Understanding the Road to Salvation: A Journey Through Acts

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Let’s keep talking about the church, dear friends. And today we talk about not joining, but being added to the church. So today we’re going to talk about salvation from the International Gospel Hour. Please stay with us.

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Hi, this is Jay Webb for International Gospel Hour. For 90 years, churches of Christ have proclaimed God’s Word through International Gospel Hour. You are about to listen to another Bible-based lesson with Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour, starting now.

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Well, greetings everyone. It’s great having you with us once again for our weekly broadcast from the International Gospel Hour. We are also appreciative to our J-Web for his kind words, and of course, you will hear from Jay again in our broadcast in just a few moments. We are truly blessed to have you with us today. We are thankful for all of our listeners who desire to pursue truth and to know said truth as noted from the words of Jesus in John 8, 31 and 32, with the reminder there that we can know the truth and the truth will make us free. Such truth is sought and found with an honest heart and diligent search, and today let us pursue truth together from the word of God, for the word of God is truth. John 17, 17 In our previous broadcast about the church, how thrilled we were to see Jesus promise to build his church, and indeed he did, and it is in existence this very day. The joy of seeing the Old Testament speak of the church. For example, when we noted back in Isaiah 2, 2 and 3 of the church being prophesied of old, well, we’re reminded in Ephesians 3, 9 through 12 how the church was purposed through God before time began. From the purpose to the prophecy, of course, promised by Jesus Christ in Matthew 16 and verse 18, and purchased by Christ with His own blood in Acts 20 and verse 28. And to this day, friends, just like on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, we find participation by so many people. Individuals were added to the church. They were not voted in, they did not join the church, but upon their obedience to the gospel, they were added to the church and became participants within the church, moving on their faith with action in serving others and teaching others the gospel of Jesus Christ. I suppose you could say we could make these the five Ps concerning the church. Purposed through God of old, prophesied of the old, promised by Christ, purchased by Christ, and the participation by many today. We would love for each and every listener to know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are a member of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, the church we read of in Scripture, a non-denominational, or if you will, a pre-denominational body, the only pre-denominational church, if you will, that existed before any denominations came into existence. Today we are going to continue our study of the church as we are going to be looking at salvation in the church with four cases of conversion. But first, a few quick words from our J-Web.

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Please check out our fellow laborers at House2House.com, an outstanding website for topic research, an excellent media section, and some free materials. While there, please request a free copy of House to House, Heart to Heart. Check it out today at HouseToHouse.com.

