 STEPS TO HEAVEN
Dear Sir:
What steps does it take to get to Heaven besides repentance and baptism? Roderick
Dear Roderick:
Thanks for your question about salvation. The foundational and most import step towards salvation is faith in God and his Son, Jesus. "For without faith it is impossible to be well-pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him" (Heb. 11:6). That Jesus said, Except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24). Thus the Bible says, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16).
When one truly believes in Christ he must be willing to obey him. Christ is the author of eternal salvation "to all them that obey him" (Heb. 5:9). James says, that "faith apart from works is dead" (Jas. 2:26). That obedience encompasses all that the New Testament of Christ teaches us to do as disciples of Christ.
For the lost sinner who is seeking salvation, The Bible teaches him to "repent and be baptized" in the name of Jesus for the remission of his sins and to receive the gift of God's Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). When baptized his sins are washed away by the blood of Christ (Acts 22:16). Baptism should be viewed as the entrance gate that puts one on the road to heaven. The rest of his earthily life is spent in service to Jesus. The Lord said, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matt. 16:24). The journey to eternity is likened to a narrow and difficult road we must travel (Matt. 7::13-14). When we are baptized the Lord adds us to his church (Acts 2:47; I Cor. 12:13). Part of our duty to Christ involves being a faithful and active member of his church. The Lord expects us to be faithful unto death if we are to receive the crown of life (Rev. 2:10).
It is important to remember that Christ is our savior. His death on the cross paid the price for our sins and makes our salvation possible. Our salvation is a free gift of grace from Him (Eph. 2:8-9). The things we do are not to earn salvation, but to please the Lord who wants to save us by meeting the conditions He has set forth. The church is not our savior, that is Christ's unique role.
John Waddey |
