What About Saved by Grace? Update: Please Read.

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Acts2

New member
Aug 11, 2020
9
5
3
#1
Ephesians 2:8-9 proclaims, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” This means salvation is a free gift from God. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ made this free gift of salvation available, and the only way to receive salvation is to have faith in Jesus and in the sufficiency of His sacrifice. Of course, saving faith in Christ includes obedience to His gospel and application of His gospel to our lives. I must stress that salvation can come only through faith, and that faith must be in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus asserted, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). He also said we must believe He is God manifested in the flesh as our Savior. “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 8:24).

In Acts 1 Jesus gave His disciples last minute instructions just before His ascension into heaven. He told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father, namely the baptism of the Holy Ghost. About 120 disciples obeyed Him and gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem.

Acts 2 records that on the Jewish feast day of Pentecost the promised Spirit baptism came. Peter seized the opportunity to preach to the crowd. Standing with the other eleven apostles, he began to explain what had just happened and proceeded to preach about Jesus whom they had crucified, was both Lord and Christ (Messiah).

When the crowd heard this, they began to feel guilt and conviction of sin, for undoubtedly many of them had demanded the crucifixion of Jesus less than two months before. Consequently, they asked Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). As the context shows, they were asking, “How can we receive forgiveness for our sin? How can we correct the wrong we have done in rejecting Jesus and crucifying Him? How can we now accept Jesus as Lord and Messiah?” The essence of salvation is receiving forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, so their question simply meant, “What must we do to be saved?”

Peter gave, with the support of all the apostles: “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 2:38).

We find only one other situation in the New Testament church that directly poses the question, “What must I do to be saved?”

Acts 16 records that the magistrates of Philippi, a city in Macedonia, jailed Paul and Silas for preaching the gospel. At midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God. Suddenly, an earthquake shook the prison and opened the doors. When the jailer awoke and realized what had happened he assumed the prisoners had all escaped. Apparently faced with the penalty of death for allowing this to happen, he decided to commit suicide. As he drew his sword, Paul shouted, “Do thyself no harm: for we are all here” (Acts 16:28). When he heard this, the jailer called for a light and went to investigate for himself. He came trembling and fell down at the feet of Paul and Silas, realizing that they were the ones responsible for the miraculous earthquake. He brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31). The Bible further records, “And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house” (Acts 16:32-34).

Each gives the same answer in different terms, from different viewpoints, and in different situations, but it is the same answer nonetheless. When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus He was not answering a direct question about salvation. Instead, He was describing God’s plan of salvation for the future New Testament church that was about to come into existence.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Salvation comes only through repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith will lead to water baptism in the name of Jesus (birth of water) and to the baptism of the Spirit (birth of the Spirit).
 

throughfaith

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2020
10,467
1,593
113
#4
Ephesians 2:8-9 proclaims, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” This means salvation is a free gift from God. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ made this free gift of salvation available, and the only way to receive salvation is to have faith in Jesus and in the sufficiency of His sacrifice. Of course, saving faith in Christ includes obedience to His gospel and application of His gospel to our lives. I must stress that salvation can come only through faith, and that faith must be in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus asserted, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). He also said we must believe He is God manifested in the flesh as our Savior. “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 8:24).

In Acts 1 Jesus gave His disciples last minute instructions just before His ascension into heaven. He told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father, namely the baptism of the Holy Ghost. About 120 disciples obeyed Him and gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem.

Acts 2 records that on the Jewish feast day of Pentecost the promised Spirit baptism came. Peter seized the opportunity to preach to the crowd. Standing with the other eleven apostles, he began to explain what had just happened and proceeded to preach about Jesus whom they had crucified, was both Lord and Christ (Messiah).

When the crowd heard this, they began to feel guilt and conviction of sin, for undoubtedly many of them had demanded the crucifixion of Jesus less than two months before. Consequently, they asked Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). As the context shows, they were asking, “How can we receive forgiveness for our sin? How can we correct the wrong we have done in rejecting Jesus and crucifying Him? How can we now accept Jesus as Lord and Messiah?” The essence of salvation is receiving forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, so their question simply meant, “What must we do to be saved?”

Peter gave, with the support of all the apostles: “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 2:38).

We find only one other situation in the New Testament church that directly poses the question, “What must I do to be saved?”

