DISAPPEARANCE OF PEACE

The pace at which peace is fast disappearing from the world today has caused each sane and sensible person to worry. This includes religious people, and also those people who do not believe in any religion. It includes believers in God whether one God or many gods, and atheists who deny the very existence of God. Each group has its own arguments.

Whatever their personal beliefs, they all have valid concerns about peace. Man, who considers himself to be educated and civilized, is reverting back to the period of ignorance when personal ego and false pride, led people to cut each other’s throats so much so that whole tribes and dynasties indulged in such barbaric acts.

If for the sake of our personal gain or loss or for the sake of our own rights, or for the rights of our dear ones, we fight only for our rights, but neglect the rights of other people, or usurp their rights in the process, we can never establish peace. In short, to establish true peace, we must understand the spirit of true justice.

God Almighty tells us in the Holy Qur’an that peace will only come about with justice and benevolence.

‘O ye who believe! Be steadfast in the cause of Allah, bearing witness in equity; and let not a people’s enmity incite you to act otherwise that with justice. Be always just, that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah, Surely Allah is aware of what you do.’ (5:9)

Repentance Necessary for Salvation?

It is true that there are numerous Bible verses that speak of the promise of salvation, with no mention of repentance. These merely say to "believe" on Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9). However, the Bible makes it clear that God is holy and man is sinful, and that sin makes a separation between the two (Isaiah 59:1,2). Without repentance from sin, wicked men cannot have fellowship with a holy God. We are dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) and until we forsake them through repentance, we cannot be made alive in Christ.

The Scriptures speak of "repentance unto life" (Acts 11:18). We turn from sin to the Savior. This is why Paul preached "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). The first public word Jesus preached was "repent" (Matthew 4:17). John the Baptist began his ministry the same way (Matthew 3:2). Jesus told His hearers that without repentance, they would perish (Luke 13:3).

If belief is all that is necessary for salvation, then the logical conclusion is that one need never repent. However, the Bible tells us that a false convert "believes" and yet is not saved (Luke 8:13); he remains a "worker of iniquity." Look at the warning of Scripture: "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth" (1 John 1:6). The Scriptures also say, "He that covers his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesses and forsakes them [repentance] shall have mercy" (Proverbs 28:13). Jesus said that there was joy in heaven over one sinner who "repents" (Luke 15:10). If there is no repentance, there is no joy because there is no salvation.

When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, he commanded his hearers to repent "for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). Without repentance, there is no remission of sins; we are still under His wrath. Peter further said, "Repent . . . and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3:19). We cannot be "converted" unless we repent. God Himself "commands all men everywhere [leaving no exceptions] to repent" (Acts 17:30). Peter said a similar thing at Pentecost: "Repent, and be baptized every one of you" (Acts 2:38).

If repentance wasn’t necessary for salvation, why then did Jesus command that repentance be preached to all nations (Luke 24:47)? With so many Scriptures speaking of the necessity of repentance for salvation, one can only suspect that those who preach salvation without repentance are strangers to repentance themselves, and thus strangers to true conversion.

Repentance Verses in the Bible

2 Chronicles 32:26 Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not on them in the days of Hezekiah.

Isaiah 30:15 For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and you would not.

Jeremiah 31:19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote on my thigh: I was ashamed, yes, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.

Matthew 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Matthew 21:32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and you, when you had seen it, repented not afterward, that you might believe him.

Mark 1:4 John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

Luke 3:3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

Luke 17:3 Take heed to yourselves: If your brother trespass against you, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

Luke 17:4 And if he trespass against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to you, saying, I repent; you shall forgive him.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 3:18 But those things, which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he has so fulfilled.

Acts 3:19 Repent you therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men every where to repent:

Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 2:4 Or despise you the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

Romans 2:5 But after your hardness and impenitent heart treasure up to yourself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

2 Corinthians 7:9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that you sorrowed to repentance: for you were made sorry after a godly manner, that you might receive damage by us in nothing.

2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world works death.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from where you are fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come to you quickly, and will remove your candlestick out of his place, except you repent.

Revelation 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore you shall not watch, I will come on you as a thief, and you shall not know what hour I will come on you.

Salvation Quiz

 Quiz

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Top of Form

1. How's Your Understanding?: What is the Best Source of Information on Salvation?

Movie; The Robe
Hairdresser
The Word of God
The General Public Perception

2.The First Gospel Sermon (Acts 2) Was Preached by ;.

The Apostle Peter
Pope Pius I
The Apostle Paul
Billy Graham

3.In Acts 2, What Were the Jews Told To Do When They Believed?.

Pray the "Sinner's Prayer
Repent & Be Baptized,
Do nothing: Jesus already did it all
Go and Sin No More

4.On the Day of Pentecost, those listening were told to Repent & be Baptized for;.

