♦️Souls that we talk to are eternal.
Every person will spend eternity somewhere. Therefore, taking liberty to teach others about salvation is the most serious thing a person can do. There is not a more solemn matter on earth. Telling someone how to be saved, or telling a person he is saved, is the greatest responsibility assumed by a human being. The witness must be correct. Error in salvation doctrine is infinitely worse than error in medical practice— or anything else on an earthly plane. It causes infinite damage on an eternal scale. Most conscientious people would say that leading someone else astray is worse than being wrong oneself. That is precisely why James gave this stern warning to teachers in James 3:1-2. “My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.”
♦️In His Great Commission, Jesus prescribed Acts 2:38 as the plan of salvation.
In our last post, we mentioned that a full-orbed study of the Great Commission reveals the following 3 tenets as required for Christian salvation.
1/ Repentance
2/ Baptism in Jesus’ name for the remission of sins
3/ The infilling of the Holy Ghost
Jesus said we are to be witnesses of them (Luke 24:48). And the Apostles were, beginning on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38).
This is the word and ministry of reconciliation of which Paul wrote which frees people from their trespasses (2Corinthians 5:18-20). Jesus is the author of salvation (Hebrews 5:9; 12:2). He saved people when He was on earth with His word. The very reason the tenets of the Great Commission save is because they are the Word of Christ given for that purpose. They are not to be altered in any way.
♦️Salvation showcased in Acts
Acts is the most important book in the New Testament. It’s the only book that showcases salvation. It contains multiple accounts of people, numbering in the thousands, receiving salvation. God gave us the book so we wouldn’t be fooled by all the false ideas of salvation that were to come along throughout Church history. There is no greater safeguard to receiving true salvation than following the preaching of the Apostles in Acts and identifying with the salvation experience that is evidenced there (Hebrews 2:3). Acts provides the template for salvation for the Church age (Acts 2:38-39; Ephesians 4:5; Galatians 1:8-9; Jude 3; 1Peter 1:23-25; the Great Commission).
A Christian witness must speak according to what Peter said on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38-39). That is where Christian salvation began. Many people prefer to quote Paul, thinking he presented a different view of salvation. He did not. Paul came on the Christian scene years after the Day of Pentecost. And he came the same way everyone else did before him. He received the Acts 2:38 message from Ananias, the man Christ sent to meet him in Damascus (Acts 9; 22:16). Furthermore, Paul preached Acts 2:38 himself to the believers he encountered on his missionary venture in Ephesus (Acts 19:1-6).
Later in his epistles, Paul theologized about justification by faith, which had been occurring since the Day of Pentecost. What Peter so eloquently preached on Day One was indeed justification by faith. Through faith in Christ, they received remission of sins and the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:37-42). That is justification by faith in Christ.
There is no greater presentation of the Gospel than by Peter on the Day of Pentecost. Three thousand people were saved that day. There is not a greater demonstration of justification by faith in the Christian era.