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The following program is a production of
Truth For The World.
♪ "Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
oh what words I hear Him say." ♪
How many times in our lives have we heard someone say,
"What should I do to go to Heaven?"
I would guess if you asked 10 different people
from all over the world that question,
you would get 10 different answers.
Some might say, "Well, Just believe."
Others might say, "You do not DO anything."
Some might say,
"Well, just pray and invite Jesus to come into your heart."
There are so many answers that man can give
to that one simple question.
We have been in a discussion on baptism for the past few shows,
but today I want to take a step back and just ask the question,
"What does a person do to be saved?"
In answering that question,
we will properly answer the question,
"WHO may be baptized, or,WHO is eligible for salvation?"
If you have your Bible please open it to Acts 2.
You will remember the scene.
The Jewish nation had gathered together to keep
what it had been keeping for over a thousand years.
That because of Pentecost,
millions of people were in the city of Jerusalem,
it was quite a time for celebration.
It is during these festivities
that the question first comes up:
WHAT MUST WE DO?
But before we get there,
let us find out what led up to that question.
As they were all gathered together,
look what happened in Acts 2:14.
"But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice,
"and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea,
"and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem,
"be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:"
Just a little while before this,
Jesus had told his apostles to go and teach.
And what was Peter doing right now?
He lifted up his voice and began to teach them.
He told them that this is
the fulfillment of prophecy found in Joel.
How that it was the Christ that they had put to death.
He was responsible for the great event that was happening.
Look what he says in Acts 2:36.
"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly,
"that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified,
"both Lord and Christ.
"Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart,
"and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles,
"'Men and brethren, what shall we do?'"
So there is the question: "Look at what we have done.
"We have killed the Holy one of Israel!
"We have killed the Messiah."
NOW they say, "WHAT SHALL WE DO?"
What does verse 38 say?
Does it say, "Then Peter said unto them, 'DO?....
"You do not have to DO anything, Salvation is a free gift,
and you do not DO anything to receive it.''"
Is that what it says? NO! Look at it.
"Then Peter said unto them, 'Repent, and be baptized
"every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
"for the remission of sins,
"and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.'"
Now I have a question. Did he say, "Well I tell you what,
"just pray, and ask Jesus to come into your heart
"and you shall be saved?"
Read it again. "What shall we do?"
"Peter said, 'REPENT and BE BAPTIZED.'"
Just repent? NO.
Just be baptized? NO.
Peter said,"You want forgiveness?
"Then REPENT and Be BAPTIZED."
Then, Look at verse 41.
"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized:
"and the same day there were added unto them
"about three thousand souls."
Now I have another question: How many were added?
3000 souls. When were they Added? Before baptism or after?
Okay, so that is one case of conversion down,
a few more to go.
Let us look at our chart, and fill in the appropriate blanks.
Now you will remember how that Peter and John
had healed a man who was laid at the Temple.
And the people went to Solomon's Porch,
which was a part of the Temple.
And they began to be amazed at what they had done,
in healing the lame man.
Notice what happened in Acts 3:12.
"And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people,
"'Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this?
"'or why look ye so earnestly on us,
"'as though by our own power or holiness
"'we had made this man to walk?'"
So he says we did not do this. Now look what he does.
He starts to Preach or Teach to them.
So in verse 13-18 he says:
"The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob,
"the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus;
"whom ye delivered up, and denied him
"in the presence of Pilate,
"when he was determined to let him go.
"But ye denied the Holy One and the Just,
"and desired a murderer to be granted unto you;
"And killed the Prince of life,
"whom God hath raised from the dead;
"whereof we are witnesses."
He says, you knew who he was and you killed him anyway.
"And his name through faith in his name
"hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know:
"yea, the faith which is by him
"hath given him this perfect soundness
"in the presence of you all. And now, brethren,
"I wont that through ignorance ye did it,
"as did also your rulers.
"But those things, which God before had shewed
"by the mouth of all his prophets,
"that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled."
So he preaches to them, the resurrected Christ,
the one that they had killed.
This is the same sermon he had preached before,
and look what he says, "Hey you want to be saved?"
Look at what he says in Acts 3:19.