Acts 16 records that the magistrates of Philippi, a city in Macedonia, jailed Paul and Silas for preaching the gospel. At midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God. Suddenly, an earthquake shook the prison and opened the doors. When the jailer awoke and realized what had happened he assumed the prisoners had all escaped. Apparently faced with the penalty of death for allowing this to happen, he decided to commit suicide. As he drew his sword, Paul shouted, “Do thyself no harm: for we are all here” (Acts 16:28). When he heard this, the jailer called for a light and went to investigate for himself. He came trembling and fell down at the feet of Paul and Silas, realizing that they were the ones responsible for the miraculous earthquake. He brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31). The Bible further records, “And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house” (Acts 16:32-34).

Each gives the same answer in different terms, from different viewpoints, and in different situations, but it is the same answer nonetheless. When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus He was not answering a direct question about salvation. Instead, He was describing God’s plan of salvation for the future New Testament church that was about to come into existence.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Salvation comes only through repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith will lead to water baptism in the name of Jesus (birth of water) and to the baptism of the Spirit (birth of the Spirit).
False . Acts 2.38 is not the plan of salvation for all ages. Read the context and who Peter is speaking to . Its not the same in Acts 16.30 . its not the same in ANY of the verses you quoted . Thats why you finish with a false message that is perpetuated in every false Church .
 

throughfaith

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2020
10,467
1,593
113
#5
We should be asking why is ' Acts2' ( The clues in the name) pushing Acts 2 here ?
 

Blik

Senior Member
Dec 6, 2016
7,312
2,424
113
#6
False . Acts 2.38 is not the plan of salvation for all ages. Read the context and who Peter is speaking to . Its not the same in Acts 16.30 . its not the same in ANY of the verses you quoted . Thats why you finish with a false message that is perpetuated in every false Church .
A false message? Way back in Leviticus we are told about the grace of the Lord.

Lev. 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

Christ fulfilled this and made it perfect. What can be "false"?
 

throughfaith

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2020
10,467
1,593
113
#7
A false message? Way back in Leviticus we are told about the grace of the Lord.

Lev. 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

Christ fulfilled this and made it perfect. What can be "false"?
How we are saved is to found in the very books that contain direct
A false message? Way back in Leviticus we are told about the grace of the Lord.

Lev. 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

Christ fulfilled this and made it perfect. What can be "false"?
Not sure what you mean ? what do you think im saying ?
 
P

pottersclay

Guest
#8
Jesus' first words were the same as John's "repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand".
repentance is the first thing and also a continual practice we should keep.
 
Jun 11, 2020
1,370
424
83
73
#9
False . Acts 2.38 is not the plan of salvation for all ages. Read the context and who Peter is speaking to . Its not the same in Acts 16.30 . its not the same in ANY of the verses you quoted . Thats why you finish with a false message that is perpetuated in every false Church .
OK. You're passionate about the truth. The brother is suitably castigated. Give us the benefit of your insight. Show us what salvation is and how it is achieved. The brother started with Ephesians 2:8. You can stay there if you like, but remember that the word "saved" is used in multiple contexts. In Matthew 19 it could be hindered by monetary wealth, not lack of faith. The rich man had acknowledged Jesus' deity and called Him Master. Why did he go away sad? In Philippians 2:12 we have a totally different case to Ephesians 2:8. There the command is to "work out your OWN salvation". Things are not so clear - or are they?
 

throughfaith

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2020
10,467
1,593
113
#10
OK. You're passionate about the truth. The brother is suitably castigated. Give us the benefit of your insight. Show us what salvation is and how it is achieved. The brother started with Ephesians 2:8. You can stay there if you like, but remember that the word "saved" is used in multiple contexts. In Matthew 19 it could be hindered by monetary wealth, not lack of faith. The rich man had acknowledged Jesus' deity and called Him Master. Why did he go away sad? In Philippians 2:12 we have a totally different case to Ephesians 2:8. There the command is to "work out your OWN salvation". Things are not so clear - or are they?
. I agree that ' saved ' has different meanings in the context. Like ' Endure to the end to be saved ' . Just like Mathew 19 , Acts 2 .38 ect they need to be understood in context. We look to Pauls letters for how we understand salvation today . Not in the four Gospels nor in Acts . Today it should be clear that we do not ' Endure to the end to be saved " nor ' Keep the commandments and go sell everything ' . Its also not Repent , and be baptized for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Clearly Eph 1 ,13-14 clashes with this . 1 cor 15 .1-4 is the Gospel . Romans 10 ,9 and Rom 1.16 explain the Gospel also . They could not be preaching the Gospel before the Gospel even happened. Acts is the transition.
 

