A Christian

Going down the right road Steps to Salvation “It is easy to become a Christian.” This remark is sometimes carelessly made to prospects for conversion. It is not true, for the matter of surrendering one’s life to Christ, facing up to sin, and submitting to Christian baptism require much courage and humility. It is more accurate to say that it is simple to become a Christian. The steps by which a person may obtain forgiveness of sins and receive the hope of salvation are reasonably simple. Unfortunately, however, even the simplicity of the New Testament plan of salvation has been lost by the church. There is widespread confusion as to what is required of man for salvation. Since no topic is so important as this one, it needs to be made very clear. Hearing From many methods by which God could have communicated His message of salvation to the world, He chose human preaching. As Paul put it, “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21). The quality of the message preached is a primary consideration. It can be nothing more nor nothing less than the gospel declared by the apostle Paul, and referred to in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. In His famous parable of the sower (Luke 8:4-15), Jesus indicated the necessity of proper hearing, and responding to the message heard. Faith Paul declared that “Faith cometh by hearing . . . the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Faith is simply “the acceptance of testimony.” A small band of simple, but sincere men have testified that they saw their Master, Jesus Christ, alive again after He had died a cruel death and had been buried. These men were so certain of this that they risked their lives to proclaim it to the world. Is their testimony to be accepted or not? The acceptance of testimony leads one to act upon what he hears. So faith is also trust and commitment. The New Testament is clear in showing that true faith entails action. The Old Testament heroes listed in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews all accomplished something “by faith.” Repentance Repentance is perhaps the most difficult and most misunderstood step to salvation. It is difficult because it involves a change in a person’s attitude and way of living. It is the step in which he must admit his sin and resolve to banish it from his life. This step need not be misunderstood, for it is again not a complex response, but simply a definite break with the old life. The necessity of repentance is echoed throughout the New Testament. Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3). Peter commanded the multitude on Pentecost, “Repent, and be baptized everyone of you” (Acts 2:38). Paul informed his hearers, “(God) now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30.) Occasionally people will suggest that they are too wicked or ungodly to repent. Actually, this recognition of personal guilt and unworthiness is the first step toward repentance. A heartfelt sorrow for sin is the next step; and then as Paul said, “Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Confession Faith, in order to save, must be expressed in acts of obedience. So God included among the steps to salvation two essential acts of obedience - confession and baptism. Confession is a public declaration of faith in Christ. Paul notes its importance in Romans 10:9-10. The statement the repentant believer is asked to make publicly is not lengthy or involved. It is the same confession that Peter made to Jesus of Nazareth near Carsarea Philippi: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). Baptism The subject of Christian baptism is a great favorite among members of Christian Churches / Churches of Christ. They have been accused of overemphasizing baptism; but if this is so, it is understandable. The New Testament teems with references to the practice and its importance, while the Christian world of today either ignores it or relegates it to a position of unimportance. The most obvious New Testament key to the purpose of baptism is salvation. Acts 2:38 ; Acts 22:16 ; Romans 6:3-6 ; Galatians 3:37 ; and 1 Peter 3:21 are among the Scriptures that indicate this. Baptism saves, not as a meritorious work, but as the expression of a sincere faith. The Scriptures uniformly point to penitent believers as the only proper subjects for baptism. Those who seek Scriptural support for infant baptism turn in vain to the “household baptisms” recounted in Acts 10 and 16. There is noting in these accounts in indicate that infants were baptized. Instead, those baptized “heard the word” (10:44), and had “the word of the Lord” spoken to them (16:32). Infants could not have met these conditions. Nothing in the New Testament indicates that any form of baptism other than immersion was used in the apostolic times. Certain expressions clearly indicate immersion. Much water was required (see John 3:23). The subject went to the water, went down into it, and came up out of it (see Acts 8:36-39). Baptism is compared to a burial and a resurrection (see Romans 6:3-6 ; Colossians 2:12). Christian Living Of the five steps previously mentioned, only baptism is a once-in-a-lifetime matter. The baptized believer must continue to hear to Word of God, and be a doer of it and not a hearer only (James 1:22-24). He must at all times live by his faith, as Paul sought to do (Galatians 2:20). When sin makes it inevitable appearances in his life, he must practice a thorough repentance. And as opportunities come, he must constantly confess his faith in Christ to others.