Uniontown
church of Christ
Man Must Hear The Gospel, Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Gospel, Gods power to Salvation. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Man Must Believe In Jesus Christ
John 3:16 "whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Man Must Repent, Make a decision to turn from all that is wrong and follow Christ. Luke 24:47 "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Acts 2:38 "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Man Must Confess Jesus As The Son Of God
Matthew 10:32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. Romans 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Man Must Be Baptized In Water, Immersed, For The Forgiveness Of Sins Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
1st Peter 3:20-21 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 soul were saved by water. 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:
Hearing
The word “Hearing” is used several times and in various ways in the Bible; but in this writing we want to study the subject of hearing in regard to the gospel .
(1) We Must Hear The Gospel Before We Can Ever Expect To Know What To Do In Order To Be Saved .
As we have already studied , we have found that the gospel is God’s power to save . (Romans 1 v 16) We also studied that the word “gospel” means “good news”.
The reason that Jesus commanded the disciples to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature ,” was because he new that people must hear this gospel before they would have any interest in or would know what to do in order to be saved .
I am sure that we would agree that before we would have any interest in a matter , we would want to hear about it . In fact , to take interest in any kind of message , we would first of all have to hear the message . So this is the way it is with the gospel of Christ.
On the day of Pentecost Mentioned in Acts 2 , we find beginning with verse 14 that Peter stood up with the eleven and preached the gospel to the people gathered there . Upon hearing the gospel , they cried out : “Men and brethren , what shall we do ?” (Acts 2 v 37). Peter told them to : “Repent and be baptized , everyone of you , in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins”. They did so.
In (Acts 8) , we find that Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them . Many of them believed and were baptized . In the same chapter, verses 26-40 , we have the example of the Ethiopian eunuch who heard the gospel , confessed Christ , and was baptized .
In all these examples we find that they first of all heard the gospel . This shows us by example that people had to first hear the gospel in order that they might know what to do in order to be saved .
(2) The Gospel Is The Only Power Of God To Save.
We have already studied how that God’s power is unlimited , that He is all powerful , so we are not suggesting that God’s power is limited in any way whatsoever for He may do what He chooses to do regardless of what we might think about it . But , the Bible teaches that it is the gospel of Christ that causes people to be saved .
For example , we find Paul writing to the church at Corinth in chapter 15 v 1-2, and he said : Moreover brethren , I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you , which also ye have received , and wherein ye stand . “By which also ye are saved , if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you , unless ye have believed in vain.”
In this passage , Paul emphasizes that the gospel is what saves . Paul had gone to the city of Corinth and personally preached to them and taught them . As a result , they heard the gospel and after hearing it were able to obey the commands of Christ and be saved from their past sins .
We should bear in mind that only the gospel will save . Though God has unlimited power , the gospel is the power that He is using to save men and woman . We cannot follow a creed book , or doctrines of men .
Such teachings as praying through , just believing , just accepting Christ as our personal savior, going to an altar or mourner’s bench , is completely foreign to the gospel and therefore they will not save . Let us be satisfied to find out what God wants us to do , and do that and never be guilty of trying to do something that he has not taught and authorized .
(3)Hearing The Gospel Must Come Before Faith In It
This is a matter that is proven by basis of common reasoning . A person could not believe in something of which they had not heard . We have already noticed in the title of the lesson that : “How shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10 v 14).
It isn’t possible for a person to believe until the testimony has been given . So in the same passage we find the words . “How shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard ?” In all the cases we have mentioned in the book of Acts , we found that that they first heard , then believed , then completed their obedience of primary principles in order to have remission of sins and become Christians . So we conclude that hearing of the gospel must come first , then those who hear are placed in a position to accept or reject it by believing or refusing to believe .
The Bible reveals the gospel . Let us read and study the bible day by day so that through it we will hear God speaking to us . Then when we have learned what He wants us to do , do it with all our might and be His servant all the days of our life that we might some day dwell with Him forever .
Jesus says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). We have got to believe in Jesus there is no other name that we can call on to be saved.
But what does it mean to believe in Jesus?
There is a false doctrine being taught today that says you do not have to obey Jesus but only believe in Him to be saved. They say we are saved by "faith only". But the Bible says, "You believe there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble" (James 2:19). If all you have to do to be saved is believe, then the demons also will be saved. Those who believe in "faith only" are no better than the demons who are going to be eternally lost. "But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?" (James 2:20). According to the Bible the "faith only" belief is a dead and useless faith. We have to "be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22). A person deceives himself if he thinks he is saved by "faith only". You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only" (James 2:24). "Faith only" is a teaching of Satan which is going to cause many people to be eternally lost. Satan has fooled many people into believing this false doctrine.
Only a faith that obeys is the faith that saves. God’s word says concerning Jesus, "He became the Author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (Hebrews 5:9). Christ has only promised to save those who obey Him. Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matthew 7:21-23). These people were believers in Jesus. They called Him their Lord, but they were eternally lost because they had not done what the Father had commanded them to do. They had followed their "faith only" teaching.
Jesus says, "He who does not love Me does not keep My words" (John 14:24). If we do not believe and do everything that Jesus says, then we do not love Him. To this person Jesus asks, "But why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46).