"REPENT ye therefore, AND BE CONVERTED,
"that your sins may be blotted out,
"when the times of refreshing shall come
"from the presence of the Lord."
What was that Peter? Repent AND be converted?
Well I thought when you repented you were converted.
NOPE, not according to what Peter had said.
Look at Acts 2:38.
"REPENT and be BAPTIZED." What does he say here?
"REPENT and be CONVERTED."
Is there any difference in the action of Baptism
and the action of Conversion?
No Sir! It is the exact same thing.
Act 3:22-23 says, "For Moses truly said unto the fathers,
"'A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up
"'unto you of your brethren, like unto me;
"'him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever
"'he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass,
"'that every soul which will not hear that prophet,
"'shall be destroyed from among the people.'"
So they had to HEAR. Well they did and what was the result?
Act 4:4 says, " Howbeit many of them which heard the word
"belived; and the number of the men was about five thousand."
So we see that they believed.
So let us mark those on our chart.
Now let us look at Acts chapter 5:14.
"And believers were the more added to the Lord,
"multitudes both of men and women."
How were they added?
The same way that those in Acts 2 were added:
Through being converted.
Now we come to Acts 8 and you will remember how that Philip,
later to be called Philip the evangelist,
went down to a place called Samaria
to preach to Samaritans,
those people who were half-Jew and half-Gentile.
Let us see how these people were converted, shall we?
Acts 8:5-6 says,"Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria
"and preached Christ unto them."
So we see that they did what Christ told them to do-
they went and preached.
"And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things
"which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did."
Did they listen to what he said? Yes, they heard.
Did they believe? Look at verse 12.
"But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning
"the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ
"they were baptized, both men and women."
Now I have a question.
They HEARD them preaching and wanted to know how to be saved.
Did Philip say, "Are you crazy asking a question like that?
"You just have to believe."
Is that what they did?
It says they believed, and what else happened?
They were BAPTIZED.
Then you have another man here
who is using magic to trick the people,
and when he saw the Miracles, and no doubt heard the message,
look how he was saved. Act 8:13 says,
"Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized,
"he continued with Philip, and wondered,
"beholding the miracles and signs which were done."
So we see that in order to be saved, one must first BELIEVE,
and then he must BE BAPTIZED.
So on our chart, here is yet another example
of what a person did in order to be saved.
He believed and he was baptized.
The Samaritans believed and they were baptized.
Now still in Acts 8, there was a man from Ethiopia
who had gone also up to keep the Law,
and he was on his way back down to Ethiopia
and God told a man named Philip
to go preach to him and to convert him.
So Look at verse 35.
"Then Philip opened his mouth,
"and began at the same Scripture,
"and preached unto him Jesus."
So here he is again, and he is PREACHING.
What did Christ command for them to do in that great commission?
Go out and preach and baptize.
"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water:
"and the eunuch said. 'See, here is water;
"'what doth hinder me to be baptized.'"
Now here he preached,
and he must have preached not only the man, but the plan also,
And so he said, "I want to be baptized."
And Philip said, "Why be baptized?
"If you believe that is all you need."
Is that what your Bible says? NO.
Look at verse 37. "And Philip said,
"'If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.'
And he answered and said,
"'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'"
He says in order for you to be BAPTIZED,
you must first BELIEVE.
He spoke and he confessed that JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD.
That was his confession.
Now was he saved? No sir.
Anything else Philip wanted this man to do for salvation?
Acts 8:38 says,
"And he commanded the chariot to stand still:
"and they went down both into the water,
"both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him."
Now here is why we immerse.
They both went into the water.
We do not sprinkle because it is a BURIAL.
According to Romans 6, we bury people.
Acts 8:39 says, "And when they were come up out of the water,
"the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip,
"that the eunuch saw him no more:
"and he went on his way rejoicing."
Now when did he begin to rejoice?
Before baptism or after?
My bible says it was after that he went on his way rejoicing.
So on our chart, here is a man who heard, he believed,
he confessed and he was baptized.
Then we get to Acts 9.
Now we are going to flip between Acts 9 and Acts 22.
Acts 9 is the event and Acts 22 is the
inspired Paul's retelling of what happened to him.
So Saul was killing Christians
and putting Christians into prison.
