By What Are We Saved?
John A. Keith
It is a most unfortunate thing that man wants to compartmentalize the means whereby we are saved to one word and, in so doing, he will misapply any Scripture to attempt to prove his “saved by one thing” notion. For example, in Acts 27:31, Paul said, “Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.” Was Paul's instruction for all people at all times? Does this mean we must stay in a ship if we are to be saved? The way some want to interpret the Scriptures, it does. They have thrown context to the wind.
The Bible speaks of many things that will result in our salvation. The Corinthians were saved by the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Peter said, “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21).
We read in Acts 11:14 that words can save us.
We are saved by faith according to Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God”; also Acts 16:31. We are saved by grace, Titus 2:11, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.” We are saved by mercy, Titus 3:5, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Hope is another thing by which we are saved; Romans 8:24, “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?”
Repentance cannot be separated from remission of sins. 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.” Luke 24:47, “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
Confession is another thing that saves us; Romans 10:9, 10, “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. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Albeit an unpopular notion, we are also saved by works. James 2:24 says in very unmistakable language, “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” If we are not justified, we are not saved.
Baptism saves us. 1 Peter 3:21 says, “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Jesus, in The Great Commission, commanded the apostles: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:15,16). Acts 4:12 tells us that the name of Jesus saves, and John 3:17 says that Jesus, Himself, saves us.
So which one of the above themes saves us? ALL OF THEM. If we were to remove just one of the words highlighted above, we would not have salvation! One might search the Scriptures and find additional things that save us, but the point is this: We must be obedient to ALL the commands of God in the New Testament if salvation is our desire. We must not be so careless as to be obedient to one command to the neglect of another. Remember the words of the Psalmist; “I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies.” (Psalm 119:125). –70 Gale Ave., Newport, OH 45768. jtakeith@att.net