throughfaith

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2020
10,467
1,593
113
#11
Jesus' first words were the same as John's "repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand".
repentance is the first thing and also a continual practice we should keep.
And John's message changes with Peters understanding with Cornelius.
Repentence = change of mind .
 

mailmandan

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2014
25,002
13,010
113
58
#12
They replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31). The Bible further records, “And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house” (Acts 16:32-34).
Yes, they replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.." and not Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and get baptized and you will be saved. Their baptism "followed" believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and becoming saved, just as it did in (Acts 10:43-47). Reiterating on the events that took place in Acts 10:43-47, we read in Acts 11:17 - If therefore God gave them the same gift (Holy Spirit) as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”

Order of events: Believe -- receive the Holy Spirit -- saved -- water baptism "follows."
 
P

pottersclay

Guest
#13
And John's message changes with Peters understanding with Cornelius.
Repentence = change of mind .
Repentance means stop what your doing, saying, hearing....stop and about face.
Why because you were born with a purpose for a purpose.
It's not us and Christ ....it's about Christ only.
You are not your own.
 

Blik

Senior Member
Dec 6, 2016
7,312
2,424
113
#14
How we are saved is to found in the very books that contain direct
Not sure what you mean ? what do you think im saying ?
I think you said it is false that salvation comes through repentant and faith, and that baptism follows. I hope I was mistaken.
 

Blik

Senior Member
Dec 6, 2016
7,312
2,424
113
#15
. I agree that ' saved ' has different meanings in the context. Like ' Endure to the end to be saved ' . Just like Mathew 19 , Acts 2 .38 ect they need to be understood in context. We look to Pauls letters for how we understand salvation today . Not in the four Gospels nor in Acts . Today it should be clear that we do not ' Endure to the end to be saved " nor ' Keep the commandments and go sell everything ' . Its also not Repent , and be baptized for the remission of sins, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Clearly Eph 1 ,13-14 clashes with this . 1 cor 15 .1-4 is the Gospel . Romans 10 ,9 and Rom 1.16 explain the Gospel also . They could not be preaching the Gospel before the Gospel even happened. Acts is the transition.
It seems to me your reasoning is of men's reasoning, not of the Lord's. When we read His word, we need to always keep in mind who is speaking, and scripture is the voice of the Lord from Genesis to Revelation. The world it was written to changes, but God does not change. It is the same God with the same salvation who speaks to different people. When we keep in mind the context of a scripture it helps with our understanding, but it never changes the principles of the Lord.

Our problem with understanding comes in seeing the consistency of the Lord's message, not in dissecting the differences. To dig deeper into the Lord's salvation of us, we need to see the sameness in the system God used before Christ lived as a man and after. The differences are clearly evident, how are they the same? When we understand that we understand salvation.
 

Nehemiah6

Senior Member
Jul 18, 2017
24,167
12,764
113
#16
Salvation comes only through repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith will lead to water baptism in the name of Jesus (birth of water) and to the baptism of the Spirit (birth of the Spirit).
Yes, repentance and faith will lead to water baptism IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST.

However. the "water" which produces the New Birth is the "water of the Word of God" (the Gospel). See 1 Peter 1:23-25.
 
Jan 12, 2019
7,497
1,399
113
#17
Ephesians 2:8-9 proclaims, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” This means salvation is a free gift from God. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ made this free gift of salvation available, and the only way to receive salvation is to have faith in Jesus and in the sufficiency of His sacrifice. Of course, saving faith in Christ includes obedience to His gospel and application of His gospel to our lives. I must stress that salvation can come only through faith, and that faith must be in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus asserted, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). He also said we must believe He is God manifested in the flesh as our Savior. “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 8:24).

In Acts 1 Jesus gave His disciples last minute instructions just before His ascension into heaven. He told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Father, namely the baptism of the Holy Ghost. About 120 disciples obeyed Him and gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem.