And on the road to Damascus a light shown around him,
and he fell to the ground and Jesus appeared to him,
and said, "Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?"
He said, "Who are you?" And he told him who he was,
Then Saul said, "Lord what must I do?"
Then you remember what happened, right?
Jesus said, "Stand up Saul!
"Why are you asking me a silly question like that?
"You do not have to DO anything."
Is that what happened? No.
Well, did he say, "Saul, just say a prayer,
"and invite me to come into your heart?"
Is that what he said? No.
Jesus said, "You want to be saved, you MUST DO this.
"GO into the city of Damascus and it will be told
"what you MUST DO."
So even a vision from God himself did not save Saul.
Acts 9:17 says, "And Ananias went his way
"and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said,
"'Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus,
"'that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest,
"'hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight,
"'and be filled with the Holy Ghost.'"
In Acts 22 verse 12 -15 we read:
"And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law,
"having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,
"came unto me, and stood, and said unto me,
"'Brother Saul, receive thy sight.'
"And the same hour I looked up upon him.
"And he said,'The God of our fathers hath chosen thee,
"'that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One,
"'and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
"'For thou shalt be his witness unto all men
"'of what thou hast seen and heard.'"
Did Ananias teach him? Absolutely!
Then he said, "'Now that you have heard, and you believe,
"'you have been fasting for 3 days, in prayer.'"
Certainly he had a penitent heart,
certainly he had repented.
But was he SAVED?
If you say "yes, he was saved," then he was saved with his sin.
Look at verse 16.
"And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized,
"and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."
Acts 9:18 says he arose and was baptized,
"and immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales
"and he receIved sight forthwith,
"and arose, and was baptized."
Well, we are half way through so let us see what has happened.
The Jews on Pentecost heard what was preached,
they believed, they repented and they were baptized.
Same with the Jews in Solomon's Porch.
They believed and were baptized.
Same with the Samaritans, Simon the sorcerer,
the Ethiopian Eunuch and Saul of Tarsus.
What did they do in order to find salvation?
Hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized.
So that brings us to Acts 10.
We have the Gentile people who wanted to be saved.
So God tells Peter to go to a man named Cornelius.
Cornelius was a man who already believed in God,
but he was not saved.
He already did a lot of good things.
He prayed and he gave his money to the poor.
He was an all around good person.
BUT GOD SAID HE STILL WAS NOT SAVED. Why?
He had not done what he was supposed to do
in order for salvation.
So God sent Peter to the Gentiles. Act 10:34 says,
"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said,
"'Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.
"'But in every nation he that feareth him,
"'and worketh righteousness, IS accepted with him.'"
So he again begins to preach and he preaches the Christ.
Verse 22 tells us they heard him.
Act 10:43 says, "To him give all the prophets witness,
"that through his name whosoever believeth in him
"shall receive remission of sins."
Now someone says, "Look at that.
"If you believe you receive remission of sins."
Well, if you have some disease and you go to the doctor,
and you believe he can cure you.
So he tells you what you need to do to get better
and he prescribes a certain medicine.
Friend, I do not care how much you BELIEVE in your doctor,
if you do not DO what he has prescribed,
you will never be cured.
So those who believe, will DO what God has said to do
in order to be saved. What is that?
Look what happened to them in verse 47-48.
"Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized,
"which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
"And he commanded them to be baptized
"in the name of the Lord.
"Then prayed they him to tarry certain days."
He did not suggest that they be baptized did he?
He did not say, "Well, now that you are saved,
"you may want to be baptized,
"so next month when everyone gets together we will bapitize y
What does he say?
He COMMANDS them to be baptized.
Friends, baptism is not an option!
So they heard, believed and were baptized.
Now we come to Acts 16:13 to the house of Lydia.
"And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side,
"where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down,
"and spake unto the women which resorted thither."
So they indeed were doing what the great commission
told them to do. Go and teach.
"And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple,
"of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God,
"heard us whose heart the Lord opened,
"that she attended unto the things
"which were spoken of Paul.
"And when she was baptized, and her household,
"she besought us, saying, 'If ye have judged me
"to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house,
"and abide there.' And she constrained us."