Outward Sign of an Inward Grace
The Remission of Their Sins
Identification with a church
to "Earn" their salvation

5.What did those who Believed the Message in Acts 2: do?:

Repented and went away rejoicing
Scheduled baptisms for Future time
Prayed that their sins be removed
Repented and were Baptized

6. In whose name were they to be baptized according to Acts 2?:

In the Name of their church
In the Name of Peter
In the Name of Jesus Christ
All of the above

7. If believers are baptized as Jesus Commanded and the disciples preached, they;

Are Performing a work
Nullifying God's Grace
Obeying the Lord
Following men, not the Lord

8.How does one become a member of the Lord's church?:

Voted in By Majority of Members
You Join the church
The Lord adds you to the church
Born into the church

9. According to Galations 3:27, how does one "put on" Christ:

In prayer
Joining a church
Speaking in Tongues
In Baptism

10.To Repent means to;

To Change, to"Turn"
To have Faith
To Consider Changing
Confess your sins

Bottom of Form

What Does the Bible Say About Being Saved?

It is difficult to imagine a more important question than the one that forms the title of this article. While concerns in this life dominate most people's attention we ought to be more concerned about the life to come. Are we saved? How do we know we are saved? What does the Bible say one does to be saved? This article will attempt to answer these crucial questions.

"Perhaps no place in scripture can answer these questions quite like Acts 2:38. Acts 2 is an ideal place to study salvation for several reasons.

To begin with, it is the first place that God's complete plan of salvation is announced. Second, it contains the preaching of an inspired apostle, Peter, who spoke exactly what the Holy Spirit told him to say. Third, and most important to our study, Acts 2 begins with unsaved people and ends with saved people.

What happens to them in this chapter that moves them from a state of being lost to a state of being saved is of primary importance.

Space does not allow a full analysis of Peter's sermon, but we need to note the key components in this very first gospel sermon. After the Apostles were anointed with the Holy Spirit they began to speak in foreign languages and tongues of flame like fire sat on them (2:1-12). All of this, coupled with the sound of a mighty windstorm, caused many people to come see what was happening.

Peter seized the opportunity and began to proclaim the gospel. Repeatedly drawing on Old Testament prophecies to prove his points, Peter taught the people that the rejected Jesus was the Messiah and Savior of the world.

Acts 2

37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

38Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."

40With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.

44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved

In verse 36 he forcefully closes his sermon by stating, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

What a bombshell! The Messiah the Jews had been anxiously awaiting for centuries had come, Peter said, and instead of being received with joy was viciously murdered! Peter's sermon convicted the audience of the crime of murdering the Son of God.

Has there ever been people any more lost than those on that day? Their pitiful cry in verse 37 ("Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do") brings us to the verse we wish to study.

What the Bible says about salvation can well be answered by considering what Peter said next.

Peter's reply was simple: "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).

Allow me to make several observations from this significant passage. First, do you see that Peter told the people to do something? The idea that man does nothing to receive salvation is wholly defeated right here. Such teaching has been done out of wrong concept of works and a failure to understand God's grace.

Certainly all are saved by grace, and nothing can be done to earn that favor (Ephesians 2:8-9). It is impossible to work one's way into heaven, to do special deeds that catch God's eye and cause Him to bless one with salvation, or to do anything in any way that merits or deserves the priceless free gift of salvation.

However, eliminating works that earn grace does not eliminate every kind of human activity. God has been showering His grace upon people for centuries, but this has never meant that people were not required to obey Him and do as He instructs. Genesis 6:8 tells us that Noah "found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Hebrews 11:7 furthers our understanding of Noah's salvation when it says "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household. . . ."

Notice that Noah was saved by grace and by faith, but neither of those eliminated his need to "prepare an ark." In other words, Noah's salvation came about as his faith led him to obey God.

Isn't this exactly what Peter is telling the people in Acts 2? That they have faith is evident (more about this in a moment). Peter's command "to repent and be baptized" did not nullify grace, nor exterminate their salvation by faith. He simply urged, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that these people take the action steps necessary to demonstrate their obedient hearts.

James brings these thoughts together perfectly when he writes, "But someone will say, 'You have faith, and I have works.' Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works . . . You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." (James 2:18, 24).

Peter told the people in Acts 2 they needed to do something to be justified (saved). Those actions did not earn salvation, but were clearly necessary if they wanted to accept the gracious gift of salvation.

Second, do you see that not everyone will be saved? The universalist says that everyone will be saved, despite their life, faith, or deeds. How can this be in light of Acts 2:38? Peter did not say, "Do nothing because God is going to save you all."

Further, we might note that Peter did not say "Do nothing because God has predestined some of you to be saved and has predestined the rest to be lost and nothing you can do can change that." This isn't the teaching of Peter by any stretch of the text.

2 Thessalonians 1:8 makes it clear that Jesus will take vengeance "on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." How can anyone doubt the necessity of obedience, or that obedience can and does affect one's eternal destiny?

