Transcript

During this time in God’s Word we’re going to consider the question “What Must I Do to Be Saved?” That’s the most important question a person could ask.

There is an eternal hell that we need to be saved from. We need to ask, what must I do to be saved from it?

The answer must be found by looking into the Word of God, because it is the only true authority for answering this question.

But you may be surprised to find that the answer to that question changed throughout the ages and dispensations as God’s plans with mankind changed.

Many are led down the wrong path by deception or church tradition or their own opinion to believe the wrong thing about how to be saved.

Some people try “salvation by sincerity.” Or “It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere.” But a person can be sincerely wrong.

I could pick up a glass of water and take a drink of it, sincerely thinking it’s water, but if it’s poisoned, I’d be sincerely dead.

Some believe in “salvation by service” believing that can do many good things and work their way there.

Some people believe in “salvation by subtraction.” You give up a bunch of things and then you get to heaven, thinking “I don’t drink, smoke, cuss, chew, or run around with girls that do.”

Some try “salvation by ritual.” “I was water baptized.” Or “I take the Lord’s communion.” Or “I am a member of so-and-so church.” But joining a Lion’s Club doesn’t make you a lion. And sitting in a henhouse doesn’t make you a chicken.

Some believe in “salvation by heritage.” My mom was a Christian. My grandmother was a Christian. And so I’m a Christian too.

Then there’s “salvation by comparison.” “At least I’m better than so-and-so.” Or “I’ve never killed anybody.” I’m not that bad.

Salvation isn’t by sincerity, service, subtraction, ritual, heritage, or comparison. Salvation is by grace and grace alone, through faith in Christ, not of works. It is a gift.

What does the Bible say? That’s what’s most important. But even with the Bible, many are still misled by Scripture being misinterpreted and misapplied, by churches, teachers and preachers who do not rightly divide the Word of God.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “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.”

We can read Ephesians 2:8,9 and see and know that this is true, and know that salvation is by grace through faith, not by works. But what do we do with verses such as these?

Mark 16:16: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

Acts 2:38: “Then Peter said unto them, 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 15:1: “Certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.”

Psalm 19:7: “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.”

Matthew 19:16-17: “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And He said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”

James 2:20,21,24: “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?…Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”

Hebrews 3:14: “For we are made partakers of Christ, IF we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.”

John 15:6: “If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”

Mark 13:13: “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

2 John 9: “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.”

Revelation 3:5: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father.”

Luke 13:3: “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Acts 3:19: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.”

Luke 3:7-11: “Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance…And the people asked him, saying, “What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none, and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.”

Luke 18:18-22: “And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him…Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

“And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, He said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow Me.”

Matthew 19:29: “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.”

Matthew 6:14,15: “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

There was a minister out taking a walk on a quaint and quiet street and he noticed a small boy attempting to ring the doorbell on the porch of a house. The boy was short and the doorbell was higher than usual. The boy could not quite reach it.

The minister stepped up to the porch beside the boy and reached up and rang the doorbell for the boy. Looking down he said, “And now what young man? The boy said, “Now, we run like crazy!”

As you look at all these verses, it makes you ask “Now what?” What do you do with all these verses that show salvation requiring works, that salvation includes water baptism, keeping the law, confession, doing good things, forsaking family, forgiving others, selling all you have, abiding, enduring to the end to be saved, etc.

This is all God’s Word, so it is authoritative. This should make us pause and question: How can salvation be by grace through faith, not of works, yet there are all these verses that include all kinds of works?

So this should logically make us question that to be saved: Do I need to be water baptized? Do I need to confess all my sins continually? Do I need to keep the commandments of God’s law?

Do I need to do good works to be justified, and not have faith only? Do I need to repent and demonstrate fruit in my life that shows repentance? Do I need to endure, abide in Christ, and overcome unto the end?

Do I need to sell all that I have and give to the poor? Do I need to forgive others so I will be forgiven? The answer is, No, to all of this.

What this shows us is that we need to rightly divide the Word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth.”

In doing so, we don’t need to wonder, doubt, worry, or be weighed down in life thinking that I have to endure to the end, or confess my sins constantly, or forgive others to be forgiven…

I don’t have to worry about having fruits in my life showing my repentance, I don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments, or prove my faith by my works to be saved.

None of this is part of the gospel that is valid for today, the gospel of the grace of God. We need to rightly divide the Word so we know what is written directly to us and what is written to the nation Israel in the Bible.

We NEED to rightly divide the Word so we KNOW what the gospel is, that saves us from all our sins.

What is written directly to us thru Paul is that salvation is by grace alone, through faith, in Christ, not of works. Salvation today is a done deal the second we believe.

