God’s Plan of Salvation Part 3 – What must I do?

God’s Plan of salvation For whom did Jesus die? “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2) Is everyone saved? “For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.” (Matthew 7:12)

God’s Plan of Salvation Since Jesus died for everyone, but not everyone is saved, then there are conditions which must be met for salvation Both Paul and Peter said that the gospel must be obeyed – see 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 1 Peter 4:17 In other words, the important question is, “What must I do to be saved?”

God’s Plan of Salvation First, a word of introduction Sometimes verses or portions of Scripture can seem contradictory Consider, for example, the four accounts of the sign above Jesus as He hung on the cross

God’s Plan of Salvation “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Matthew 27:37) “THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Mark 15:26) “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS” (Luke 23:28) “JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS” … “it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek” (John 19:19,20)

God’s Plan of Salvation Which of the four accounts is accurate? All four differ Let’s take another look ◦THE KING OF THE JEWS – Mark ◦THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS – Luke ◦THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS – Matthew ◦JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS (in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek) -- John

God’s Plan of Salvation Note that this is the totality of what the sign said: THIS IS JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS (in Hebrew, Latin, and in Greek) Note that none of the four accounts records the total message of the sign All four accounts are individually accurate, but all four must be put together to have complete information

God’s Plan of Salvation This illustrates a very important principle in interpreting the Bible All verses of Scripture are accurate, and no one verse is to be placed in juxtaposition to another For example, to throw out Matthew’s account of the sign on the cross because it is different than John’s is a subtle denial that the Bible is the Word of God

God’s Plan of Salvation Read 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is inspired by God …” The Scriptures mesh perfectly – any problem is in the mind of the interpreter, not in the Bible As we approach the question, “What must I do?”, we must keep this principle in mind We cannot throw out any testimony of the Bible, but must put it all together to get complete information concerning salvation

God’s Plan of Salvation One more important introductory note ◦We must understand at what point the New Testament took effect While Jesus was on earth, He forgave sins in whatever manner He desired. A testament is a will or a covenant. “For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.” (Hebrews 9:16- 17) Example of a person’s will – after his death, possessions are distributed only in accordance with terms of the will

God’s Plan of Salvation Example of a rich man ◦While alive, he can pass out hundred dollar bills to whomever he wants ◦After his death, his money is distributed only in accordance with the terms of his will Same way with Jesus ◦While on earth, He gave forgiveness of sins in whatever manner He desired ◦After His death, forgiveness of sins is granted only in accordance with the terms of the New Testament

God’s Plan of Salvation Example of paralytic – read Mark 2:1-12 “the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Mark 2:10) Was the paralytic forgiven under the Old or New Covenant? Had Jesus died yet? Technically this was the Old Covenant What about the thief on the cross? Had Jesus died yet when He forgave the thief?

God’s Plan of Salvation For us to find forgiveness of sins, we are going to have to look in the Bible record for examples after Christ’s death Look in the book of Acts The question, “What must I do?” is asked and answered in the book of Acts God shows no partiality – Romans 2:11 Whatever was required for people to be saved in the book of Acts is required for us today

God’s Plan of Salvation The Philippian Jailer – Acts 16:16-34 ◦Paul and Silas cast out the evil spirit of a slave- girl who was a “fortune-teller” ◦Her masters had Paul and Silas thrown into jail ◦They kept great attitudes, praying and singing ◦About midnight an earthquake rocked the building, opening doors, and unfastening the chains of the prisoners ◦The jailer assumed the prisoners had escaped and was about to kill himself

God’s Plan of Salvation The Philippian Jailer – Acts 16:16-34 ◦Paul cried out, telling the jailer not to harm himself ◦The jailer called for lights, rushed in before Paul and Silas, and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ◦“And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.’ ”

God’s Plan of Salvation The Philippian Jailer – Acts 16:16-34 In answer to the jailer’s question, he was told that he had to believe in the Lord Jesus Paul and Silas then “spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house” “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17)

God’s Plan of Salvation The Philippian Jailer – Acts 16:16-34 Was the Philippian Jailer under the Old or New Covenant? Are we under the same terms? Can anyone be saved without believing in the Lord Jesus? In answer to our question, “What must I do?”, we find that we must first believe in the Lord Jesus

God’s Plan of Salvation The Day of Pentecost – Acts 2:36-38 Our second example takes place 15 years earlier than the events in Philippi Recorded in Acts chapter 2, it is the first time that the gospel was preached in its completeness In other words, this was the first time that the terms of the New Testament were publicly made known

