HEAVEN’S PLAN OF SALVATION

In Ephesians 2: 8 we are taught: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

We are also taught in Titus 2: 11, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age…”

The aforementioned scriptures are cited to prove unequivocally that salvation is a matter of God’s grace. No one can be saved without the grace of God. Salvation has suffered from the hands of the uninformed as well as the unintentional. Let me explain the explanation.

The uninformed teach the contradictory doctrine that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone. However, if it is grace alone, then nothing else can be included! It is all God and nothing else. If it includes faith then it is not grace alone! The truth of the matter, it is both! It is grace by the benevolent hand of God and faith resulting in loving obedience by the sinner man!

The unintentional teach and stress more about obedience to the exclusion of God’s grace. This, (grace), in my judgment, it is not stressed enough in conjunction with obedience. And this can lead to a works’-based salvation. Our feeling of “how much” we can do to grant us salvation is misguided. This is wrong. There is no amount of works of obedience that can be done to merit our salvation minus God’s grace. Jesus himself made it clear on this matter when He told us in Luke 17: 10, “So likewise you, when you have done all things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’” Why are we still unprofitable servants? Because we still commit sin! Our duty does not warrant God being in our debt! We must be very meticulous in our identifying the matter of salvation on all fronts. We cannot go to either extreme but remain balance in our articulation.  Let’s identify both in these passages.

In Ephesians 2:8, we are explicitly told that we have been saved by grace and not of yourselves. And, we are told that it is the gift of God. God’s grace came down from heaven in the form of His Son who died for our sins. Man is not the initiator and could not be. Man is a sinner in need of salvation; he did not and is not the author of his salvation, i.e., “and not of yourselves.” He could not bring about a plan to save himself! Further, we are told, “not of works, lest anyone should boast.” We cannot be saved by our own meritorious works! We cannot put God in our debt wherein we can boast because of what we have done because we are all sinners! What is couched in this verse is that we are “saved through faith.” There is a salvation mentioned that has to do with us. It is faith. But faith always lead itself to loving obedience. The terms are not mutually exclusive. Every time where faith is mentioned in the Bible, it always, without one exception, culminates in obedience (cf. Hebrews 11).

In Titus 2: 11, we are also informed of the dual nature of salvation. It is “the grace of God that brings salvation.” This grace has appeared to all men. However, this does not teach universal salvation for the Bible plainly teaches all will not be saved (Matthew 7: 21ff). It does teach that this grace has been offered to all by the death of Christ (Hebrews 2: 9). And, this grace requires a response on the behalf of those whom it has been offered. “Teaching us, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age.” Therefore, we conclude it is not grace alone; it is not faith alone. It is the combination of God’s grace (His unmerited favor giving man what he doesn’t deserve) and man’s faith which results in acts of obedience stipulated by God.

In the New Testament, we have several cases of the question being asked what one must do to be saved. The preacher always took them where they were in answering the question. For example, on the day of Pentecost, they said, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Peter tells them to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins. He does so because they had already come to faith in Acts 2: 37. And the implication is clear that they would confess because of their faith. And what brought them to this faith was they heard the word of God preached to them.

In Acts 9, we have the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. When he realized he had been wronging the Lord, he asks in verse 6, “…what do you want me to do?” He was told to “arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” At this point, Saul was not a saved man! We know this to be the case because he was told there were things he would be informed about that he must do! In Acts 22: 16, Saul tells his story of conversion and says a man name Ananias came and gave him his sight, and asked him why was he waiting? Waiting for what? He told him to “arise and be baptized, and wash away his sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Saul had already come to faith by hearing; made his confession, and the only thing that was left was for him was to get up and get himself baptized for the forgiveness of his sins.

In Acts 16, Paul and Silas, are in a Philippi prison for preaching the word of God. At midnight we are informed that they were praying and singing hymns to God. In the wake of events, God sends an earthquake and everyone’s chains are loosed. The keeper of the prison assumed the worse and went about to kill himself when Paul called with a loud voice and told him to do himself no harm. He then comes to Paul and Silas trembling and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul and Silas told him to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” The preachers took the man where he was at. He had to believe! But he couldn’t believe without hearing because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10: 17). So, we read in verse 32: “Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.” And after hearing the word of the Lord, verse 33 informs us that, “immediately he and all his family were baptized.” In Verse 34, “…and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.” His believing culminated in his doing all that God required of him!

