What does it say?

What does it say?

It is extremely important to understand the fact that context determines exactly what statements, commands, examples, and practices mean in the Bible. The context of any given statement determines the way in which people should understand that statement. It is illogical to open the bible to a random page, read a random verse, and automatically assume that the verse applies directly to the man or woman who is reading the passage. Imagine if a person opened his or her Bible to II Samuel 7:16 which states; “And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made sure for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever”, and tried to apply that verse to his or her personal life. Does this verse mean that the man or woman will be made a king or queen and have a kingdom that will be established forever? No person would assume that this verse applies to his or her personal life in anyway. Why? The answer lies within the fact that the context determines what this statement means, whom it is given to, and how it fits within the Holy Scriptures.

Every verse of scripture must be read within its context. No verse should be divorced of its context and bent to mean something that it does not mean. Furthermore, no verse of the Bible should be used to teach something contradictory to another verse in the Bible. Every verse must be held within its context, and studied in accordance with other verses in the Bible. For example, the Bible states in Romans 10:9-10 “Because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Several things may be assumed by this particular verse of scripture. Firstly, a person may come to the conclusion that all one must do to be saved is confess with the mouth and believe with the heart. Secondly, a person may use this verse to disprove other verses in the Bible. If someone said that faith is involved in salvation, as is found in Hebrews 11:6 “And 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”, does this contradict what Romans 10:9-10 says? God forbid. If a person claimed that Hebrews 11:6 proves faith is required for salvation, someone else should not use Romans 10:9-10 to prove that faith is not required for salvation. The two verses do not cancel each other out. The two verses must be joined and reconciled together, as they are both Holy Scripture. Therefore, we read and understand that confession, belief, and faith are all required for salvation. Is this all that is required for salvation, according to the Bible? Again, no it is not.

The bible teaches that hearing the word of God is required to become pleasing to God. Romans 10:17 reads; “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ”. If it is impossible to please God without faith, Hebrews 11:6, and faith does not come except through hearing the word, Romans 10:17, the two verses must be reconciled together to form an even bigger picture than confession, belief, and faith. The fact that one must hear the word of Christ to be saved does not cancel out the fact that one must confess, believe, and have faith. Is this the conclusion of what is required for salvation? Again, no it is not. Jesus told the people in Luke 13 that not only the extremely wicked people would be punished for sin, but also everyone who did not repent of sin would be punished. Jesus states, in Luke 13:3 “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Does the fact that every human must repent for salvation cancel out the fact that people must hear, believe, confess, and have faith for salvation? Is it proper to disprove confession as necessary for salvation by saying you must repent? God forbid. The Holy Scripture must be put together to come to a complete picture of salvation from sin. Scripture must not be used to disprove other scripture. Scripture must be unified together to come to the complete understanding. We must hear the word of Christ, Romans 10:17, confess Christ before men, Romans 10:9, believe with the heart, Romans 10:10, have faith in God, Hebrews 11:6, and repent of all sins, Luke 13:3,5.

Is Hearing, Believing, Confessing, and Repenting all that is necessary for salvation in Christ Jesus? Again, no it is not. The Bible and all the Holy Scriptures must be put together to form the complete picture of salvation. The Bible teaches in Acts 2:38 “And Peter said to them, "Repent and 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.” Here we have another step required for salvation, baptism. In the context the people to whom Peter was preaching to came to a conclusion; they had killed the Christ, the son of God. They believed he was Christ, they heard about him as Christ through Peter’s preaching, they are horrified by their sin and asked Peter in verse 37, “Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Peter, seeing that they have heard, understanding that they have believed, tells them to repent and be baptized for remission of sins.

Jesus told his Apostles, before his ascension into Heaven, the following: Mark 16:15-16, “And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” Jesus Christ himself states that part of the complete picture of salvation is baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Peter tells us in his book, 1 Peter 3:21, that “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” The Bible teaches that people must walk in newness of life, a life dead unto sin and alive unto God. Romans 6:2-6 teaches the following; we must die to sin. A dead person is buried, as Christ was buried. Yet Christ rose from the dead, and we, likewise, must rise from the death unto sin to walk in newness of life. No one can be saved without walking in newness of life. How does one obtain newness of life? Romans 6:4 tells exactly how this happens; “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Notice that we are buried with Christ, dead unto sin, by baptism. The only way to rise in newness of life is to be baptized; when we are raised out of that water we are saved from sin, walking in newness of life. Newness of life cannot be obtained without first dying to sin and being buried in baptism. We must also put on Christ to be saved from sin. How does one put on Christ? Galatians 3:27 tells exactly how this happens, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” We put on Christ by no other way but baptism.

What saves us then according to the Bible, the complete picture? Hearing, believing, repenting, confessing, and baptism. Who will be lost, Mark 16:16? Those that are not baptized. Where is the remission of sins, Acts 2:38? Baptism. What saves us, I Peter 3:21? Baptism. How do we walk the new, Christian life, Romans 6:2-6? Baptism. How do we put on Christ, Galatians 3:27? Baptism. Why in the world would anyone use verses that teach about confession, faith, belief, and hearing to prove that baptism is not necessary for salvation? Why make the Bible fight against itself? Why not reconcile all the verses into the complete picture of salvation? Hearing the word, believing the word, confessing Christ, repenting from sin, and dying to sin by walking the new life by putting on Christ, all done through baptism. Only one more part and the picture is complete. Revelation 2:10, “be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” 1 John 5:2-3 “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” Live the faithful life. Live the life by following the Law of Christ, the things that have been commanded. The things that, in respect of Christ’s love toward us and his death on the cross, are not grievous at all. Acknowledge the fact that baptism is not to join a group or church, but is for salvation before Almighty God. Stop fighting the Bible with the Bible, and see the complete picture.

Jesus told his Apostles in Matthew 28:19-20 “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” Become a disciple of Christ by being baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and by learning to observe all things that God has commanded. Lets end with a personal challenge: If your religious group practices things that are not in the Bible (all things whatsoever I commanded you), or does things in a different way than what was commanded, as you read the bible, why not try to find a group that does everything according to the pattern? (Hebrews 8:5).

For a personal bible study with Joshua Haley, please email me at jdhaley@cox.net
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