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Friends, let us look at the four cases of conversion so that we can receive the answer given to different people at different stages of their conversion and when they were added to the church. First, I call attention to a man who had never heard about Christ and his gospel. And I’m referring to the Philippian jailer. He was a heathen. And his question was, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Paul had cast an evil spirit out of a certain girl. In Acts 16, beginning with verse 19, When her master saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, and brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city. and teach customs which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe being Romans. And the multitudes rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded to hear them, or rather commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely. who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. Again, this is Acts 16, verses 19 through 24. Now, friends, please notice carefully the next ten verses, beginning with Acts 16 and verse 25. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison, awaking out of his sleep and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and in spring in he 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 in thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord unto all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was baptized, he and all his, straightway or immediately. And when he had brought them into his house, he sat to meet before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. Again, that’s Acts 16, 25-34. Now, friends, consider these observations. This man had never before heard a gospel sermon. Therefore, when he asked the question, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? The very first thing that he was told to do was to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now notice this text from John 8, 24. I said therefore unto you that you shall die in your sins. For if you believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. Also in Hebrews 11 and verse 6. But without faith it is impossible to please him. For he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Now we will perhaps come back to this later, but I want to add one thing further at this point. This man, that is the jailer, was not saved by faith only. He was not saved the very moment that he believed. I heard about a denominational preacher who claimed in a tract that he was going to give the answer to the question, What must I do to be saved? He referred to Acts 16, verse 31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved in thy house. Then he wrote in large capital letters, S-T-O-P. Why? Well, because he was afraid that his readers would learn that there was more than faith only. to be done by the alien sinner in order to be saved. Now the second case of conversion for our consideration is found in Acts chapter 2 mentioned earlier. This is regarding the Jews on Pentecost and the record of the beginning of the church. Peter’s subject on this occasion was Christ. It is stated in verse 22, You men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know. In verse 36, Peter begins his conclusion by saying, Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. These words prick their hearts. 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? Acts 2.37 Now they were not told to believe, as was the Philippian jailer. Why not? Well, folks, Peter’s forceful words had already convinced them that Christ was the Son of God, and they were already believers. Therefore Peter did not need to tell them to believe. The jailer had not traveled as far as the Pentecostians had. But he had to travel the same road of salvation, therefore he had to take the first step, the step of faith. The Pentecostians had taken the first step, but they had not taken the second step, which is repentance. Carefully observe the answer to the question, men and brethren, what shall we do, in verse 38. 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 you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now, let us suppose for a moment, friends, I am making a trip of four miles. Now, as I began my journey, I asked someone how far it is to my destination, and if they know the correct distance, they would say four miles. After going one mile, I asked another person how far to my destination. He would not say four miles, because I have already traveled one mile. Therefore his answer would be three miles. The jailer had not believed, so he was told to take the first step, or travel the first mile. The people on Pentecost already believed, so they were told to repent, that is, to take the second step, or travel the second mile on the road to salvation. Of course they were told to go all the way and fully complete their obedience, which included baptism. After traveling the third mile of my journey, I again asked the distance. Of necessity, the answer would be different from the first two answers because I have traveled farther down the road. The Pentecostians had progressed farther on the road to salvation than the jailer had at this point. When he asked the question, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? Therefore, they were given a different answer. Now the third conversion we shall now mention involves a person who had traveled farther along the road toward salvation than either the jailer or the Jews on Pentecost, and I am referring to the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip the evangelist preached unto him Jesus, Acts 8.35. Note the steps which the eunuch had to take. It was not necessary to tell him to believe or repent since it was obvious that he had already done so. But he had not taken the third step, the step of confession. After confessing Christ, he then completed his obedience, as did the jailer and the Jews at Pentecost, by being baptized. So please listen to Acts 8, 36-39. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water. What hinders me to be baptized? And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 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. 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, friends, we know that Philip did not sprinkle or pour some water on the eunuch, for they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. Paul tells us that in baptism one is buried, Romans 6 and verse 4 and Colossians 2, 12. So the eunuch took the third step. He traveled the third mile on the way to salvation. He was a believing penitent but was about to overlook the need for the confession. Hence, Philip told him, If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he then made the good confession. Acts 8.37 I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Paul says in Romans 10 and verse 10, For with the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. The eunuch, therefore, had to take the third step. But continuing on my four-mile journey, having now traveled three miles, I asked another person how far to my destination, and the correct answer would be one mile. After hearing the word of the Lord, the jailer had to take the first step, which is to believe. The Jews on Pentecost had already believed, so they had to take the second step, which is to repent. The eunuch had already taken the first two steps, so he was told to take the third step, which is to make the confession. Now, friends, the fourth conversion is about a man who lacked only one step or one mile on the road to salvation. And I speak of Saul of Tarsus. This man was a believer, he had repented, and he had certainly acknowledged the Lord. What was the final step he needed to take to become a Christian? Here is the answer. In Acts 22 and verse 16. And now, why do you tarry? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. The jailer was baptized. Acts 16, 33 and 34, And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was baptized, he and his, all of his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. The Jews on the day of Pentecost were baptized. Peter commanded them to be baptized in Acts 2, verse 38 and Acts 2, verse 41. There we read, They that gladly received his word were baptized, and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. Acts 2.41 The eunuch was baptized. We noted that moments ago from Acts 8.38 and 39. 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. 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. Saul was told in Acts 22, 16, And now, why do you tarry? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. He obeyed the command to be baptized, for we read in Acts 9, 18, And immediately there fell from his eyes, as it had been scales, and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. Now, friends, at this point someone may say, and have said, My preacher has been telling me that one can be saved before baptism. My reply would be yes, and I can probably even tell you some of the passages that he is using and misusing. How about Romans 5 and verse 1 which reads, Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The person said, well, that’s it exactly. Well, then we suggested that we study the passage. First, let’s raise the question. Who made this statement in Romans 5 and verse 1? Well, it was Paul. Paul says we are justified by faith. I then would ask, has your preacher been telling you that alien sinners are justified by faith only? And the person replied, well, yes. Well, James says that is not so, for we read in James 2.24, you see then how by works a man is justified and not by faith only. Paul was justified by faith and he had peace with God, but when did he have peace with God? When was he justified? Now remember in Acts 9.9 he was three days without sight and neither did he eat nor drink. But the answer is recorded in Acts 22.16 as we noted. And now why do you tarry? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Paul was justified by faith, but it was an obedient faith. The last act of his obedient faith in becoming a child of God was baptism so that his sins might be washed away or forgiven. He had peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, but this peace did not come before his baptism, but rather followed it. Paul was justified. He contacted the blood of Christ, but not until he was baptized. Paul himself says in Romans 6, 3 and 4, Know ye not that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life. Now note that Paul included himself. He points out here that he did not contact the blood of Christ until he was baptized. Therefore, the final step in all these conversions, including the conversion of Paul, was baptism. Friends, may I kindly say to you that no person has ever yet been saved by the blood of Christ, or entered Christ, unless he has been buried in water for the remission of sins. From the day of Pentecost until the end of time, this will remain true. Friends, have we given you some things to think about? I realize that many individuals, and maybe such are some of you, will listen to this broadcast and say, I’ve never heard baptism discussed that way before, or salvation. Friends, we looked at four examples of conversion in the Scriptures. We saw where each individual was on his journey to obey the gospel. And so, friends, just like that jailer, he learned to believe. You see, they said unto him the word of the Lord. He had to know what to believe. There are a number of people who believe, but yet believe. Their faith is not enough. What about the demons in James 2.19? The Bible tells us how they believe and tremble. What of those in John 12.42 and 43? What of those who said that they believed on Christ, but did not confess Him, lest they be cast out of the synagogue? Friends, we have to admit, faith in both those instances, some may believe, but it’s not a saving faith. All throughout the Scripture, a saving faith is a faith that obeys God and what He commands. We see where the Pentecostians needed to repent because they had crucified the Christ. They were wrong. They had to change their hearts. We saw where the eunuch who believed in Christ and he confessed Christ, and then we see in all four instances, even Paul, the jailer, Those on Pentecost, the eunuch and Paul, they were all baptized for remission of sins, in order to rejoice, for sins to be washed away, for them to be added to the church we read of in the New Testament. You see, friends, you notice in our studies of salvation, there was not a voting process that would come. They were simply added to the church. Now, again, a study such as this probably opens the eyes of many who say, well, now wait a minute, I don’t quite see it that way. Friends, we need to cease how we see it and rather obey what the Bible has to say. Might I encourage you to study this a little bit more, to look at it a little bit more in light of Scripture. We are blessed here at International Gospel Hour to add recently that a new Bible study that is available by mail or online. It’s a study called, God and Man, How to be Saved from Sin. Now this study booklet addresses a number of questions about the salvation from God to man, and friends, like all materials, it is absolutely free. So in light of our discussion today, I’d love to send you this booklet, and it’s free. We don’t want your money. We don’t ask for money from our broadcast here on International Gospel Hour. All you have to do is call us toll free at 855-444-6988. Again, that’s 855-444-6988. And leave your name and address and just say God and man. That’s all you have to do. Then we will send you that booklet absolutely free. And you can begin your study and search the scriptures concerning salvation. Now if you would like to have it in a few moments. You can go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com You can click on the contact tab and leave us the same information. Your name, address, and type God and man in the message box, and we’ll send that to you absolutely free. We can also give you the website, God-and-man.com. Be sure to put the dashes in there. And it will pop up on the screen, and you’ll see where it says free download. And again, you can have that in a few moments. I mentioned about going to our website. We’ll still have to mail it to you. But whether, either way you want it, friends, we will send the God and Man Study Booklet to you absolutely free. Don’t want your money. So please, we hope that you’ll do that today. Let me give it to you one more time. If you want to call us, 855-444-6988. Leave your name and address and just say, God and Man. Go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com. Click on the Contact tab. Leave us the same information, name, address, and type God and man in the message box. While you’re at our website, peruse a little bit. See the things that are available that you can use in your study material or your studies as well. A number of free materials from many of our friends and co-laborers in the kingdom. And that website, to download it directly… God-and-man.com Be sure to put the dashes in there. God-and-man.com You can download the study for free. Now friends, you can’t beat that. You see, the free gift of God is salvation through Christ Jesus. Romans 3.23 For all have sinned in the free gift of God. Romans 6.23 But like with all gifts, friends, we have to accept them. We hope that you will accept this study offer today and learn more of what you need to do to be saved. Or maybe you want to look at your salvation, friends. I want to pause here and thank our friend Paul Sain and SainPublications.com for the book of sermons titled The Savior’s Way. Now these sermons were preached by the late Garland Elkins in 1965 in Morrison, Tennessee at the Morrison, Tennessee Church of Christ. The study is most worthy and relevant today and so we turn back the clock for the lesson from Brother Elkins aptly titled The Church. And this was part two. And next week we will conclude with part three. And you can hear these broadcasts right here where you listen to the International Gospel Hour. We’re thankful to spend time in such a study. The lessons are thorough and they’re very helpful and we’re grateful. Again, our free materials, God and Man, contact us at 855-444-6988 and we’ll send that to you. Or if you would rather go to their website, god-and-man.com, you can download the study there as well. We are blessed to have you join us today for our studies here from the International Gospel Hour. And we’ll continue these studies together at another time. But for now, once again, thank you for joining me today on the International Gospel Hour broadcast. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, as always, keep listening.

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Thank you for listening to our broadcast today. To God goes all the glory, and we hope that our study today will draw you closer to His Word to walk in His way. To listen to it again, or our other broadcasts, please visit our website at internationalgospelhour.com.