Third, do you see that Peter did not say "You will be saved by faith only". Peter did not tell the crowd "Ask Jesus into your heart," or "Pray this little prayer to be saved." So many today offer a plan of salvation that is incomplete and insufficient. They tell people to believe in Christ, but they do not tell people what Peter told them: repent and be baptized.

That the people of Acts 2 had faith is certain because the scriptures say the message "pricked their heart." They would not have asked Peter what to do if they did not believe the message. They had the essential quality of faith that every person wanting to be saved must have (John 8:24).

But nowhere in scripture do we read that faith alone can save. Indeed, the passage in James says exactly the opposite: "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." (James 2:24). This is the only place in scripture where the phrase "faith only" occurs and it is preceded by the word "not!"

Peter did not teach faith only -- why should we teach or believe it today? Let's turn our attention to what Peter did tell these people to do. What does it mean to "repent" Repent is a word that means to change, to turn one's life around. Repentance is essential to salvation. Jesus says, "I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." (Luke 13:3).

One who repents has a marked change in his or her life, a quality called "fruits of repentance" (Matthew 3:8). It is inconceivable that one could be a sinner, separated from God, ask to be saved from those sins and then gladly continue in them!

Those who come to God decide to leave behind sin, and that is repentance. It is the reversal of life, from sin and darkness toward righteousness and light. This doesn't mean that a Christian is perfect, but it does mean that a Christian is trying to do God's will and live righteously.

The second command Peter gave was to "be baptized." What does this mean? The term in the original Greek just means to immerse or plunge under water. Peter is clear that baptism is not an outward symbol that we have already been saved. Instead baptism is the point of salvation because it is here that one's sins are forgiven.

Isn't that what Peter said? "Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. . . ." Remission of sins is another term for forgiveness. We could well translate Acts 2:38 "be baptized for the forgiveness of sins."

Another passage in Acts makes this connection even stronger. When Saul of Tarsus was praying and fasting, after seeing the vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was told "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts 22:16).

Read those verses again carefully and see if you can answer the following question: What does baptism do (what is its purpose)? If you answered to "forgive sin" or "wash away sin" you are absolutely correct, because this is what the word of God says.

Please realize as well that baptism is important because it is in baptism that one is placed into the Body of Christ. "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Galatians 3:27).

Occasionally I meet someone teaching that one can be saved without being baptized. All I do is ask if they believe they can be saved outside Christ? No one has ever said "yes," yet many resist the Bible's plain teaching that baptism puts one into Christ.

For these reasons we can say that baptism is the culmination of the human activity needed to please God, demonstrate humble obedience and accept the free gift of salvation. Again, none of these things earn salvation any more than unwrapping a birthday gift earns the present. God is the hero here, not humans with their religious works. But we must do as God says, and there can be no question what God, through His inspired apostle, directed people to do to be saved.

Peter's instructions were clear, simple and direct. What did the people in the crowd do when Peter told them these things? If we read further in Acts 2 we do not read that someone challenged God's plan of salvation with their own, or that some quibbled that baptism was a "work" and so would nullify grace, or that anyone said "baptism seems silly."

What we do read is that three thousand were baptized that day and that the Lord added those saved people to His church (verses 41, 47). That is what those people did when an inspired man answered their question, "What shall we do to be saved?" In short, unsaved people heard Peter's sermon, did what Peter told them to do, and were saved that very day. Surely we can do the very same with the very same result. May God bless us to have the courage to do so.

Reprinted by permission

How are we born again, as Jesus told Nicodemus that we must do? We must die to our sins, and our old self. Romans 6 says; 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.

Most preach an incomplete gospel today wherein one is asked to utter a prayer upon faith in Christ. It should give you pause that this prayer (or any prayer for that matter) is nowhere offered in the New Testament as a means of becoming a Christian.

The Lord said in Matthew 28:"All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me, therefore, go and make disciples of All Nations, Baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and of the Holy Spirit"...

In Mark 16:16 He says; "He who believes and is Baptized will be saved, he who does not believe will be condemned."

Note then that the 3000 who believed on the day of Pentecost obeyed, as did Cornelius, as did the Ethiopian eunuch, as Did the Samaritans, the Apostle Paul, as did the Phillipian jailer etc. etc..

John the Baptist prepared the way for our Lord by preaching about the one to come and a baptism of repentance, but his teachings were rejected by many --including many of the "religious leaders of the day".

Where would those who believed John be if instead they had followed the religious leaders who had rejected John's message? Today, many religious leaders teach a method of salvation that expressly differs from that the Lord and the Apostles taught.

In that day, many did not accept the baptism of John, and in this day, many also reject baptism for remission of sins as commanded by the Lord. Luke 7: 29 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

We beg you not to reject God's purpose for yourself. There is no need to believe us or any man--you have the Word of God in your own hands.

Judge for yourself whether it is better to obey God rather than men...