To believe in Jesus and to trust, and do everything Jesus and His inspired word says and for the reason He says. To believe in Jesus is to believe in Him when He says, "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). A Person needs help to misunderstand this. Many people, who claim to believe in Jesus, defiantly say that being baptized has nothing to do with being saved.
They have more faith in the person who is telling them that baptism is not necessary to being saved, than in Jesus who says that one must "believe and be baptized" to be saved.
Doing what Jesus says proves that we really believe in Him. Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). There are many people who say they believe in Jesus, who do not love Him. God’s word says, "He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4). A person may say they believe in Jesus but if they don’t keep all of His commandments, then he is a liar and is only deceiving himself. To believe in Jesus is to do everything He says, and that means to not leave anything out of His Word. When He commands us to do something in scripture, and we want that eternal home in heaven with Him some day, we had better do everything commanded of us.
Many people believe repentance is when you feel sorrow, guilt, or shame for sin; but this is not repentance. When we look in the Bible we find "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death" (2 Corinthians 7:10). If you are only sorry you got caught, then this will not lead to repentance. Godly sorrow helps bring on repentance. Repentance is not sorrow for sin, but we cannot repent without being sorry he has sinned.
"Let the wicked forsake his way…let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him…for He will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:7). With repentance, one must first understand he has sinned, feel sorrow for the sin, and then stop and turn away from that sin.
"Truly, the times of this ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). All people are commanded to repent. It is not possible for anyone, except our Lord, to live a sin-free life, but we have no excuse for our sinning. "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves; and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8). We also read in 2nd Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." It is God and all His goodness that should lead us to repentance. "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4).
Paul says, "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!" (Romans 6:1-2). To show our repentance we are to "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance" (Matthew 3:8). Why should we repent of sins? (Romans 6:3) "For the wages of sin is death." Spiritual death is separation from God in eternity. Jesus says in (Luke 13:3) "I tell you no, but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." Unless we repents we cannot go to Heaven, but will eternally suffer the torments of Hell. We must give up our sin and "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body" (Romans 6:12).
If you are an alien sinner then you must do as (Acts 2:38) commands "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." But if you are a child of God who has sinned then you must do as (Acts 8:22) commands "Repent of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you." We must repent before we ask God to forgive us. Our repentance also includes our confessing our sins. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes his sin shall have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).
Repentance is a change of heart, and the results is a change of actions for the better. Without repentance we cannot receive forgiveness and be saved. Where we spend eternity, in Heaven or Hell, is determined by our repentance. All of Heaven is anxious for us to repent. Jesus says, "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:10).
Our word "baptize" is transliterated from the original Greek word "baptizo", which means to immerse. All Bible dictionaries define the word "baptizo" only as immerse, dip or plunge. "Baptizo" does not mean sprinkle or pour. If our Lord had wanted people to be sprinkled, he would have inspired the New Testament writers to use the Greek word "rhantizo". If our Lord wanted people to be poured He would have inspired New Testament writers to use the Greek word "katacheo". But He didn’t, so "baptizo" was used, which can only mean to immerse. Romans 6:4 says,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. Baptized Into Christ By Gordon
Let’s look in the Bible to see how people were baptized. In John 3:23 we read, "Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there." Why was John baptizing near Salim? "Because there was much water there." Scriptural baptism requires much water. In Mark 1:5 we read, "Then all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to Him, and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River." Why was John baptizing in the Jordan River? Could it be "because there was much water there" in a river?
In Matthew 3:13-17 we read about when Jesus was baptized and why to fill all righteousness. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Here we see what baptism is and what is done when one is immersed. Sprinkling is not a burial; it is only sprinkling. Neither is pouring a burial. Both are unlawful substitutions made by man, which will cause many people to be lost. This man made exception over the centuries became the man made accepted practice until the Catholic Church at the Council of Ravenna in 1311 AD legalized sprinkling for baptism, but without God’s authority.Sprinkling for baptism is foreign to the scriptures. God did not authorize it. There is not one instance anywhere in the Bible where anyone was sprinkled for baptism. The person who was sprinkled or poured has refused to obey God. Sprinkling is without God’s authority. There is no baptism in the absence of immersion. One who was sprinkled or poured has not been scripturally baptized.
There are many in the world who says that baptism has nothing to do with our salvation, but let’s see what the Bible says. Notice that it is baptism that puts us into Christ so that we can be saved. Galatians 3:27 says, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Baptism is the only way a person can get into Christ. The preposition into indicates a change of relationship. You can search from the front to the back of your Bible, and you will find no other way to get into Christ except by being baptized into Christ. What is the advantage of being baptized into Christ? Ephesians 1:3 says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ." This verse tells us that every spiritual blessing is located in Christ. Only those who are in Christ can enjoy these spiritual blessings. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." If one is in Christ, he has become a new creation. This is how we are born again. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:10, "Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory." Here we see that salvation is located in Christ, and for one to be eligible for salvation, he must be in Christ. It will be a horrible thing for a person, who thinks he is saved, when he stands before the Lord on the Day of Judgment, if he is still outside of Christ. He will have no salvation. He will be lost eternally in Hell.
In 1 John 5:11 we read, "And this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." Only those who have been baptized to be saved are in Christ and have the promise of eternal life. Those who are outside of Christ have no promise of eternal life but are lost.
