Faith or Baptism

Are you as confused as I was on how to be saved? Some churches teach that we are saved by faith while others teach that it takes more than just faith. The answer is critical to your salvation. How can you be a Christian if you're not sure how to become one?

Ask anyone in the "saved by faith" crowd why baptism isn't part of salvation and you'll hear the standard reply: we can't be saved by our works. When you check the Bible you'll find that they're right; works cannot save you (Eph 2:8, 9). Open and shut case. The faith crowd wins. But there's one little problem; they misapply the definition of "works." 

The Bible is referring to "works" as in good deeds. You can't have faith and not help others (James 2:14-26). That's what the Bible means when it says "faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). People conflate "works" to include both good deeds and an action. Baptism is an action that is part of getting saved just like hearing. 

When trying to understand what does it take to be saved you have to put all the pieces

(Bible verses) together and the puzzle becomes clear:

1) Hear the gospel- "faith comes from hearing.." ( Romans 10:17 ESV).

2) Believe the gospel (faith)-

"...Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved..." (Acts 16:31 ESV).

3) Repent- "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out" (Acts 3:19, ESV).

4) Confess- "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord... you will be saved" (Romans 10:9 ESV).

5) Get Baptized- "Repent and be baptized every one of you... for the forgiveness of your sins,"(Acts 2:38 ESV).

Looking only at certain verses of the Bible in regards to any topic is dangerous and misleading at best. If you focus only on a part of the Bible, you'll only get part of the picture. 

Think about it.

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