____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ August 18, 1991 ____________________________________________________ The Inconsistencies of Denominational "Salvation" by Tom Edwards While talking with people of various denominations, the statement is often made repeatedly that one needs to merely ``believe'' in order to be saved; and that baptism, therefore, is a "non-essential" or simply "irrelevant" toward obtaining the remission of sins and becoming a Christian. By turning to a few verses that refer to believing as resulting in salvation, they frequently try to justifiy this position by declaring, ``You see this verse says nothing at all about having to be baptized.'' Let us now consider some inconsistencies with this teaching of "salvation by faith only." First of all, many of these same people who advocate this false doctrine will also teach that one needs to ``pray a sinner's prayer in order to receive Jesus Christ and be saved.'' But wait a minute here. I thought one only needed to ``believe''? Why then are they now adding the need to pray? If this be true then they should consistently say that one must ``believe and pray'' in order to become a Christian. How many verses are there, however, that instruct that one needs to ``believe and pray'' in order to be forgiven and become one of God's children? Where is even ONE passage that says that ``one must pray a sinner's prayer in order to become a child of God? This can not be found in the Scriptures, but only among the false doctrines of men. The only prayers for forgiveness during the Gospel dispensation that we read of in the Bible pertain to those who were already God's people, but because of their falling into sin, they had to ``repent and pray'' that their iniquity would be forgiven them (Acts 8:20). John's consolation to the CHRISTIANS who had sinned was that THEY had an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, whom THEY could obtain mercy from because of their sins committed WHILE a CHRISTIAN -- IF THEY would ``confess'' their sins (1 John 1:9). Also in writing to the CHURCH in Laodicea that had become lukewarm to the degree that God was about ready to spue them out of His mouth, the need for a prayer of restoration is implied. God, being the merciful Being that He is, gave them another chance by saying: ``Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and sup with him, and he with Me'' (Rev. 3:20). This was a promise not given to alien sinners, but to those who were already in God's household -- the church -- but had declined in their relationship with God as if they had closed the door on Him. In Acts 2:21, Peter declares that ''...whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved,'' but even this did not mean ``pray a sinner's prayer.'' For none of them understood it to mean this, and the divine response to those who called out ``what shall we do?'' was to ``repent and be baptized'' in order that they could be forgiven of their sins (Acts 2:38). I challenge anyone who teaches that one can be saved by ``praying a sinner's prayer'' to show the passage -- and don't just misapply one that pertains to the erring Christian or use a verse that applies to the Mosaical period or some other time rather than the Gospel dispensation. Surely, if ever a man could be saved by ``praying a sinner's prayer'' it would have been Paul (who was formerly called ``Saul''). After meeting the Lord on the road to Damascus, Paul was made blind and instructed by the Lord to go into the city in order to learn the answer to his question, ''...Lord, what do You want me to do?'' (Acts 9:6). In Damascus, Paul spent three days fasting and praying (Acts 9:9,11). Is it very likely that Paul had not asked God to forgive him while he prayed? In all probability he did, yet he was not forgiven until he obeyed the command to ''...Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins....'' (Acts 22:16). Another inconsistency with those who teach that one must ``just believe'' is that these same people will often turn around and say that you must also ``repent.'' Well, obviously, if one needs to repent, too, then a person needs to do more than just believe. To be consistent, one should then teach that sinners must ``believe and repent.'' But how many verses that speak about believing to the saving of the soul specifically mention anything at all about repentance? Very few. I just ran a search through the New Testament with my computer, having it look for any verse in which any of the following words: ``believe,'' ``believed,'' ``believes,'' or ``believing'' is coupled with ``repent,'' ``repented,'' ``repents,'' or ``repenting.'' The result: not one was found. I did find, however, two verses where ``faith'' is seen in the same passage with ``repentance'' (Acts 20:21; Heb. 6:1). By the way, which do you think is more of a "work": to have to be baptized in water or to have to repent of sins? Obviously, repentance is. Some individuals might have many sacrifices to make in repenting which will require much effort and determination on their part. I do not deny the fact that a sinner must repent in order to be saved, but the point is there are many Bible verses that speak about believing to the saving of the soul without specifically mentioning the need to repent. The only reason why we know, however, that repentance must be included is because of the other Bible verses that we have already read concerning this, such as Luke 13:5, Acts 2:38, and Acts 17:30. This is also true when it comes to baptism for the remission of sins. Though we do not read of baptism being specified in every passage that speaks of believing to the saving of the soul, we still know it is necessary toward becoming a Christian, simply because of the other Bible verses that show it to be so (Mark 16:16; John 3:5; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; Rom. 6:3,4; Gal. 3:26,27; Col. 2:12; 1 Pet. 3:21). To be consistent with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, let us view the New Testament in its entirety so that we may have a panoramic view of it and be sure to not leave anything out. As we are warned through the Bible, we can not add to or take away from God's sacred revelation that He has graciously revealed unto us (2 John 9). If you would like to discuss this (or any other Bible topic) in your home or elsewhere, feel free to contact me at the address shown on this bulletin or call the number given. If you live out of state or too far away, we could correspond through letters; and, if you would like, I could also try to contact a member of the church of Christ near where you live so that you may be able to discuss God's word together. May it be our desire to "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints'' (Jude 3) and learn to be consistent with our beliefs and practices as based on God's word. ___________________________________________ FREE BIBLE COURSE If you would like to study the Bible through a correspondence course that will be mailed to you, simply send your request to the address shown at the bottom of this bulletin or call 606-325-9742. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 713 13th Street, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________