Frequently Asked Questions

What is the plan of Salvation?

It's called a plan because it was thought through before creation. As any plan, it has involving steps from the beginning to the fulfillment of Salvation. As many thing in the Bible, the plan of Salvation it not listed all together in one place. God's authority comes from direct command, examples, and necessary inference. We must look at all the scriptures to find the complete plan of Salvation.

We have to infer that, "Hearing the Word" would have to be the first step in the plan of Salvation. 

Acts 18:8 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.

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Whether you hear the word or read it, the Word entering your mind will start the next process which is believing. At this point you have a choice to make. You will either choose to believe what you hear or reject it.

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

John 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

If you choose to reject the word and not believe, then you will be damned as noted in Mark 16:16. As pointed out earlier those who believeth not, are not damned right away. It's not a done deal from that point on, the damnation doesn't start until the unbeliever dies. Same thing goes for the believer, they are saved as long as they continue to believe until the day they die. If they change their ways before they die than they too will be damned. Believe means to be committed to. The Greek word for "BELIEVE" is translated by Strong's below:

100 pisteuw pisteuo pist-yoo’ -o from 4102; TDNT-6:174 , 849; v King James-believe 239, commit unto 4, commit to (one’s) trust 1, be committed unto 1, be put in trust with 1, be commit to one’s trust 1, believer 1; 248

"Committed to" means you will continue to find out what the bible says about fulfill the requirements of God's plan of Salvation. Now that you've heard the Word and you believe, you should start thinking about the sins you have committed. Recognizing that you are a sinner, you must try to stop committing those sins. This is known as repenting. Acts 2:37 tells of people hearing the word. Their response to hearing the word "What Shall We Do?", shows that they believed. The next step given to them was to Repent. 

Acts 2:37 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? 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 ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 2:37 & 38 are still part of the hearing and believing process. These two parts of the plan of Salvation along with the next step, Confession, will continue to be required until you die. We'll talk more on that later.

We find in God's plan a requirement to Confess that Jesus in the Son of God.

Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Acts 8:37 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. 38) 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.

One step we keep coming across when searching for the steps of God's plan of Salvation is Baptism. Baptism is the finial step to be added to Christ's Church. It is in that watery grave where we contact Christ's blood that was shed for us. The water burial (Baptism) is a symbol of Christ's burial. just like He was risen from the grave a new, we also are raised up from a water grave a new. Having our sins washed away through baptism, we are made pure. Understand there's nothing special about the water. It's not the water washing your sins away, but the blood of Christ. It's the obedience to the command to be baptized for remission for sin (Acts 2:38) and the fact that we are buried into Christ death (Romans 6:3) that cleanses us from our sins.

Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4) 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. 5) For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Acts 2:38 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 ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Now after Baptism we are added to the Church. We must continue in to hear, believe, repent and confess Christ before man. We must do this to the end.

Matthew 10:22 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

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