So she heard, and what happened? She was baptized.
Are we beginning to see the pattern?
Belief followed by baptism of the penitent heart.
Then we drop down a few verses to verse 31.
Now Paul and Silas had been thrown into prison
for getting rid of a false prophet,
a girl with an evil spirit.
And some men had taken them and put them in prison.
So what did they do in prison?
Well they prayed and they sang.
And an earthquake came and shook the bars open,
and yet all the people stayed in their cells.
The Jailer came and was going to kill himself
for letting the prisoners escape.
In Acts 16:28-33 we read, "But Paul cried with a loud voice,
"saying, 'Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.'
"Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling,
"and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out,
"and said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'
"And they said, 'Believe on the Lord, Jesus Christ,
"and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.'
"And they spake unto him the word of the Lord"
(there is the preaching),
"and to all that were in his house.
"And he took them the same hour of the night,
"and washed their stripes;"
(here is that penitent heart, the repentant attitude)
"and he was baptized, he and all his, straightway."
And so in verse 34 they continued to believe.
Next we come to the Corinthians in Acts 18:4.
What happened to them?
Well, first we know that they preached Christ.
"And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath,
"and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
"And when Silas and Timothy were come from Macedonia,
"Paul was pressed in the spirit. and testified to the Jews
"that Jesus was Christ."
Then in verse 8,
"And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue,
"believed on the Lord with all his house:
"and many of the Corinthians hearing,
"believed and were baptized."
Many people heard (verse 8). Many people believed (verse 8).
And not only did they believe; what else did they do?
They were baptized.
Someone says, "Well it does not say Crispus was baptized."
Well turn to 1 Corinthians 1: 14.
Paul did indeed baptize Crispus.
Paul says, "I thank God that I baptized none of you,
but Crispus and Gaius."
So here is another example
of hearing, believing and being baptized.
Next we come to the Ephesians in Acts 19:1-5.
"And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth,
"Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus:
"and finding certain disciples, He said unto them,
"'Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?'
"And they said unto him, 'We have not so much as heard
"whether there be any Holy Ghost.'
"And he said unto them, 'Unto what then were ye baptized?'
"And they said, 'Unto John's baptism.'
"Then said Paul, 'John verily baptized with
"the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people,
"that they should believe on him which should come after him,
"that is on Chnst Jesus.'
"When they heard this. they were baptized
"in the name of the Lord Jesus."
So here were some who had been baptized before,
but it was not the right baptism.
They had to be baptized correctly,
that is, in the name of Jesus.
But clearly they had been preached to,
they believed, and they were baptized.
Well what is the point?
If you have not done these things,
then that is what you MUST do to be saved.
Let us look then at the sum total of all
that everyone must do to be saved.
If a person today wants to be saved,
what did all these people do?
He must HEAR.
He must BELIEVE.
He must REPENT.
He must CONFESS.
He must BE BAPTIZED.
Now, what is the end result of all this?
Look at it.
Washing away sins, salvation, times of refreshing, rejoicing.
Friends, I want you to know
that I love every soul seeing this today and
it is my sincere desire that you and I go to heaven.
But I know this, there is so much error taught today
on what one must do to be saved.
Many say, "Well, just believe."
Many say, "Well you cannot really DO anything to be saved."
Others say, "Well you should hear and repent and confess,
"but you do not have to be immersed in water."
Folks, I know what the religious world says.
I know what MAN has to say about it.
But today Friend, you have heard what GOD has to say about it.
If you plan on going to heaven, there are 5 steps to salvation.
Hear, believe, repent, confess and be baptized.
Oh, but that is not the end.
After you are baptized into Christ,
then friend you must live faithful to him, to HIS word.
If you are not a child of God today, you can become one.
Just do what we have seen on this chart and you can be saved.
♪ "Sitting at the feet of Jesus,
oh what words I hear Him say.
Happy place so near, so precious,
may it find me there each day." ♪
If you would like to learn more about God's word with
a free Bible Correspondence Course,
then write us at Truth For The World
P.O. Box 5048, Duluth, GA 30096
the United States of America.
Or visit us online at truthfortheworld.org
The preceding program was a production of
Truth For The World, a work of the Duluth Church of Christ