QUESTIONS ABOUT SALVATION THE 100 MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SALVATION S. MICHAEL HOUDMANN, GENERAL EDITOR Copyright © 2014 S. Michael Houdmann, General Editor. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting: WestBow Press A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan 1663 Liberty Drive Bloomington, IN 47403 www.westbowpress.com 1 (866) 928-1240 Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. (www.zondervan.com). The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ All rights reserved. Scriptures marked NIV2011 are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. (www.zondervan.com). The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ All rights reserved. Scriptures marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Scriptures marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org) Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them. ISBN: 978-1-4908-2586-1 (sc) ISBN: 978-1-4908-2587-8 (e) Library of Congress Control Number: 2014902573 WestBow Press rev. date: 03/28/2014 CONTENTS Acknowledgements Preface Introduction— The Ultimate Question 1. Questions About The Plan Of Salvation 2. Questions About Who Can Be Saved 3. Questions About Jesus And Salvation 4. Questions About Assurance Of Salvation 5. Questions About Salvation And Works 6. Questions About Salvation Terminology 7. Questions About Life After Salvation 8. Questions About Election And Predestination 9. Questions About Salvation And The Old Testament 10. Miscellaneous Questions About Salvation Appendix— Statement Of Faith Endnotes ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS T HIS BOOK IS dedicated to the more than 500 individuals who have served as volunteer writers for Got Questions Ministries in the past twelve years. Their hard work, commitment, and passion are what make this ministry possible. Special thanks goes to Kevin Stone, Rebekah Largent, MeLissa Houdmann, and Gwen Sellers, who contributed greatly to this volume in writing, editing, organizing, and indexing. All the glory goes to God, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” (Romans 11:36) PREFACE E VERY DAY, MORE and more people turn to the Internet to find answers to their questions about spiritual matters. Topics related to spirituality are the second-most searched subjects online. Sadly, websites that present false teachings far outnumber those that proclaim the truth of God’s Word. In February of 2002, www.gotquestions.org was launched to help fill this gap and meet the needs of millions of spiritually-minded Web surfers. Since our launch, we have personally answered over 375,000 questions that have been submitted to us. Tens of millions of people have found answers to their questions via our Frequently Asked Questions archives, giving us a unique understanding of what questions are truly on people’s minds. This volume is a collection of the most important and/or most frequently asked questions about salvation. Each question is answered directly from the Bible, if the Bible specifically addresses the particular issue. Where the Bible is silent on an issue, biblical principles are used to lead to a solid and correct understanding. The Lord Jesus Christ is our passion, and declaring His Word is our mission. Mission Statement of Got Questions Ministries: Got Questions Ministries seeks to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by providing biblical, applicable, and timely answers to spiritually-related questions. INTRODUCTION— THE ULTIMATE QUESTION Question: How can I be saved? Answer: This simple yet profound question is the most important one you can ask. “How can I be saved?” deals with where we will spend eternity after our lives in this world are over. There is no more important issue than our eternal destiny. Thankfully, the Bible is abundantly clear on how a person can be saved. The Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). Paul and Silas responded, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). How can I be saved? Why do I need to be saved? We are all infected with sin (Romans 3:23). We are born with sin (Psalm 51:5), and we each choose to sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20; 1 John 1:8). Sin is what separates us from God. Sin is what makes us unsaved. Sin is what has us on the path to eternal destruction. How can I be saved? Saved from what? Because of our sin, we all deserve death (Romans 6:23). While the physical consequence of sin is physical death, that is not the only kind of death that results from sin. All sin is ultimately committed against an eternal and infinite God (Psalm 51:4). Because of that, the just penalty for our sin is also eternal and infinite. What we need to be saved from is eternal destruction (Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:15). How can I be saved? How did God provide salvation? In His love, God chose to pay the eternal penalty that we deserve. But God, in His divine nature, cannot die. So God became a human being in the person of Jesus Christ. God took on human flesh, lived among us, and taught us. When the people rejected Him and His message and sought to kill Him, He willingly sacrificed Himself for us and allowed Himself to be crucified (John 10:15). Because Jesus Christ was human, He could die; and because Jesus Christ was God, His death had an eternal and infinite value. Jesus’ death on the cross was the perfect and complete payment for our sin (1 John 2:2). He took the consequences we deserved. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead demonstrated that His death was indeed the perfectly sufficient sacrifice for sin. How can I be saved? What do I need to do? “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). God has already done all of the work. All you must do is receive, in faith, the salvation God offers (Ephesians 2:8–9). Fully trust in Jesus alone as the payment for your sins. Believe in Him, and you will not perish (John 3:16). God is offering you salvation as a gift. All you have to do is accept it. Jesus is the way of salvation (John 14:6). Have you made a decision to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior because of what you have read here? If so, please send us an email at [email protected]. Chapter 1 QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PLAN OF SALVATION Contents What is salvation? What is the Christian doctrine of salvation? What is the plan of salvation? What are the steps to salvation? What is the true gospel? What are the essentials of the gospel message? What is the Romans Road to salvation? What is the relationship between salvation and forgiveness? How do God’s mercy and justice work together in salvation? Is public confession necessary for salvation (Romans 10:9–10)? Is baptism necessary for salvation? What is baptismal regeneration? Just how narrow is the narrow gate? What does it mean that God draws us to salvation? Question: What is salvation? What is the Christian doctrine of salvation? Answer: Salvation is deliverance from danger or suffering. To save is to deliver or protect. The word carries the idea of victory, health, or preservation. Sometimes the Bible uses the words saved or salvation to refer to temporal, physical deliverance, such as Paul’s deliverance from prison (Philippians 1:19 KJV). More often, however, the word salvation concerns an eternal, spiritual deliverance. When Paul told the Philippian jailer what he must do to be saved, he was referring to the jailer’s eternal destiny (Acts 16:30–31). Jesus equated being saved with entering the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24–25). What are we saved from? In the Christian doctrine of salvation, we are saved from “wrath,” that is, from God’s judgment of sin (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9). Our sin has separated us from God, and the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Biblical salvation refers to our deliverance from the eternal consequence of sin and therefore involves the removal of sin.