The Bible describes two types of people in the world.
1 Who are they?
Most people will be on the UNSAVED (or LOST) side of the line.
Matthew 7:13-14
13Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
The dividing line between the SAVED and UNSAVED can be called the "Remission of Sins," "Forgiveness," or "Salvation."
Acts 2:47
46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
2 Is a person deciding to go to church, and being saved the same?
Mark 2:17
17When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.Being saved and being in the church are not the same thing.
3 Is the church and the body of Christ the same thing?
The church and the BODY OF CHRIST are the same thing.
(Colossians 1:24)
Colossians 1:24
24Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:How can we receive redemption?
Ephesians 1:7
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
All men are under the GRACE of God. In Christ (i.e., His BODY) we have the forgiveness of sins, because of God's GRACE.
4 How can we be saved?
Ephesians 2:8
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is a gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
GRACE is a free gift from God. No benefit comes from any gift unless it is accepted, opened, and used. We are not saved by GRACE alone, but through faith. (Romans 5:15; 3:24)
Romans 3:24
24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:Hebrews 11:6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
FAITH is required to please God. FAITH and believing are essentially the same thing.
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
6 What do you think that divides us into groups from being headed to salvation and headed to hell?
We can have "everlasting life" if we believe in Jesus. Is it FAITH that puts us across the line of salvation? Let the Bible answer.
James 2:14, 17, 19
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save Him?
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe -- and tremble!
15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe -- and tremble!
The passage in James is clear that we cannot be saved by FAITH alone.
Acts 3:19 (King James Version)
19Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.Acts 17:30 (King James Version)
30And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent. 7 why do we repent?
We are saved by GRACE through FAITH. It must be a faith that is strong enough to lead us to REPENT of our sins.
Luke 13:3,
3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.
REPENT is like Reverse on a car; we turn our lives around. We understand and are sorry that we have sinned against God.
Romans 10:9-10
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
9 That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
Our FAITH must be strong enough to lead us to CONFESS. We publicly CONFESS our FAITH (not our sins) to be saved.
Look next at an actual example of this in the New Testament.
Acts 8:37
37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God."
Is it confession that puts us across the line of salvation?
Was the man in Acts 8 saved when he confessed?
Now read the entire story about him to find the answer.
Acts 8:26-39
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is desert.
27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go near and overtake this chariot."
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
31 And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And like a lamb silent before its shearer, So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away. And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth."
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?"
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?"
37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go near and overtake this chariot."
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
31 And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And like a lamb silent before its shearer, So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away. And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth."
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?"
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?"
37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
The Ethiopian eunuch's FAITH was strong enough to lead him to BAPTISM.
Consider 6 important points about this story.
We can learn the following things from the story in Acts 8:
1. The Ethiopian eunuch travelled a great distance (hundreds of miles) to worship at Jerusalem. He was studying the word of God. He was not saved just because he was a very religious person.
2. Sometimes we are unable to understand certain scripture without guidance.
3. The eunuch requested to be baptized though it does not say Philip told him anything about baptism..
4. The eunuch felt an urgent need to be baptized immediately.
5. If first century baptism was sprinkling or pouring, it would not have been necessary for Philip and the eunuch to go "down into the water."
6. The eunuch was not "rejoicing" until after baptism.

Because of SIN against God, man deserves punishment by DEATH. Christ took our place because of His love for us. The sins of the whole world were nailed to the cross. Christ suffered for us and died a cruel death. He was buried, but was resurrected to a NEW LIFE (without the sins) on the third day. Our sins are taken away if we are washed in His blood. (I Peter 2:24; Revelation 7:14)
How do we take advantage of this free gift (sacrifice) from God?
How do we get our sins taken away? Different men have different opinions about this important issue. We can KNOW our sins are washed away only by doing what the Bible tells us.
Acts 2:38
36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."
REPENT + BAPTISM = "Remission of sins"
Mark 16:16
15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."
16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned."
REPENT + BAPTISM = "Remission of sins"
FAITH (or Belief) + BAPTISM = "Saved"
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
REPENT + BAPTISM = "Remission of sins"
FAITH + BAPTISM = "Saved"
BAPTISM = "Put on Christ"
You are inside a coat when you put on a coat. If you "put on Christ" in baptism, you are then inside the BODY of CHRIST (saved).
Acts 22:16
16 "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord."REPENT + BAPTISM = "Remission of sins"
FAITH + BAPTISM = "Saved"
BAPTISM = "Put on Christ"
BAPTISM = "Wash away sins"
The blood of Christ washes away sins at BAPTISM.
Therefore, our sins are not taken away until we are baptized.
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