Getting Saved

By | June 23, 1999

How do I get Saved?

Anonymous

I love this question, whoever you are!

  1. Realize that you are a sinner!
    • Psalms 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
    • Romans:3:23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
  2. Realize that Jesus died for your sins!
    • Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his stripes we are healed.
    • 1st Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
  3. Realize that there is no other way to receive Salvation except through Christ Jesus!
    • John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the light: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
  4. Ask Jesus to forgive you and wash you of your sins!
    • John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God.
    • Acts 13:38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 13:39 And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses
    • 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. 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
  5. After this, believing in faith that Jesus saved you, allow Him to be Lord of your life!
    • 1st Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s

Simple enough for a child to understand, isn’t it? Believe this like a child would believe and you’ve found Salvation. Luke 18:16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. 18:17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

4 thoughts on “Getting Saved

  1. April

    Mark 16:16 He that believeth AND is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. “AND” is the keyword…

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  2. Timothy Post author

    Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: April, many believe that the work or ordinance of water baptism is a saving action. It isn’t.

    The baptism spoken of in Mark is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. If it were the water baptism, which in effect is an outward showing to the world that we’ve been buried with Christ and then risen with him, then our Lord became a respecter of persons when He told the thief on the cross; “Luke 23:43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” This man never received the opportunity to be baptized by water. But at that moment of saving faith, he did receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit…

    Now either the Lord made an exception of this man, which would make Him a respecter of persons, or he did receive what John the baptist spoke of. The baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire. Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

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  3. April

    Mostly agreed. Been pondering on this response a while. The command to be baptized did not go “into affect” until after Jesus’ crucifixion, so the thief could not have been immersed in baptism. While Jesus was alive, He could do pretty much what He wanted to do. So, saving the thief would be simply by his verbal command essentially.

    I suppose my answer to the original question would include:

    Acts 2:38 says “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.”

    Romans 10:17 saying, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

    1 Peter 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…”

    As further, Mark 16:16 is stated inclusively that baptism is essential to being saved. Thus, the conjunction “and”. That’s my take on the matter. Blessed are those that ask questions and take His Word for what it is without question. That is a feat in itself.

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  4. Timothy Post author

    Well, no, not actually. Because Jesus was the first to institute the church, even in the ordinance of baptism well before the crucifixion. (Matthew 3:13) As I stated before, Jesus, as God, is not a respecter of persons, so doing such (a verbal command) would have made the Lord be a respecter of persons! He’s not. Acts 10:34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

    So He wouldn’t have just made that one exception (thief on the cross), and then made the rest of us do the “work” of baptism for salvation. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. The baptism that was spoken of in the scriptures defiantly has to be the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” and not water baptism. !st Peter is saying that it’s “the answer of a good conscience toward God”.

    Now, here’s something else you might want to consider. Where in the scriptures does it teach that the forgiveness of sin is linked with water baptism? The scriptures tell us that the forgiveness of sins is all about the repentance of sin and then faith in Christ Jesus to cleanse us of that sin, and never on water baptism. Each time we see “for the remission of sins” in the scriptures, it’s speaking of the fact that sins have been forgiven previously! Matthew 3:11, Luke 24:47, Acts 3:19, Acts 5:31, Acts 10:43, and so on.

    But also, if what you’re saying is the way it is, my baptizer (the one baptizing me) would be a mediator between myself and God. That means we have many mediators instead of one if baptism is necessary for salvation. If at the time of death, someone would call on the Lord for salvation but couldn’t be baptized, by what you’re saying, they would still go to Hell because they didn’t have a mediator, yet we’ve been told in the scriptures that “that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13) We only have one who’s able to fill the shoes of Mediator, and that one is my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ… 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

    Hey sis, I’m a Baptist of the old order, an Anabaptist. I know how important baptism is and no one could convince me otherwise. So once I get the honor of leading someone to the Lord, I know to tell them the command of the Lord to be baptized as an outward showing of how they were buried and then risen with Christ. Please don’t doubt that… Colossians 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

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