What does it mean to be saved? What is the process to become saved? And what does my life look like after I am saved? These are probably some of the most important questions you will ever ask yourself. Among all the denominations of the world, there have been much dispute about salvation. But there is only one place we will find the correct process, and that is directly from God’s Word! As we read Acts 2:36-47, we will see the perfect example of the salvation process.
“Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."
When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?'
Peter replied, 'Repent be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.'
With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.'
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
I know, I know...that was a ton of information. And it might not have answered all of your questions. But if you study the New Testament, there are several steps the people take in order to receive salvation:
1. Hear
2. Believe
3. Repent
4. Confess
5. Be Baptized
Still confused? Don’t worry, you’re not alone! That’s why we are going to look at the salvation process a little bit differently. Let’s use an analogy to better understand. I am living in a dark house. The only source of light I have are black lights. If you don’t know what a black light is, they are lights you would see at a bowling alley. The ones that make your white clothing glow. They don’t give off a ton of light. But what they are very good at is detecting different types of stains. Stains that you wouldn’t normally see with regular lighting. The black lights represent the sin in my life. My sin may (or may not) be invisible to the outside world, but when you come into my life and into my home, it's evident. And because my sin, I am living in the dark.
Suddenly, a salesperson knocks on my door. I let her in, and we sit at the table. She takes out a pamphlet full of information I have never heard of before. She tells me about an amazing electrician who has the best services around. He came into her home and gave her a new set of LED light bulbs. Before, her house was full of black lights just like my house. But now she is living in the light and can see! When I asked her how much he charged her for the LED lights, she told me they were free! But there are certain steps I have to take if I want the electrician’s services. I have to take out all of my black lights and set them aside. Then I need to call the electrician and invite him into my house. He will then dispose of my black lights, and place LED light bulbs into all of my lamps. I thank the salesperson for her her time. Before she leaves, she gives me her pamphlet in case I have any questions or want to read anything else on my own. She also leaves me her number and asks to give her a call if I decide to go through with the services. And she goes on her way.
The salesperson is a Christian who shares her testimony and studies the Bible with me. Romans 10:17 say, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” This is the first step to receiving salvation. We are to hear and study the Word of God before we can make any life changing decisions with the information. So now I have heard the good news. I have been told about the amazing electrician, who represents Jesus. But what comes next?
If you look back at the scripture in Acts, the people who heard about Jesus were “cut to the heart.” Meaning, they were heartbroken when they came to terms with the sin in their own lives, and how their sin led Jesus to die on the cross. They then asked, “What shall we do?” They now believe in the Word that was preached to them, which is the second step in receiving salvation. And their faith and belief in Jesus led them to want to take action!
Let’s revisit our analogy. I have heard the word. I continue to read more about the electrician and the countless ratings and reviews from happy customers who allowed him to bring light into their homes. I now believe! With the information given, I have a decision to make. But what will I decide to do?
Let’s say I call up the electrician. The conversation goes something like this:
Electrician: “Good afternoon, and thank you for choosing Stepping Towards the Light Services. How may I help you?”
Me: “Thank you so much for offering this amazing gift of light! You are so gracious, and I believe in your amazing services!“
Electrician: “Wonderful! When would you like to set up an appointment?”
Me: “Oh, I’m all set, I don’t need an appointment. Again, thanks for your services!” Then I hang up the phone.
As you can see, I have a belief in the services of the electrician. The desire to live in the light is there, but it’s not driving me to make changes in my life. Remember, the people in Acts were cut to heart and wanted to take action. Their belief drove them to want to do something! I can believe in God’s existence. I can have faith that he is watching over me and loves me. I can also have faith in his great power. The thought of God’s existence is comforting, but if I am content with the way my life is, then I won’t change my life. I won’t feel the need to invite the electrician into my home and continue with his services. In reality, the good news hasn’t cut my heart and I have not come to terms with the severity of my sins. I am still living in the dark.
Which leads me to the third step to receiving salvation: repentance. To repent means to turn away. Meaning, to turn from old ways of life. Repentance is a response to the realization of how deadly sin is. Romans 6:20-21 says, “When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!” There is nothing good that comes from sin. In fact, the only thing sin causes is a separation from God. He is the complete opposite of sin, and as long as I live a sinful life, I cannot have a strong and healthy relationship with him. In Acts, the response Peter gives the people who were cut to the heart, is to repent.
Let’s go back to that phone call with the electrician. This time, the conversation goes a little differently.
Electrician: “Good afternoon, and thank you for choosing Stepping Towards the Light Services. How may I help you?”
Me: “Thank you so much for offering this amazing gift of light! You are so gracious, and I believe in your amazing services!“
Electrician: “Wonderful! When would you like to set up an appointment?”
Me: “As soon as possible! When is the earliest time you can get here?”
Electrician: “I can head over right now and be there shortly!”
While I wait for the electrician, I start to remove all of the black lights from the lamps in my house and store them in the back room. The black lights represent the sin in my life. Because of my broken heart over my sin, I am now taking action. I am choosing to remove the sin and striving to live in a way that is pleasing to God. Let’s revisit our analogy. The electrician shows up at my door. I welcome him into my home and show him around.
Me: “So as you can see, I have removed all of my black lights just like you requested.”
Electrician: “Yes, I noticed. That is wonderful! I can tell you understand that living with the black lights was not a quality of life.”
Me: “Absolutely! I am done living in the dark. I am ready to live in the light!”