Acts 2 records that on the Jewish feast day of Pentecost the promised Spirit baptism came. Peter seized the opportunity to preach to the crowd. Standing with the other eleven apostles, he began to explain what had just happened and proceeded to preach about Jesus whom they had crucified, was both Lord and Christ (Messiah).

When the crowd heard this, they began to feel guilt and conviction of sin, for undoubtedly many of them had demanded the crucifixion of Jesus less than two months before. Consequently, they asked Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). As the context shows, they were asking, “How can we receive forgiveness for our sin? How can we correct the wrong we have done in rejecting Jesus and crucifying Him? How can we now accept Jesus as Lord and Messiah?” The essence of salvation is receiving forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, so their question simply meant, “What must we do to be saved?”

Peter gave, with the support of all the apostles: “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 2:38).

We find only one other situation in the New Testament church that directly poses the question, “What must I do to be saved?”

Acts 16 records that the magistrates of Philippi, a city in Macedonia, jailed Paul and Silas for preaching the gospel. At midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God. Suddenly, an earthquake shook the prison and opened the doors. When the jailer awoke and realized what had happened he assumed the prisoners had all escaped. Apparently faced with the penalty of death for allowing this to happen, he decided to commit suicide. As he drew his sword, Paul shouted, “Do thyself no harm: for we are all here” (Acts 16:28). When he heard this, the jailer called for a light and went to investigate for himself. He came trembling and fell down at the feet of Paul and Silas, realizing that they were the ones responsible for the miraculous earthquake. He brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30-31). The Bible further records, “And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house” (Acts 16:32-34).

Each gives the same answer in different terms, from different viewpoints, and in different situations, but it is the same answer nonetheless. When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus He was not answering a direct question about salvation. Instead, He was describing God’s plan of salvation for the future New Testament church that was about to come into existence.

John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Salvation comes only through repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith will lead to water baptism in the name of Jesus (birth of water) and to the baptism of the Spirit (birth of the Spirit).
One way to understand this is that salvation is always by grace thru faith in every time period.

Grace came from God, faith is how men should respond in obedience.

So for Cain, when God told him how to approach him, by offering the correct sacrifice, Cain chose not to respond in obedience, while Abel did, as Hebrews 11:4 indicated. That response in obedience to what God commanded is seen as faith.

For Abraham, God commanded him to leave the place he was living in and move to a new land. Abraham obeyed God, not knowing whether that place is habitable or not, and Hebrews 11:8 likewise recognized that as faith.

Later on Hebrews 11:17 also note that Abraham obeyed God and offered Issac as a sacrifice, God saw that as faith in him too.

By the time Mount Sinai arrived, God commanded the nation Israel to follow the Law of Moses, while providing a system of animal sacrifices whenever they fail to follow it perfectly. As long as the nation kept offering burnt sacrifices and try to keep the Law, God sees that as faith in him too.

That instruction continue to apply to the nation Israel, when Jesus was with them in the 4 gospels. The additional instruction that was included when Jesus arrived in the flesh, was that everyone from Israel are supposed to be water baptized, as you seem to be emphasizing a lot on, which is true. Every Jew needed to be water baptized in the 4 gospels to be considered saved, this instruction was not required before Jesus came in the flesh

But now, the current time period we are living in, God commanded the Apostle Paul to tell all of us, Jews and Gentiles, Romans 4:5.

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

This verse is the clearest in telling us who are living in the but now time period, how should we respond in faith, to God's grace

That is to cease from all works and trust in Christ's finished work on the cross, for our salvation. That includes ceasing from the requirement of being water baptized

The moment we obey God's instructions there, he sees that as us putting faith in him, and he declares us righteous because we obeyed in faith.
 

Blade

Well-known member
Nov 19, 2019
1,582
565
113
#18
So... salvation is now defined by man :)
 

throughfaith

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2020
10,467
1,593
113
#19
Repentance means stop what your doing, saying, hearing....stop and about face.
Why because you were born with a purpose for a purpose.
It's not us and Christ ....it's about Christ only.
You are not your own.
Repent = change of mind . It could lead to doing something but its still the mind not the action .
 

throughfaith

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2020
10,467
1,593
113
#20
I think you said it is false that salvation comes through repentant and faith, and that baptism follows. I hope I was mistaken.
Its just ' Believe ' . Faith .