When we take all the relevant passages together, we are given by the grace of God, Heaven’s plan of salvation!

HEAR

The Bible teaches one must hear the gospel. In Romans 10: 13-14, the scripture reveals, “For whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall the believe in Him of whom they have not heard. And how shall they hear without a preacher?” The message was in inspired men in the first century. Today it is in the inspired book! Whenever the word is read or preached today, it is by that means that one hears the word of the Christ. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10: 17). You can’t do what you don’t know. This is why one must hear the word of God. Have you heard my friend?

BELIEVE

The Bible makes it clear that belief is a prerequisite to salvation. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11: 6). Jesus said, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins (John 8: 24). Do you believe the saving message of Christ and about Christ?

REPENT

The definition of repentance is a change of will brought by godly sorrow followed by a reformation of life. You cannot continue on the same course as a sinner and be pleasing to God. You must make a decision in your mind to give up all that is wrong and begin to follow what is right. You must make a sharp, definitive break with sin. This is repentance. Jesus said, “I tell you no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish” (Luke 3: 3, 5). On that Pentecostal affair in Acts 2: 38, Peter minced no words when he told the sinners who had crucified our Lord, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” And Luke records for us an all-inclusive command of repentance in Acts 17: 30 saying, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.”  Are you willing to repent today?

CONFESS

We must confess the sweet name of Jesus that He is the Son of God. In the first century, Christians would be put to death confessing that name! Yet it was the very name that put our Savior to death by His own confession! The Jews said, “For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a man, make Yourself God” (John 10: 33). They understood clearly who He said He was! Jesus tells His followers in Matthew 10: 32: “Therefore, whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.” And in Romans 10: 9-10, Paul admonishes, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Have you made that good confession?

BAPTIZED

In the religious world, the great controversy surrounding salvation has to do with baptism. The fact of the matter is, there is no controversy at all if we believe what the Bible teaches. God has not been ambiguous about the matter of baptism. However, the religious world is bereft of the essentiality of being baptized for the purpose of being saved because instead of scripture as the final say, they resort to their manuals and creeds. But the Bible teaches today what it in the long ago taught in the first century. And what it taught, is plainly understood today as it was in the first century.

“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2: 38). Here the inspired Apostle is giving an invitation. This invitation is all-encompassing for all time. And we are told that two requirements are absolutely essential in obtaining salvation. Repentance and baptism is required. If repentance is for the remission of sins, and since the coupler “and” is used for baptism, then baptism is also for the remission of sins. Read the passage very, very carefully. Peter connects repentance and baptism for the remission of sins. Since mainstream denominational-ism teaches and preaches baptism does not save, they find themselves at odds with an inspired Apostle who said baptism is for the forgiveness of sins!

That same Apostle Peter echoed the same in 1 Peter 3: 20-21. Listen to him: “Who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine long suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, eight souls, were saved through water. There is also an anti-type which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Peter gives us the historical account of the ark in the days of Noah and says they had a deliverance through water. He then says the anti-type which now saves us is baptism! A careful reading of this passage shows conclusively that baptism saves! And for anyone who would deny such, are teaching false doctrine and giving a false hope to those hearers who listen to them.

Paul sagely concludes to his Galatians brethren that they had been saved by faith. But how? He goes on to tell them, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3: 27). Question: When did they put on Christ? Did they pray and put Him on? Did they believe and put Him on? Did they repent and put Him on? Did they even say some kind of “sinners’ prayer” and put Him on? No to all of the above. They put Him on when they were baptized into Him. It is the final step of obedience in Heaven’s plan of salvation that puts one into Christ. Please read the following scriptures: John 3: 3-5; Acts 8: 36-38; Acts 10: 47; Acts 22: 16. Water is indeed in the plan! Have you been to the water and had your sins washed away in the precious blood of Christ (Revelation 1: 5)?

FAITHFUL

When on becomes a Christian, he then has the wonderful privilege of living right before God and all men. He is now a new creature (2 Corinthians 5: 17). He is to let his light so shine (Matthew 5: 16). He is to be the salt of the earth (Matthew 5: 13). He is to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3: 18). And he is to faithfully finish his course to the end (2 Timothy 4: 7-8). To the church at Smyrna (and every congregation of the Lord’s people), Jesus admonished, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2: 10). Are you living the faithful Christian life and determined to do so till the end?

∼Stacey Mobley