God’s Plan of Salvation The Day of Pentecost – Acts 2:36-38 This happened on the Jewish feast day of Pentecost (also known as the Feast of Weeks, which commemorated the beginning of the harvest) 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection 10 days after His ascension Every Jewish male throughout the world would be in Jerusalem if humanly possible – see Deuteronomy 16:16

God’s Plan of Salvation The Day of Pentecost – Acts 2:36-38 Peter and the other apostles preached the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ Peter proved that Jesus was the Messiah and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies Read Acts 2:36-38 After Peter proved that Jesus was indeed Lord and Christ, some were pierced to the heart and asked, “Brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37)

God’s Plan of Salvation The Day of Pentecost – Acts 2:36-38 Peter responds, saying, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38) Notice that Peter didn’t say, “Believe;” he said, “Repent” Does this nullify the need to believe? These people already believed, so Peter told them the next step of salvation

God’s Plan of Salvation The Day of Pentecost – Acts 2:36-38 Were those listening on the day of Pentecost under the Old or New Testament? Are we under the same terms? Therefore no one can be saved without repentance In answer to our question, “What must I do?”, we find that we must not only believe, but also repent

God’s Plan of Salvation The Ethiopian Eunuch– Acts 8:26-40 Our third conversion example is found in Acts 8:26-40 God sent a preacher named Philip to meet a man from Ethiopia who was on his return trip after worshipping in Jerusalem The man was riding in his chariot, reading the prophet Isaiah

God’s Plan of Salvation The Ethiopian Eunuch – Acts 8:26-40 The eunuch didn’t understand what he was reading, so Philip explained it to him “And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him” (Acts 8:35) The Ethiopian then saw water, and wanted to be baptized

God’s Plan of Salvation The Ethiopian Eunuch – Acts 8:26-40 [“And Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God’ ”] (Acts 8:37) This verse communicates the necessity of confessing Jesus as Lord in order to be saved Romans 10:9-10 clearly makes the same point “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord … you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9)

God’s Plan of Salvation The Ethiopian Eunuch – Acts 8:26-40 Was the Ethiopian under the terms of the New Testament? Are we under the same terms? Can anyone be saved without confession of Jesus Christ as Lord? In answer to our question, “What must I do?”, we find that we must also confess Jesus as Lord

God’s Plan of Salvation The Apostle Paul – Acts 22:1-16 Our final conversion example is that of Saul of Tarsus, who later became the great apostle Paul Initially Saul was a violent persecutor of the church He was directly involved with the death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr

God’s Plan of Salvation The Apostle Paul – Acts 22:1-16 One day Saul met with the Lord of the universe, and he changed his attitude He was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial Suddenly he was blinded by a bright light and knocked to the ground

God’s Plan of Salvation The Apostle Paul – Acts 22:1-16 Jesus asked, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 22:7) Paul wanted to know who he was talking to, so he asked, “Who are you, Lord?” (the word Lord here has a meaning like Sir) The voice answered back, “I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 22:8)

God’s Plan of Salvation The Apostle Paul – Acts 22:1-16 Paul knew the claims of the Christians that Jesus had risen from the dead He now knew that Jesus truly had risen He asked, “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10) The Lord told him to go on into Damascus where he would receive further instructions

God’s Plan of Salvation The Apostle Paul – Acts 22:1-16 Saul had believed, repented, and confessed Jesus as Lord while on the Damascus Road Were his sins yet forgiven? “And now why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name” (Acts 22:16)

God’s Plan of Salvation The Apostle Paul – Acts 22:1-16 Was Saul under the terms of the New Testament? Are we under the same terms? Can anyone be saved without being baptized into Christ? In answer to our question, “What must I do?”, we find that we must also be baptized into Christ

God’s Plan of Salvation The Apostle Paul – Acts 22:1-16 At this point many people start trying to think of ways that someone could be saved without being baptized God is not willing for any to perish (2 Peter 3:9) The same God who sent His only Son to die on the cross for everyone is able to provide the water necessary for someone to be baptized

God’s Plan of Salvation Notice that in every conversion example we examined from the book of Acts, baptism was involved in salvation ◦The Philippian Jailer – “… and immediately he was baptized…” (Acts 16:33) ◦The Jews on Pentecost – “… those who had received his word were baptized…” (Acts 2:41) ◦The Ethiopian Eunuch – “What prevents me from being baptized?” (Acts 2:36) ◦The Apostle Paul – “… arise, and be baptized…” (Acts 22:16)

God’s Plan of Salvation Summary In answer to the question, “What must I do?,” we have pieced together God’s answer from the terms of the New Testament ◦Believe that Jesus died for our sins, and that God raised Him from the dead ◦Repent ◦Confess with our mouths Jesus as Lord ◦Be baptized to wash away our sins

God’s Plan of Salvation Part 4 – God’s Teaching About Repentance