Originally posted on 5.15.20
Reminder Of The Third Point Of Faith
Christian salvation is by faith in Christ, which includes, not only faith in His Person, but also what He prescribed for salvation based on His death, burial, and resurrection (Luke 24:45-49). We have mentioned this in the last several posts. As a reminder, we said that faith in Christ in the Christian era consists of:
1/ Faith in His Person as the true Jewish Messiah.
2/ Faith in what He has done for us on the cross (Romans 3:25).
3/ Faith in His teaching regarding Christian salvation (The Great Commission).
We referred to Christ’s teaching on the salvation tenets as, the third point of faith. This is what the devil tampers with more than anything else because it’s the area in which he can be least suspected of destroying Christianity, all the while doing precisely that. Though many people today are quick to disregard or to lightly esteem doctrine about how to be saved, the fact remains that what a person believes about salvation tenets is just as important as what he believes about the other two points of faith. It is a line of divide between those who take seriously their faith in Christ and those who are not discerning of Christ’s specificity in this area. It’s important for Apostolics to preach Christ’s words as they relate to the precise tenets of salvation because no one else will do it. Hopefully, this will give a perspective as to how important our doctrine is and how important it is for us to contend for it (Jude 3).
The Significance Of The Book Of Acts
The book of Acts is the most important book in the New Testament. That is true mainly because it contains the plan of salvation for the Christian era. Some, who would like to downplay the significance of Acts, say it is descriptive rather than prescriptive. That is not true. In fact, the opposite is true. Acts 2:38 is the only place in the New Testament where the Christian plan of salvation is revealed and it is prescriptive. It is an imperative. And it includes every person God would call (Acts 2:38-39; 1Timothy 2:4). What’s more, the plan of salvation was revealed at the very time it had to be revealed— on the first day of the Christian faith. Importantly, Acts provides this and subsequent salvation history.
If a person only had one book of the Bible with which to evangelize, he could do so effectively with the book of Acts. It informs us adequately about the Person of Jesus and of His death, burial, and resurrection. And, like no other book of the New Testament, it prominently displays Christian salvation. All of the examples of Christian salvation are in the book of Acts since that is the only place Christian evangelism and conversion took place.
The Safeguard That Exists In Salvation Examples
If a person can show an example of salvation in the Christian era, properly interpreted, he proves his point about how to be saved. The reason for that is the simple principle that salvation for one is salvation for all. God is no respecter of persons and would not deny one person the means of salvation provided to another.
It’s interesting that many people, when trying to support their belief, use the example of the thief on the cross. They are wise to choose a real example of salvation because of the undeniable proof of salvation it provides. But the reason the famous thief cannot be used as an example of salvation in the Christian era is because he was never in it. Thankfully, he was saved. And we’re all happy that is a fact of the crucifixion story of Jesus. But salvation prior to the Day of Pentecost was far different than Christian salvation. Its experience and terms were totally different. This may be hard for people to understand who have not been taught the unfolding progress of redemptive history. And, certainly, this post does not allow space to elaborate on it. But, hopefully, a reference to the Old Testament Law period can show a person that God’s plan to save souls has progressed through time, culminating in the Christian era. Though animal sacrifice was precisely what the Jews were commanded to do under the Old Covenant, it would have been sinful to do so under the New Covenant after Christ gave His life on Calvary, completing the need for sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10). There was a dramatic change of covenant between God and His people after the cross. The New Covenant, enjoined upon the whole world, began on the Day of Pentecost. That is why the thief on the cross does not qualify as an example for souls to be saved now.
The Examples Of Salvation That Do Matter Today.
As mentioned previously, all the examples of Christian salvation are in the book of Acts. And there’s no shortage of them. They involve thousands of people. We will look at them. They demonstrate very well a point that we stressed in Post 10, the clarity of Scripture. God was careful and gracious to provide them for us. They, more than anything else, elucidate Christian salvation doctrine. Following is a link to take you to an article on this website named, Examples Of Christian Salvation.