WESTCHESTER
CHURCH OF CHRIST
SALVATION
There are many thousands of different denominations, churches, sects, and cults in today’s world that assume they have the answer to the question of how to be saved from sin. They have formulated their answers and often written them in their denominational confessions of faith, thus they feel spiritually secure. Sadly, the answers on what one must do to be saved are varied. The Bible teaches that man's salvation involves God's part and man's part. Both parts are necessary for salvation. If we are open minded and receptive to God's Word, we will accept what God has to say about this matter and turn from the doctrines of men.
GOD'S PART IN MAN'S SALVATION
GOD'S MERCY
How blessed we are that God's "merciful kindness is great toward us" (Psalms 117:2), and that "according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5).
GOD SENT CHRIST
The Bible says that "He (Jesus) will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21), and that "the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
CHRIST SHED HIS BLOOD
We are "justified by His blood" and "saved from wrath through Him" (Romans 5:9). Jesus, in instituting the Lord's Supper, said, "For this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Matthew 26:28); and in Revelation 1:5; John writes, "and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Hm who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood."
GOD'S GRACE
It is God's grace "that brings salvation" and "has appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11). We are justified by His grace (Titus 3:7). It is "by grace you have been saved and that is through faith" (Ephesians 2:5,8).
GOD'S LONG-SUFFERING
God wants all men to be saved. For this reason God is longsuffering toward us. Peter says, "And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation -- as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you" (II Peter 3:15).
SENDING THE GOSPEL
The gospel is the power tht God uses to bring us to salvation. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith'" (Romans 1:16,17). Paul said that it "pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe" (I Corinthians 1:21).
man's PART In SALVATION
HEAR THE GOSPEL
It is through the Word of God, the Bible, that we can understand the Will of God for man. Paul said "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). We cannot know what we must do to be saved unless we can read what we must do in the Bible. Therefore, Bible study is necessary to know God's Will for man.
BELIEVE THE GOSPEL
It is not enough to hear God's Word; we must believe that it is God's revealed message to mankind. Jesus said, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16). The Hebrew writer said, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
REPENT OF YOUR SINS
In Luke 13:3, Jesus said, "Except you repent you shall all likewise perish." He again repeated this in verse five. The Bible teaches that God requires "all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30). When we repent, we determine to turn away from the sins that separate us from God and have genuine sorrow for our sins (Isaiah 59:1,2).
CONFESS CHRIST AS LORD
Confession of Christ as Savior is a part of the gospel plan of salvation. The Bible teaches, "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:10).
BAPTIZED FOR SINS
Jesus, before ascending back to heaven, said to His disciples, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen." (Matthew 28:19,20).
Peter, in the first gospel sermon, said, "...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).
Later on, in the first epistle of Peter, Peter said that baptism saves us. "There is also an antitype which now saves us --- baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (I Peter 3:21).
When the apostle Paul recounted his conversion, he said that Ananias came to him and said, "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).
Paul also said that it is through baptism that we put on Christ. "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ" (Galatians 3:27).
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LIVE FAITHFULLY TILL DEATH
Jesus knew that many would start on the road to heaven and then fall away. Therefore He said, "But he who endures to the end shall be saved" (Matthew 24:13). This is repeated in Mark 13:13: "And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved." Paul, using the analogy of a race, points out that salvation is for those who "finish the race" and "have kept the faith." Those who do so will receive a "crown of righteousness" (II Timothy 4:7,8).