The Key to Everlasting Life  Matthew 16:18-19 –And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

The Key to Everlasting Life  The Bible is the only accurate means by which we can know God’s plan of salvation.  2 Timothy 3:16 –All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

The Key to Everlasting Life  Jesus gave His disciples this commission:  Luke 24:45-49 –Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 And ye are witnesses of these things. 49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

 What was the promise of the Father?  Acts 1:4-5 –And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. The Key to Everlasting Life

 Peter preached the same message:  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.

The Key to Everlasting Life  Luke 24:45-49 –Repent –Baptized in his name –Promise of the Father  Acts 2:38 –Repent –Baptized in the name of Jesus Christ –Receive the Holy Ghost On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached the same message that Jesus commissioned them to preach.

This followed a pattern that is found throughout the entire Scripture

There is a type of….  Repentance  Baptism in Water  Holy Spirit baptism

TYPE REPENT BAPTISMHOLY GHOST Passover 1 Corinthians 10:1- 2 Sacrifice of Lamb; Blood on doorpost Deliverance from Egypt at Red Sea Pillar of Cloud and Fire in wilderness Tabernacle Hebrews 9:8- 9,11 Brazen AltarBrazen Laver Holy Place Seed John 12:24 Death of Seed Burial of Seed Germination of Seed Jesus 1 Corinthians 15:3- 4 DeathBurial Resurrection Natural Birth John 3:3-5 ConceptionGrowth in Womb First Breath

The Message of the Gospel  This message was not only preached to the Jews at Jerusalem but also to the Samaritans and the Gentiles. –Samaritans: Acts chapter 8 –Gentiles: Acts chapter 10 & 19

He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. II Thessalonians 1:8 NIV For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17 KJV What is the Gospel, and what is obeying the Gospel?

The Gospel according to Paul was: 1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 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; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: I Corinthians 15:1-4

The Gospel is the Death Burial Resurrection of Jesus Christ

Obey, according to Strong’s Concordance is: hupakouo, hoop-ak-oo'-o; by implication to heed or conform to a command or authority:--hearken, be obedient to, obey.

James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.

The NIV makes this even plainer…. James 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. 20 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless ?

This is the evidence of Abrahams faith- His obedience! 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. James 2:21-22

Saved by works of the Law? No! Saved through obedient Faith? YES!

 In Scripture, the words “believe” and “obey” could be used interchangeably in many instances, for to the early Christians you would NEVER do one without the other.  Today, many have tried to BELIEVE the gospel without OBEYING the gospel. That is impossible!

 BELIEVE means “to accept as true,” and is merely a mental assent that something is true.  OBEY means “to carry out orders,” and is a physical process we do as a result of our belief.

And so how do we obey? We follow in His steps… He We  Death  Burial  Resurrection  Repent  Baptism  Holy Ghost 

Jesus did a work FOR us: death, burial, resurrection But He also wants to do a work IN us: repentance, water baptism, Holy Ghost

We see this pattern throughout the New Testament  Samaritans  Acts 8:14-17 –Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: 15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: 16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 17 Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost.

And later on  Gentiles  Acts 10:44-48 –While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.

And Paul…  Annanias, who won Paul to the Lord, directed him to "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, CALLING on the NAME of the LORD", (Acts 22:16).

The Greeks (Ephesians) Acts 19:1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, 2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. 3 And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.

4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

Romans 6 says that we are baptized into Jesus Christ,  3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  4 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.  5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

 Why the name of Jesus? –Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. –Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Does the formula of Baptism matter?

Definition of baptize: to make fully wet. We understand by the definition of the word baptize and scriptural example that the correct method of baptism is by complete immersion. Matthew 3:16 "Jesus, when he was baptized. went up straightway out of the water..." Acts 8:38 "...and they went down into the water,...and he baptized him."

 There is NO other Gospel!  Galatians 1:6-9 –I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. Which Gospel do we follow?