblechurch.org/salvatio/baptsave.htm
Does Water Baptism Save?
A Biblical Refutation of Baptismal Regeneration
Baptism is akin to wearing a wedding ring - a open/public display of your belief. Being baptized by a pries when you’re too young to comprehend what is going on gets you a wet head and a oily spot on your forehead...and parents who think they just saved your soul...
Yep - Baptism by water is a public display/statement that you have supplicated yourself to Christ and asked for His incredible gift...like wearing a wedding ring to tell folks you have engaged in the act of being married and taking vows to your spouse.
The Bible is very clear (including Acts 2:38). I am not going to get into a protracted argument with you.
The Bible is very clear and you are concentrating on a couple verses taken out of context.
Did God’s plan of salvation change?
Were some men justified by works, ever?
You claim that an act must be performed by men for salvation, meaning that a person can repent, believe, and have months go by before baptism and only then are they saved.
Did the thief on the cross get baptised?
God’s plan is the same for everyone, always was. Always will be.
Salvation by faith, through grace.
Nothing else.
Rom 4:1 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
Rom 4:2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath [whereof] to glory; but not before God.
Rom 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.
Rom 4:4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.
Rom 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
I’m so glad I was made aware of my sins, by faith came to God for the remission of my sins by appealing to Him in the name of His dear Son and his substitutional death on the cross where he bore my own sins in His body on the tree, and received forgiveness of sins by faith in His finished work, and then, rose and, in obedience to His command, was baptized, acknowledging to the world around me that I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
James 2:18 But someone may well say, "You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works."
James 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
James 2:20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?
James 2:22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected;
Even Abraham had to obey God to be justified by (obedient) faith. There IS both (obedient) faith and works involved in salvation. Man must obey God and THEN the grace through Jesus kicks in. The Bible is clear.
Isn’t it awful that we feel we have to give a doctrinal statement to just say we got saved?
I like what you said, please dont misunderstand, it is just some people dont read their Bible and use 3 or 4 verses to contradict what 20 or 30 verses say outright.
I said something like that when I got baptised:
I am here today to be baptised according to the Lord’s command, to declare that I have been saved by grace through faith, and that I am being baptised to declare that when He died, I died and I want to publicly declare it today.
Something like that, 30 years ago or so.
Showing works only proves you have faith before men, not God.
If you say you have faith, your life should show it.
You need a new Bible teacher, for what you have been taught is wrong.
God’s plan of salvation was always the same, repent of your sin and believe. Men were never saved by an outside work.
Everything in Galatians shows that Water Baptism, which is an outward work, never saved anyone.
Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Gal 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, [saying], In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Gal 3:9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Gal 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, [it is] evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Gal 3:12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree:
Gal 3:14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Gal 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though [it be] but a man’s covenant, yet [if it be] confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Gal 3:17 And this I say, [that] the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
Gal 3:18 For if the inheritance [be] of the law, [it is] no more of promise: but God gave [it] to Abraham by promise.
Gal 3:19 Wherefore then [serveth] the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; [and it was] ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
Gal 3:20 Now a mediator is not [a mediator] of one, but God is one.
Gal 3:21 [Is] the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
Gal 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
I think what is amazing (and maybe it’s God’s way of bringing assurance) that we CAN cite doctrinal truth as part of our testimony about being saved!
As someone said elsewhere (and as I recall the elder of the assembly I attended where I was baptized also stated), baptism is an outward sign of an inward faith. It’s the Lord’s mechanism for us to tell all the world that something has happened to this individual you see here in the water. It opens up a door for conversation (witnessing) and, yes, for ridicule and mockery from those who do not/will not believe. We thus, identify with Christ. We declare to a dying world, “I choose to live with Him!”
Amen :)
That's a lot of words for something God said in much fewer.
That is what I have read in the Bible. It speaks for itself. You sir, are incorrect. I am going to stick with what it says in the Bible.
1 ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
3 ¶ For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Romans 12: 1-3
There is enough faith given to each of us to be saved. We each have times in our life when God draws us to Him for salvation. We make that decision by our free will. Salvation is turning to God with the faith He has given us to believe in His Son, the Messiah, Jesus, dying, buried and rising again. Knowing we cannot stand before God without the washing of His shed blood to take away our sins. From then it is a love affair of our spirit. We
learn to know Him better thru His word. It is a relationship in which He reveals Himself to each of us thru His Word.
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