Salvation happens in a moment of time, the moment we trust Christ died for my sins and rose again. At that moment, we are declared righteous by God, redeemed and set free from our sins, baptized by the Spirit into Christ, and sealed eternally by the Spirit.

From that point on, we can live in enjoyment and joy of being complete in Christ, forgiven of all our sins, and being at peace with God.

We rest in Christ, and His finished work. We live lives of gratitude and thanksgiving for our freedom from our sins because of Christ and His grace.

Romans 16:26 speaks of the “obedience of faith.” Faith trusts and does what God requires; it believes and obeys what God asks and commands, when He commands it.

Today under grace the obedience of faith for our salvation is to trust that Christ died for my sins and rose again, and that’s it. It is to trust that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ, plus absolutely nothing.

But the obedience of faith in time past for salvation wasn’t this at all. Moses did not believe Christ died for my sins and rose again to be saved. Esther did not share the gospel of the grace of God. Elijah didn’t say to be saved by Christ alone. Joshua didn’t tell Israel that we have redemption through Christ’s blood, the forgiveness of sins.

Those in previous dispensations were not saved through faith in Christ’s shed blood on their behalf; they were saved by their faith in God, and in obeying and doing what God required of them at that time. And that’s what pleases God, taking Him at His Word, placing our faith in what He asks us to.

God never changes. But God’s dealings with men have changed over time. This includes salvation and the terms of acceptance with God.

From the account of Abel, during the dispensation of Conscience, we find that at first blood sacrifices were necessary for acceptance with God.

Hebrews 11:4 states: “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts…”

Many years later with Abraham, during the dispensation of Promise, circumcision was required by God, in order to come under the covenant made with Abraham.

Genesis 17:10 says, “This is My covenant, which ye shall keep, between Me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.”

And the importance of obeying God’s requirements is shown as God stated that an uncircumcised man was guilty of breaking the covenant and that soul would be cut off from the people (Gen. 17:14).

So now both blood sacrifices and circumcision were required for acceptance with God.

The Law was then added because of transgressions (Gal. 3:19), and during the dispensation of the Law, obedience to the Mosaic Law was strictly demanded for acceptance with God. Romans 10:5 states: “For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.”

Deut. 27:26: “Cursed be he that confirmeth [performs] not all the words of this law to do them.” God revealed that those who were placed under it were responsible to keep all 613 commandments, and to bring the proper blood sacrifices when they broke the law.

Now blood sacrifices, circumcision, and keeping the law were required for acceptance with God. The “obedience of faith” at that time did what God required.

And by faith, as people in Israel faithfully kept the law, were circumcised, brought the proper sacrifices, and endured in doing so, they were saved. If they didn’t, they weren’t.

Then later again, still during the dispensation of the Law, as the kingdom drew close and Christ’s earthly ministry began, the “gospel of the kingdom” was proclaimed.

And in preparation for the kingdom, “the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins” (Mark 1:4) and belief in Jesus as Israel’s Messiah/King was required (John 20:31).

Now blood sacrifices, circumcision, keeping the law, and the gospel of the kingdom: repentance, water baptism and belief in Christ as Messiah were required for acceptance with God!

The Gospel of the Kingdom required Israel to: REPENT of their breaking of God’s covenant of the Law, as a nation and individually, and turn back to God, and to bring fruits and do works which demonstrated a changed heart and mind.

They were required to be WATER BAPTIZED because they were a kingdom of priests, and to initiated into the priesthood under the law, they needed to be sprinkled with water.

They needed to BELIEVE that Jesus was who He claimed to be, that He was the Messiah of Israel, their Deliverer and King, and God’s own Son (John 20:31).

The Gospel of the Kingdom also involves all the teachings in the Gospels and Hebrew Epistles of: The confession of sins for salvation. Forgive others in order to be forgiven. To sell all that they had and give to the poor. To forsake family and follow Christ. To endure, abide in Christ, and overcome unto the end.

After Israel’s rejection of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, Israel fell, and has been temporarily set aside.

Romans 11:11-12: “I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall [i.e., fallen beyond recovery]? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”

Israel stumbled, fell, and have diminished, as their program has been temporarily set aside and they have lost the prominence they once had.

But when Israel fell, instead of bringing in the prophesied tribulation period, which was next in His dealings with men, God in His grace instead chose to turn to the world in grace and give all an opportunity to be saved by faith alone in Christ’s finished work.

It is through Israel’s fall that blessing is poured out on the world in the form of the gospel of grace through faith in Christ alone.

The world is receiving God’s riches today through Israel’s fall, but one day the world will be blessed when Israel rises to her spiritual fullness through Christ, and will be the channel of riches and blessing to the world in the kingdom.

After God temporarily set Israel aside He ushered in a new dispensation which had been hid in the mind of God: the dispensation of the grace of God. And God’s terms of acceptance have changed once again.

