The Book of Acts, lessons, commentary and study guide from the church of Christ
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Bobby Stafford	Saved By What?

Saved By What?

Introduction:

Imagine you are on a ship in a severe storm.  You are on deck trying to get to safety.  A strong gust of wind blows you off into the water.  A man on board sees you and throws you a life preserver.  You grab it and swim back to the ship and climb to safety.  The question is:  “What were you saved by?”  The ship, the man who threw the life preserver, the life preserver, the water or yourself –  The truth is you were saved by all of them.  If you take any one of them away, you will be lost.

The Bible informs us that one is saved by many things.  What are we to make of that?  Jesus said that we are governed by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  (Matthew 4:4) “But He answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ ”  NKJV  So anything which God declares as necessary for salvation in one passage of Scripture must be implied and included in all other passages which speak of salvation.  So what does the Word of God declare we are saved by?

Body:

I.  Saved by God

·  God  (II Timothy 1:8-9) “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”  (Titus 3:4-5) “But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,”  NKJV

·  Jesus  (Matthew 1:21) “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”  (Hebrews 5:8-9) “though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.  And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,” NKJV 

·  Holy Spirit  (John 3:5) “Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”  (John 6:63) “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing.  The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”  NKJV 

II.  Saved by the Blood of Christ

·  Justified  (Romans 5:9) “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”  NKJV

·  Ransomed  (I Peter 1:18-19) “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”  NKJV

·  Purchased  (Acts 20:28) “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”  NKJV 

III.  Saved by the Gospel

·  (Romans 1:16) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”

·  (I Corinthians 1:18) “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

·  (James 1:21) “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”  NKJV 

IV.  Saved by Grace, Faith, and Works

·  Grace  (Romans 3:23-24) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”  (Luke 17:10)  “So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”  (Ephesians 2:8) “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” NKJV

·  Faith  (Romans 5:1)  “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”  (Ephesians 2:8) “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,”  NKJV

·  Works  (James 2:14, 17, 24) “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?  Can faith save him?  17Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  24You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.”  NKJV

V.  Saved by Belief, Repentance, Confession, and Baptism 

·  Belief  (John 3:16) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  (John 8:24)  “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”  (Acts 16:31) “So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”  NKJV

·  Repentance  (Luke 13:3) “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”  (Acts 17:30) “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,”  (Acts 3:19) “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,”  NKJV

·  Confession  (I John 4:2) “By this you know the Spirit of God:  Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,”  (Romans 10:9-10) “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  NKJV

·  Baptism  (I Peter 3:20-21) “who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few that is, eight souls, were saved through water.  There is also an antitype which now saves us – baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, “  (Acts 22:16) “And now why are you waiting?  Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”  NKJV

Conclusion:

We have seen that Scripture teaches that we are saved by many things.  By what right does anyone have to say we are saved by one of these to the exclusion of the rest?  So, for example, when the Bible says we are saved by grace, that includes all the ways we’ve discussed in this lesson:  God, Christ’s blood, the gospel, faith and works, and belief, repentance, confession, and baptism. 

Bobby Stafford 

September 27, 2015

What does the Bible say Saves Us?