HOW CAN A PERSON BE SAVED?

Musick-al note # 215
Sometimes people read the Bible knowing that it must reveal what they want to know about salvation of their soul, yet miss the message of salvation because they want to understand the WHY of its instruction. They may even miss knowing the great love that God has for mankind. Have you missed that God wants to save everyone? (2 Peter 3:9) and that includes you. God’s great gift of sending His Son to ransom all men by paying the debt man owes because of sin (Ezekiel 18:4, Romans 6:23) thereby making it possible for all men to be saved by obeying Jesus (Hebrews 5:9). There is no other savior (Acts 4:12) so every man must come to Christ Jesus to be saved. Have you also missed His message of how to get into Christ? There is only one way given and that is baptism (Galatians 3:26-27). When a person believes that Jesus is our savior and trusts Him to save, that person will obey his gospel which is God’s power to save (Romans 1:16). The gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) and man is to obey a form of that teaching. That is man will die to sin, be buried in water and raised to live a new life, free of sin. A person’s faith, based on God’s Word accepts that testimony as truth and is willingly baptized.
To keep asking “WHY is it baptism?” “WHY isn’t there another way?” shows a lack of faith and trust in the immortal God. Salvation is designed by God for He is the giver of salvation. He alone has the right to say how any man or every man may be saved. Eternal salvation comes to those who listen to God and are obedient to Him. He sent Jesus into the world to save everyone from sin. Jesus obeyed the Father’s will and was obedient even to death (Philippians 2:8). His death was the ransom to free us from the penalty of sin which is death (Ezekiel 18:4, Romans 6:23). Paul said that when we obey from the heart a ‘form of the doctrine’, we will be freed of sin and become a servant of righteousness (Romans 6:17-18). Paul also said that baptism in obedience to God makes one a child of God (Galatians 3:26-27), and gives us redemption through His blood (Ephesians 1:7).
What shall we say then, can man follow just any way he desires and expect salvation from God? No! For if God spared not his only Son for our salvation, how could we look for another to save us? Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Gordon Musick