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

Thomas Griffin (griffin@mtu.edu)
Fri, 29 Sep 1995 05:41:40 -0500


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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)
:)



  ---------------------- Thomas J. Griffin III -----------------------
	\ M \  	 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and
 	 \ T \ 	the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
	  \ U \			John 14:6
  ------> griffin@mtu.edu  and  http://www.me.mtu.edu/~griffin <------