Salvation - God's Plan, or Men's (long)

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       SALVATION - GOD'S PLAN, OR MEN'S ??

Question:  Is there a plan of salvation that we are to engage in, or does
salvation occur, once and for all, at the point in a person's life when he
realized the reality of God and of Christ?  The answer to this question is
one that both hotly contested, and of central importance to the reader.
 Jesus said in Matthew 24:13 that he who "shall endure unto the end, the same
shall be saved."  Again in Rev. 21:7 he said, "He that overcometh will
inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."  We
"inherit" by overcoming, are "saved" by enduring, hmmm....  These words are a
far cry from the salvation being proposed these days by the world!   Keep
this in mind as we look into the word....   

Of assurity, we are saved by participation in the gospel of Jesus Christ,
which can be shown with scripture.  Let's first address what is the "gospel",
which the world says is "by grace through faith and not of yourself."  Isn't
that what people say that salvation is?   Now, that is scripture, but that
was not intended by Paul to be an all-encompassing salvation message.
 Consider this, that Paul wrote that passage, Ephesians 2:8, to a group that
had already been preached, and participated in, the salvation plan (Eph. 1:1
"...to the saints which are at Ephesus...").   Let's look a little further
into the word:  Paul wrote to the Corinthians (I Cor. 15:1-2) "Moreover
brethren (OK, he's writing to a  church), I declare unto you the gospel which
I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by
which also ye are saved (saved by the gospel), if ye keep in memory what I
preached unto you (there's that pesky "if" word, gotta "keep" something),
unless ye have received in vain."  OK, now Paul has established that a person
can believe, but that belief be in vain.  How can that be? Read on....

Now, the reader may wonder, what exactly is this "gospel" thing?  What does
he mean by that?  Let Paul continue.... (I Cor. 15:3-4):  "For I delivered
unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for
our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he
rose again the third day according to the scriptures." So, the gospel is the
death, burial and resurrection of Christ.  Agreed?  That's what the scripture
says, anyway.  So, we are saved by that.  By Christ dying, being buried, and
rising from the dead.  But wait!!  If that is all, then the whole world is
saved, and lets have a party (a Godly one, of course)!!  Oh, you gotta
believe first, you say?  Yes, that is true.  But Paul said, "if" to
believers.   If.   That little word upon which so much argument hinges.

Now, when we are unclear on a Bible teaching, it is best to go to another of
the writers, to see if we can confirm the teaching.  So, let's check with
Peter.    Remember, Peter has the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  If you are
unclear on that, please review Matt.16:19: "(Jesus speaking) And I will give
unto thee the keys to the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind
on earth, shall be bound in heaven...."  In the 2nd chapter of Acts, Peter
stands up to deliver his  salvation message, jingling those keys!  His sermon
is contained in Acts 2:14-36.  Let me draw your attention to the 37th verse.
 "Now when they heard this they were pricked in their heart (OK, we see that
they believed), and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and
brethren, what shall we do?"  What is this??  They believed!!  Is that not
'by grace through faith, and that not of themselves'?? (Ep. 2:8, paraphrased)
 Then Peter should just extend the right hand of fellowship, right?  Did he?
 Well, let's proceed to the next (38th) verse:  "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."  Sounds
like a plan to me.  But not my words - Peter's!   And, if you look at it,
Peter's plan lines up perfectly with Paul's gospel message we reviewed above
-- Death/repentance,  Burial/baptism, and Resurrection/infilling of the Holy
Ghost.  There you have it!   Further, this is the same message that was
preached by Jesus - repentance (Mark 1:15, Luke 24:47), baptism (Mark 16:16,
Luke 24:47), and infilling of the Holy Ghost (John 7:38-39).  This cannot be
this explicit in the scripture and disavowed!  Saved by the gospel!  The good
old Bible way, the Bible plan;  not man's way, man's thinking, nor man's
plan.                     

Am I saying to you that we cannot just "accept Jesus Christ" and go about our
business?  That is exactly what I am saying.  Paul's question in Acts 19 is
still valid today:  "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed"?
(Acts 19:2)  And he would not have asked that if it was automatic!   Review
Acts 8:12-17:  They believed (vs.12), but had not yet received the Holy Ghost
(vs.16), so continued with the plan (vs.17).  In other words, though you have
accepted the reality of Jesus, his acceptance of you is what is important -
that's what Acts chapter 8 indicates.  Further, the men in Acts chapter 2
believed ("they were pricked in their heart"), so why did they say, "men and
brethren, what shall we do?"  (vs. 37)  Why?  Because there are actions we
must take toward God, things we must "keep," "stand in," and "contend for."
 (Acts 2:38-40, I Pet. 3:21, I Cor. 15:1-2, Col. 1:23, Acts 19:2, Jude 3,
etc.)  Jude urges us to "...earnestly contend for the faith once delivered
unto the saints." (Jude 3)   "Earnestly contend" is not what is being
preached over our airways today!  Today, men make salvation a free ride,
which it is not.  If it were, would Paul have written that he himself could
preach the gospel, yet become a castaway?  He did write that, in I Cor. 9:27.
  Think about it.   And go with the *whole* council of God every time, over
what men say.  It's all true, not just selected portions!

Tom Gray (TGray238@aol.com)