No one is ever saved by asking Jesus into their hearts. They're saved, as she unknowingly demonstrated, through being baptized into Christ to wash away sin as Ananias told Paul!
Many of us know someone who has said, “If I could just get my money (or my health) under control, everything would change.”
They listen to Dave Ramsey or Warren Buffett and hear the same simple plan: make a budget, spend less than you earn, pay off debt, invest the difference in solid companies, and let compounding do the rest. They watch the testimonials, see the debt-free celebrations, get fired up, and say, “I believe this can work!”
Or they discover a doctor on a podcast who says, “Cut out sugar, seed oils, and processed junk. Eat meat, eggs, and real food.” They scroll through the before-and-after photos, feel that surge of hope, and declare, “I believe this will fix me!”
But here’s the hard question: what good is excitement and belief if you never actually do the plan?
The same is true with God’s plan of salvation. Jesus said it plainly:
“The one who believes and is baptized will be saved,
but the one who has not believed will be condemned.”
Believe what, exactly?
That Jesus is the Messiah who died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures—and that He was seen alive by hundreds of witnesses.
Paul says if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is empty, your faith is empty, and we Christians are of all people most to be pitied.
But Christ has been raised—the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. And because He lives, everyone who has been baptized into His death and raised with Him now walks in newness of life.
So, what people today are most to be pitied?
The people who have heard the good news, felt the tug, maybe even said, “I believe this is true”… but have never obeyed it in baptism and risen to walk in that new life. Baptism doesn’t mean that Salvation is based on merit. Salvation has always been based on grace, motivated by love.
So then, what good is excitement about a plan you never follow?
Every Sunday Christians gather to remember the price He paid and to proclaim His death until He comes. We cannot eat and drink this Supper worthily if we are still dead in our sins.
So, before you move on from this post, I want to ask—in love and with urgency:
Is there anyone reading this morning who believes that Jesus is the risen Lord, but has never been buried with Him in baptism and raised to new life?
Don’t let another day pass. Don’t let the devil rob you of the salvation that is yours the moment you obey the Gospel.
Have you seen / heard / understood / obeyed the Gospel?
Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
John responded to them all, saying, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but He is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the straps of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people.
Look how Paul is preaching the same Gospel!
I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which are in Christ; but they only kept hearing, “The man who once persecuted us is now preaching THE FAITH which he once tried to destroy.”
Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
One Gospel, one Faith, one Lord, one Baptism that leads to Salvation.
A baptism (water Immersion) of repentance believing the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, for the forgiveness of sins and you will then enter His Kingdom, becoming a member of His Church joining the Body of Christ receiving the Holy Spirit.
Godspeed.
As a Christian, the affairs of the Pope are none of my business.
However, chatting on the news of his death provided an opportunity to preach the Gospel to my wife and encourage her to do her own research.
"Religion is offensive and you are right to be offended because of the evil wicked people do under the camouflage of religion, but I'm not talking about man made religion, I am talking about a man who rose from the dead proving himself to be God, shouldn't we hear what he has to say? I invite you to Church so you can do your own research."
Please pray for my wife.
A Deeper Sign
In the account where a boy offers five barley loaves and two fish, questioning how they could suffice for a vast crowd, Jesus instructs the people to sit down to eat. The location was lush with grass, and around five thousand men took their places. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and shared them with those seated, doing the same with the fish, providing as much as they desired. Once everyone was satisfied, He told His disciples to collect the remaining fragments to prevent waste. They gathered twelve baskets full of leftovers from the five barley loaves. Witnessing this miracle, the people declared, “This is indeed the Prophet destined to come into the world.”
Many Christians, myself included, often reflect on this event and recognize that our Creator can alter the physical laws He established. While this is certainly true, I did not consider a more profound significance until Russ’ lesson today.
As 1 Corinthians 3:2 states, “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to consume it. But even now you are not yet able.”
If we view the five loaves and two fish symbolically, they might represent the mature Christians within the Church—the solid food and meat. Jesus, the bread of life, is our model, and we are called to emulate Him. The meat symbolizes those very mature Brothers and Sisters who skillfully teach the Word, guiding others.
Though Christians are few in number globally, our message is the precise nourishment the starving world craves, and we are sent to share it. We rely on God to amplify our efforts, adding members to His Church as we gather them together. As Mark 16:15 declares, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”
Consider 1 Corinthians 3:5-9: “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now the one who plants and the one who waters are one (having the same mission); but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.”
Do you see how the deeper significance of the loaves and fish reflects the Great Commission, our duty as faithful Christians?
Godspeed
Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!”
The needs of the Spirit outweigh the needs of the flesh.
The Lord's Church is not a denomination.
All Christians are believers, but not all believers are Christians.
Just as
All Christians are Saints, but not all saints are Christians.
If the above doesn't make sense to you, perhaps a milk fast before we press on to maturity.