Introduction:
1. Having seen the necessity of becoming part of the Lord’s special/peculiar people, the next logical step is discussing how to do so.
2. The answers offered are varied and contradictory, but the Bible is clear.
3. Therefore, we place our faith only in the faith once for all delivered (Jude 3).
Discussion:
I. Belief/Faith (Hebrews 11:6; John 8:23-24)
A. In a way, this goes without saying, but the Bible defines this differently than people do.
B. The majority view says belief is merely mental, agreeing to the facts as stated.
C. The Bible consistently tethers faith with faithfulness, belief with obedience (John 3:36 in the ESV, NASB, ASV, etc.; Romans 1:5; 16:25-26; Galatians 5:5-7; Hebrews 3:16-19; 4:2, 6; 5:9; James 2:14-26).
II. Repentance (Luke 13:1-5; Act 2:38a; 17:30-31)
A. Many faulty explanations of repentance exist in the religious world.
1. One entry on dictionary.com is “regret for any past action.”
2. One of Webster’s entries is “to feel regret or contrition.”
B. Regret and contrition certainly play a role in repentance, but they are not the same.
1. These Jews were already contrite, but they still had to repent.
2. Paul said godly sorrow produces repentance (2 Corinthians 7:9-11).
C. The biblical concept of repentance is a change of mind bringing a change of ways.
III. Confession (Matthew 10:32-33; Romans 10:8-10)
A. The majority view treats confession as simply verbalizing that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9-10), making it the final link in the chain of salvation.
B. The biblical use of the term denies this concept.
1. This word is “to speak the same thing as another, agree with another” (Thayer).
2. Mere verbalization is insufficient (James 2:19; Mark 5:1-7; Matthew 7:21-23; Acts 9:1-9).
3. Confessing Christ as Lord is pledging allegiance to King Jesus (1 Timothy 6:12-16).
IV. Baptism (Acts 2:38b; 22:16; 1 Peter 3:)
A. It is argued that salvation summaries omitting baptism prove it is unnecessary.
1. Romans 10:9-10 above only names belief and confession.
2. Several passages single out faith/belief (John 3:16, Romans 3:28; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9).
B. A closer look at the full picture proves these assumptions miss their mark.
1. Other salvation summaries exclude the elements named above.
2. Mark 16:15-16 enjoins belief and baptism without naming repentance or confession.
3. Acts 2:38 couples repentance and baptism without faith or confession.
4. 1 Peter 3:21 singles out baptism making no mention of the other three.
C. If we honor the context of these passages, we find none cancels or contradicts another.
D. Biblical faith, repentance, confession, and baptism work in harmony.
Conclusion:
1. Though this obviously looks very different than what most in the religious world teach on the matter, the Bible is clear on these matters.
2. Rather than pit one Scripture against another, why not allow these to harmonize and embrace each piece for its role in the whole process of becoming His?
3. Our next discussion will address the fatal error that says we should simply agree to disagree about how one becomes part of His special people.
Further Food for Thought
1. Have you experienced the cherry-picking approach to these verses in your evangelistic interactions with people?
2. How do you approach this situation to try and move the discussion forward?
3. How can we help better prepare one another for this work?