Acts 2:37 and 38 (Peter is preaching on the day of Pentecost…)

"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

When they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

Acts 8:34 through 38 (Philip is traveling with an Ethiopian who is reading from the book of Isaiah…)

The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself, or someone else?"

How’re we doing?

Acts 16:29 through 33 (The jail at Philippi has just been rocked by an earthquake, but prisoners Paul and Silas have not escaped…)

Acts 22:12 through 16 (Paul is telling about his conversion to Christ…)

Still with me?

Romans 6:3 and 4 (Paul is instructing the Romans about being dead to sin and alive in Christ…)

In Galatians 3:26 and 27 Paul is instructing the Galatians concerning their relationship with God through Christ…

In 1 Peter 3:18 through 21 Peter compares the saving of Noah and his family to our salvation in Christ…

Hopefully, you realize what I’ve done – that I’ve substituted "prayer" and "receiving Christ" where the Bible speaks of "baptism." Now, why in the world would I do that? TO EMPHASIZE THAT WHAT SO MANY CHRISTIANS ASSOCIATE WITH THE PLAN OF SALVATION, NAMELY, "PRAYING TO RECEIVE CHRIST," IS NOT A BIBLICAL CONCEPT, AND TO EMPHASIZE THE LENGTHS TO WHICH MANY WILL GO TO ELIMINATE BAPTISM INTO CHRIST FROM GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION!

This morning I want to give you a biblical version of the plan of salvation. Our world needs to know, so you need to know.

This presentation of the plan of salvation could be titled: HERE ARE THE FACTS.

Fact one:

Jesus said in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

He also said in John 10:10, "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."

In other words, God wants you to live a full and satisfying life here on this earth, and He wants you to live with Him in heaven forever and ever.

But, before we can have that hope, we must deal with fact two:

God created all mankind with free wills with which to choose to obey Him or disobey Him. The Bible says in Romans 3:23 that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…" We have all chosen to disobey, and our disobedience is sin.

The Bible tells us in Isaiah 59:2 that our sin separates us from God, so we need to do something about our sin, which is where Jesus comes in…

Fact three:

We all know that Jesus was crucified – nailed to a cross, where he died. Well, when he died on that cross, he died in our place – he paid the penalty for our sins – he bridged the gap of separation between God and us.

The Bible says in 1st Timothy 2:5 and 6, "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men."

Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

But Christ doesn’t force Himself on us. We must choose to accept him as God’s Son and our Savior and Lord. John 1:12 says, "…to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God…"

So, we come to fact four:

God’s gift of forgiveness and life full and eternal is strictly by grace through faith – it can’t be bought or earned (Ephesians 2:8 and 9). But we must receive or accept it on God’s terms. It’s free but it’s conditional. Every gift is.

I once received a phone call from a land development company telling me about a free gift they had for me – a color television. But to receive it I had to go out to Lake Buchanan and listen to a 90-minute program about land they would like to sell me. I said, "Okay." So we went to the Village of Buchanan Dam and got our free color television. Did we earn it? No. Did we buy it? No. We received the free television by complying with the conditions of the givers.

So how do we "receive" Jesus as the Christ? How do we "receive" what He died to provide us? By complying with the terms God has set forth in the Scriptures, which are these:

• He asks that we repent of our sins and turn to Him, believing that Jesus is His Son and our Savior;

• He asks that we make our belief in Jesus publicly known; that we confess our belief in Him;

• He asks that we submit to a burial in water called "Christian baptism" that is done, according to Acts 2:38 and Acts 22:16, for the forgiveness of sins; and then

• He expects us to function as a part of a local congregation of believers (Acts 2:42-47).

In the 2^nd chapter of the book of Acts, verses 37 through 47, we see these very steps taken by the 3,000 who received Jesus as Lord and Savior.

They were saved by grace through faith as they complied with the terms God set forth through His messenger Peter. They were saved by grace and justified by faith when they received Jesus as Lord and Savior by repenting and being baptized.

I am often asked about those believers who for one reason or another are not baptized. My answer is this: We are simply messengers delivering God’s message. Judging people’s compliance is God’s place, not ours.

CONCLUSION:

In closing, I would like you to consider three questions:

1. Have you responded to God in this biblical way?
2. Can you share this biblical plan of salvation with others?
3. Will you?