Frequently Asked Questions

If you are in Christ, in other words if you believe in Christ and follow His commandments, you are saved. His work on the cross justified us and took the place of our deserved punishment for our sinful selves. If salvation were up to us and our efforts to save ourselves, no one could be saved: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Psalm 143:2 adds, “No one living is righteous before you.”

Scripture says in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This means you and me!

Ephesians 2:8–9 teaches, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” We are saved by God’s grace. We do not deserve salvation; we simply receive it by faith.

God’s grace is enough to cover any sin (Romans 5:20). The apostle Paul wrote to Christians who had formerly been living in a variety of sinful conditions, including sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, homosexuality, thievery, greed, and many others. But Paul tells them that, upon salvation, “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–11).

That is not to say that we do not have a duty as Christians to act accordingly. Christ gives many instances in which He will refuse us, should we attempt to use our grace as “cheap grace” or a “get out of hell free card,” and become lukewarm Christians with a greater love for the world. In 1 John 2:15-16 we are admonished, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.”

Christ Himself tells us in Matthew 11:30, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” In 7:21 He tells us, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” Finally, in Revelation 3:15-16 we receive a stern warning: “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

So we see that salvation is available to anyone who will accept Christ as their Lord and Savior and endeavor to live according to His Will. Errors and sin will be forgiven, provided one’s heart and faith are toward Christ Jesus!

Saved is a term used to denote the result of Jesus’ death on the cross and His subsequent resurrection: that those who believe in Him and follow Him are saved from the penalty of damnation and eternity without the presence of God, in eternal torment.

Philippians 2:5-10 says: “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

He took the punishment meant for us, so that our souls could be redeemed, and we would not have to suffer the second death, that is hell. “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;” (1 Peter 3:18).

Jesus took our place in that He was made sin for us. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). As Jesus was hanging on the cross, suspended between earth and heaven, the sins of the world were placed on Him (1 Peter 2:24). The perfect Son of Man carried our guilt.

We can rejoice in knowing that God pardons us for iniquity through Bis grace, something that, by definition, is a gift we cannot earn through works of our own, but through the atoning work of our Lord on the day of His crucifixion!

Scripture gives a very clear explanation of how to be saved. Yet its implications are far-reaching and more difficult than many are willing to admit! According to Romans 10:8-11: “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.”

So salvation requires belief AND admission of belief (confessing with the mouth). Why not just belief? Because what good is faith without works of faith? How is the gospel spread and salvation offered to the world if Christ’s own people will not spread the good news? 

Baptism and communion are to covenant ordinances given to us by Christ. It is interesting to not that baptism is not strictly a Christian practice. It was actually well-known to the Jews, albeit as a cleansing act required before coming before God at the temple.

It was John the Baptist who applied it to repentance and cleansing before God in the wilderness. When Christ allowed Himself to be baptized by John, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and He began His Work for the Father.

Through Christ baptism was redefined! It is a public means of confessing faith in Him, casting off the old sinful self and becoming a new creation in the Spirit of Almighty God. Romans 6:1-7 explains baptism thus:

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”

Baptism is a means of dying with Christ, so that, through His act of redemptive obedience on the cross, we are reconciled to God. Christ substituted Himself for us and our penalty for sin (the wages of sin is death). It is a public declaration and demonstration of faith in Christ.

Is it required? Christ clearly commanded us to baptize one another and the world. But can people be saved without it? There are examples in scripture of people who have. So strictly speaking, many do not believe it is. But ask yourself: with all our Lord has done for you, do you really wish to deny Him what He has asked of YOU?

Perhaps one of the most hotly debated topics among Christians today, yet something that was not actually believed by the original church, is the doctrine of “once-saved-always-saved.” As time had moved on further from the life of Christ, compromises have slowly and subtly crept into the church.

Interpretations of scripture have taken on a life more of convenience for many, rather than conviction. One of the most common practices today is to look at the NT only when reading scripture, and focusing not on ALL of Christ’s words, but only the loving ones. Aside from this, the focus goes to what the apostles said. However, in doing this, while convenient for those who want less accountability to God and more freedom in the world, people tend to evaluate CHRIST based on the words of the APOSTLES, instead of the other way around.

Recall the Christ is who we follow, not the apostles. As a pastor, I tend to bristle a bit when people talk about “my” followers or “my” congregation. This is because I have neither. They are Christ’s and I am a fellow servant! So what does the Bible say about losing salvation:

Christ lists multiple times the need to preserve our salvation. You see we are justified by what He did on the cross, but we cannot then turn away from Him and expect Him to turn a blind eye. God doesn’t change. Our choices matter. His apostles knew this and their letters must be taken in the context in which they were written and to whom they were written, not just in the words they used. For example, John 3:16 speaks readily about the eternal life of those who believe in Christ. But Christ does speak of what must be done to remain saved (sanctified). The devil believes in Christ and what He did but is not saved!

Reading Hebrews 6 we find this:

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and about the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment. And this we will do, if God permits. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and produces vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

Clearly what we do and choose matters to God. It would be arrogant presumption to think we can avoid consequences for our choices and actions if we decide NOT to avail ourselves of the gift of salvation so readily available and freely given to us. In 1 Timothy 4 we read:

But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron,…

Christ Himself warns us, as in Revelation 2:4-5:

But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lamp-stand from its place, unless you repent.

In Matthew 24:10-13 He tells us:

And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Christ expects us to “endure” to the end in the world that He overcame. We can slip up, we can even sin, but we must always strive, never give up, and never backslide! How do you do this in a selfish world where you feel alone? DON’T DO IT ALONE. You have the entire Body of Christ behind you! Gather with us and help us build one another up and strengthen one another, just as the early church did!

While salvation and justification is based on faith, given freely from God’s Grace and Mercy, it is the beginning, not the end. There is so much more to be done!

Christ tells us how to be complete in our salvation in Matthew 19:16-22:

And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony; Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

What is the point? It is a MINDSET. We should be transformed! For many, it does not happen quickly, and this world keeps a hold on people even when they are trying to be Christlike. Scripture says in Romans 12: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

It is not enough to simply believe in Jesus and what He did, it requires REPENTANCE and FOLLOWING. This requires us to continuously live in meekness (strength under control) and humility, following Christ and always endeavoring to obey His commandments.