When a person is saved, he is added by the Lord to the
body of Christ—the church. What must one do to be saved, so
that the Lord will
add him to the church?
The first thing that we should notice is that there is
no one thing alone by which we are saved. We hear much today about
being saved
by “faith only” or “alone” and
about being saved by “grace only.” Common sense
would tell us that if we are saved by faith only, then the grace of God
could
not be involved in our salvation. Do this, if you will. If your
preacher has a
standard biblical concordance, or if you have one of your own, then
look up the
words save, saved and salvation. Jot down everything that you find in
the
passages listed in that concordance to which salvation is attributed,
and you
will be amazed at how many things are involved in one’s
salvation. The most
impressive thing that you will notice is that there is nothing
“alone” to which
it is attributed. This writer used Young’s concordance and
has found at least
twenty-three things, with a possibility of three other things. In the
following
list, please read each reference in its entirety. After you have done
so,
honestly ask yourself if there is any one of those things that can be
eliminated as one seeks the salvation that God so freely gives. The
list is
divided into two parts, and begins with the things that were necessary
for God
to do to make salvation possible for man. The second part of the list
contains
those things that God has given man to do to accept His gracious gift.
Please
start by reading the following passages: Isaiah
59:1-2; Proverbs
14:25;
Jeremiah 10:23.
God
Exodus 3:14;
Exodus 20:3
Love
John 3:16; 1
John 4:8;
Romans 5:6-8
Grace
Ephesians 2:8-9;
Titus 2:11;
Titus 3:7
The Word of God 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 1
Corinthians 1:21; 1 Peter 1:23
The Son of God John 1:14;
John
14:6; 1 Timothy 1:15;
Acts 4:11-12
The Blood of Christ Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12; Romans 5:9;
1 John
1:7
The Church
Matthew 16:18;
Acts 20:28;
Ephesians 5:23
Man
Matthew 4:4;
Revelation 22:18-19
Hear God’s word John 6:44-45;
Matthew 17:5;
Romans 10: 13-14
Believe
Acts 16:31;
John 6:29;
John 8:24;
Romans 10:17
Repent
Luke 13:3, 5;
Acts 2: 38;
Acts 3:19;
Acts 17:30
Confess Matthew 10:32-33;
Philippians 2:8-11:
Romans 10:9-10
Be Baptized Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38; Galatians 3:26-27; Romans
6:1-5;
1
Peter 3:21
Now, dear Reader, is there any one, or more, of the
above that you would erase from the Word of God and say that it is not
necessary in the process of man’s salvation? If there is,
which one? And, if one
can eliminate one thing, then why cannot another eliminate something
else? Can
we finally eliminate the Son of God? Surely not!