The gospel revealed by Jesus Christ from heaven to the Apostle Paul for this dispensation is “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24). It is the only gospel for today. This gospel tells us that we are saved by grace and grace alone, thru faith, not of works.

The gospel of the kingdom is not for us today. Keeping the law is not for us today. Religious circumcision is not for us today. Bringing blood sacrifices is not for us today. The confession of sins for salvation is not for us today.

To forgive others in order to be forgiven is not for us today. To sell all that we have and give to the poor is not for us today. To demonstrate fruits of repentance is not for us today. To endure, abide in Christ, and overcome unto the end is not for us today.

During this present dispensation of Grace, God says place your faith in Christ alone and do absolutely nothing. Salvation is by grace through faith alone, entirely apart from works, without any required outward response to fulfill.

For salvation under Grace, man must simply trust in Christ and in His finished work and accept salvation as the free gift of God’s grace, and our response for the obedience of faith today, is to do nothing to be saved, just simply trust Christ.

God’s grace says, “I’ve taken care of everything inside and out.” God’s grace says, “Accept it. Believe it. It’s the truth. It’s done. It is finished.”

God in His grace by the Cross has provided for our salvation completely and fully. There’s nothing left to be done. Christ has done it all. Salvation is a free gift. We have nothing to do. All God asks is that we receive it, just as we would receive a gift.

All we need to do is trust that Christ died for my sins, was buried, and rose again, and God saves us completely by His grace. There’s no gimmick, no catch. There’s nothing we must do in addition. Salvation is 100% grace, 100% Christ. 0% us. Christ did it all for us.

Today salvation is: “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to [God’s] mercy He saved us” (Titus 3:5).

Today, salvation comes “To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:5).

Today, salvation is: “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” (Eph. 2:8,9).

Today, salvation is to simply believe that “Christ died for our sins…was buried…and rose again the third day” (1 Cor. 15:3,4).

While God refuses any works for salvation today, again it’s important to remember that God did require works for salvation in the past, under other dispensations, requiring that man’s faith be manifested by his works.

This is why James would say in 2:24 of his book, “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.” James is writing for another program, a program which did require that a man’s faith be manifested by works.

However, the works that God required under other dispensations, in themselves, never saved anyone; they were for the purpose of an expression of faith.

It was their faith that saved them, in their “obedience of faith” in doing what God required at that time. Salvation and acceptance with God under Israel’s program included faith, plus works, manifesting that faith.

A gospel of faith plus works through the Jews is the earthly prophetic program’s gospel for Israel. A message of faith plus nothing is the heavenly mystery program’s message for the Body of Christ.

The truth of the gospel for today can be lost or diluted or confused because of a failure to rightly divide and when elements from Israel’s program and gospel of the kingdom are added to the gospel of the grace of God for today.

God wants His gospel of grace to be kept pure. Confusion reigns and the pure gospel can be lost when the Word is not rightly divided and when the programs and dispensations and gospels of the Bible are all mixed and muddled together.

It shows us again how important it is to rightly divide the Word of truth, because most importantly with the doctrine of salvation, people’s eternal destinies are weighing in the balance with a correct interpretation of Scripture.

The Philippian jailor asked the Apostle Paul in Acts 16: “What must I do to be saved?” Today, it’s just like what Paul said to him: Do absolutely nothing, just believe. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Just believe the gospel, the good news that Christ died for your sins personally, that was buried and that He rose again the third day (I Cor. 15:3,4).

Gordan MacDonald writes: Being a frequent flyer makes it possible for me to get a seat in the exit row on most airline flights, with great leg room. But with privilege comes responsibility.

The flight attendant comes up, kneels by my aisle seat and says, “Have you read the instruction card that tells you how to open the door in the case of emergency? I need a verbal answer.”

I fudge the truth a bit and say yes when the truthful answer is no. I mean, does it take a rocket scientist to know that you simply swivel the handle and push the door out and to the side? So I tell her yes, I’ve read the card.

But she’s smart. She says, “If an emergency happens, I’ll be depending on you to open that door. Dozens of other people will also be relying on you, too. So are you sure you know what’s on that card?” Suddenly, she has my attention.

Are you sure you know what the gospel is? People, lost souls, are depending on us understanding it, and holding out the correct, unmixed, pure gospel that truly saves those who believe.

With the privilege of knowing what the true gospel is for today comes responsibility, as God would have us stand for it, protect it, and make it known.

People today need the assurance that the gospel is true.

And as we rightly divide God’s Word we can give people this assurance. Paul’s gospel of grace is the only and true gospel for today which saves men from hell today.

This gospel proclaims that Christ and His sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary are absolutely all-sufficient. This gospel says there is nothing for you to do for your salvation. This gospel says Christ paid it all. This gospel says “just believe.”

“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.”