Electrician: “Excellent! Now show me where the black lights are.”
Me: “Oh, don’t worry, I removed them. They are in the back room.”
Electrician: “But in order to continue this process, I need to dispose of the black lights so I can replace them with the LED lights.”
Me: “Um...I’m not sure how I feel about that. You can see that I have removed the black lights. It’s not like I don’t recognize the severity of living in the darkness. I’ve made major changes!”
Electrician: “Yes you have made changes, and that does not go unrecognized. But if you want the black lights removed from your house permanently, you need to allow me to take them away and then I can proceed with giving you new and improved lighting.”
Me: “Hmmm...on second thought, I’d rather not. I don’t feel like I need you to remove my black lights. I’ll just keep them in the other room. Thanks anyway.” And I send the electrician out of the house.
As you can see, there have been great efforts on my part. I have followed several steps of the process. I have heard, believed, and repented. But I am missing such an important part of the process. Just because I took the black lights out of the lamps and put them aside, doesn’t meant they are permanently gone. I can’t remove them. The only one who can is the electrician. And as long as I refuse his services, I am still living in the dark.
Looking back in Acts, after Peter tells the people to repent, immediately he tells them to be baptized. Baptism is a translation from the Greek word baptizo, meaning to be immersed. When we are baptized, we are being immersed into water. Why does God call us to do this? For the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). Remember, sin separates us from God. The result of sin is death. Therefore, we need to be baptized because we need our sins forgiven. We don’t have the power to forgive our own sins. The only one who can do that is God, and it is through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that provides us a way out of our sin.
Colossians 2:11-15 says, “In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
Baptism is a powerful work of God! His grace and forgiveness is being displayed when we enter and come up from the water. Think of it as a covenant with God. A covenant is an agreement between two parties. In this case, when we are baptized, we enter a covenant with God. He promises us salvation! God is “cutting off” the sin in our lives through baptism. Repentance cannot be complete without baptism - they go hand in hand! I can’t start living a new, clean life until the old sin is gone. It doesn’t matter how good of a life I live, how often I read my bible and pray, how many time I’ve resisted temptation, or how many good deeds I perform. If I don’t receive forgiveness, I am still living in the dark.
Let’s go back to our visit with the electrician and see how it plays out this time.
Me: “So as you can see, I have removed all of my black lights just like you requested.”
Electrician: “Yes I can see that. That is wonderful! I can tell you understand that living with the black lights was not a quality of life.”
Me: “Absolutely! I am done living in the dark. I am ready to live in the light!”
Electrician: “Excellent! Now show me where the black lights are.”
I bring the electrician to the back room and show him the boxes filled with black lights.”
Electrician: “I see you have been carrying these around for a long time. But I am able to remove them and give you a new light. Is that something you still want to do?”
Me: “Yes, please! I am ready to receive the light.”
Electrician: “I am very pleased to hear that. Well, let’s continue with the process and bring some light into your house.”
Before the electrician proceeds with removing my black lights, I remember the salesperson who came to my house. I remember she left her number and asked me to call her. I immediately call her up and ask her to come over and share in this exciting moment with me. I also call my friends and family so they can experience in the moment as well.
You thought I forgot step four, didn’t you? No way! In fact, step four is very important. This is the step in which I confess that Jesus is Lord in front of other people. There are many examples in the New Testament that show believers confessing that Jesus is Lord. In Acts 8, we hear about the Ethiopian eunuch who studies the bible with Philip. Starting in verse 36, the Bible says:
“As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?’ 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.’ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him."
What does it mean to confess that Jesus is Lord? This means many things:
1. I confess that Jesus is God in the flesh who came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead.
2. I confess that my sin separates me from God, and I need my sins to be forgiven.
3. I confess that Jesus is Lord of my life and I will live a life pleasing to him from now on.
Matthew 10:32-33 Jesus says, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” It would not make sense for me to believe so strongly about my relationship with Jesus, and yet keep it to myself as if it were a secret. That would be like having an intense love for a family member, and yet never telling anyone about him/her. No one would know that person exists! Confession is a powerful way to show others how God has transformed my life. If I chose not to share my testimony with the world, I am living in a way that shows hypocrisy and disobedience. Remember, when we are cut to the heart, we are driven to take action. Confession should be something we are excited to do!
1 John 4:15 says,“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.”
So let’s recap. I have heard the good news about the electrician. I have come to believe in his services. I have repented by taking out my black lights. And I have called up my friends and family to share in this new life transformation. So now there is only one step left: baptism. The electrician takes my boxes of black lights and disposed of them. He then takes an LED light bulb and places one in each lamp in my house. And for the first time, my home is glowing bright and I am able to see! I am now living in the light! My sins are forgiven and I am a new creation!
And this is only the beginning! Back in Acts, the people were added to the church the moment they were baptized. What did they do once they became Christians? Many things! They met with other Christians and prayed together, ate together, gave to those who were in need, and praised God together. Notice the last few verses of this passage: they met together daily and God’s church was added daily. They were in constant contact and fellowship with other Christians and were constantly spreading the good news about Jesus.
So what will I do now that I am living in the light? I will go out into the world with my pamphlet and knock on the doors of others who are living in the dark. I will share my testimony with those who are willing to listen. Everyone deserves the chance to hear the amazing story of God’s love for the world through Jesus’ sacrifice. And it is my duty and privilege to tell others about the process of stepping towards the light.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
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