What Must I Do?
The Bible teaches that there are certain steps which must be taken in order to become a Christian, a member of the church (Acts 2:47).
Hear the Word
Hearing what the Bible says through preaching, teaching, and personal study is the only way to produce a saving faith (Rom. 10:17).
Faith
One must believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 3:16). This results from hearing the Word of God (see above), and is stated as essential to salvation (Mark 16:16; John 8:24; John 20:30-31; Heb. 11:6).
Repentance
This too, is commanded (Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19). Repentance is a change of mind which causes one to turn away from sinful practices. It is commanded for everyone (Acts 17:30; Luke 13:3).
Confession
This is an outward confession of faith in Jesus as the Son of God (Matt. 10:32; Rom. 10:9-10).
Baptism
Baptism is a command of Christ. We are not saved by our own works (Eph. 2:8-9), but by the grace of God, through an obedient faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1-2; Heb. 5:9; James 2:14-26). The New Testament teaches that baptism is a required act of obedience which is essential to salvation (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Acts 22:16; 1 Pet. 3:21).
Proper subjects for baptism are:
- Taught persons (Matt. 28:19)
- Believing persons (Mark 16:16)
- Penitent persons (Acts 2:38)
- Persons who have confessed Jesus (Acts 8:37-38)
Scriptural baptism must be an immersion in water. The Greek (original language of the New Testament) word from which the word baptize comes means 'to dip, to immerse, to submerge, to plunge.' The Scriptures always point to baptism as a burial (Acts 8:35-39; Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 2:12).
The New Testament sets forth the following purposes for baptism. It is:
- to enter the kingdom (John 3:3-5)
- to contact Christ's blood (Rom. 6:3)
- to get into Christ (Gal. 3:27)
- for salvation (Mark 16:16; 1 Pet. 3:21)
- for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38)
- to wash away sins (Acts 22:16)
- to get into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13), which is the church (Eph. 1:22-23)
Remain Faithful
Following the obedience of these commands we believe it is important that the Christian live faithfully (Rev. 2:10), because the Bible teaches the possibility of falling from the grace of God.
- Paul said he had to guard himself, lest after preaching to others he himself should be a castaway (1 Cor. 9:27)
- He warned the Christians at Corinth to take heed lest they fall (1 Cor. 10:12)
- He told some of the Galatians they had "fallen from grace" (Gal. 5:4)
- The Hebrew writer sounded warning: "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God" (Heb. 3:12)
- He also spoke of those who had known Christ Jesus, but who had reverted to their old ways . . and said it would have been better for them never to have known the truth (2 Peter - 2:20-21).
taken from Saline Church of Christ website