One of the most vexing questions religious people face today is sorting out the truth about what conditions must be met before one can be saved. Many do not think there are any conditions. Others think that there is only one — faith. But I have found an interesting way to study this question. It is simple and leaves one with a very high degree of certainty about the matter.
If anyone can settle the matter for us, it is Jesus Christ Himself. When Jesus was preparing to leave the earth, He gave last instructions to His apostles. In three of the gospel accounts these last instructions are found, and they are generally called the Great Commission. Let’s look at these three accounts and merely ask: What did Jesus say?
The three accounts are Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; and Luke 24:47. If I were studying with you at the kitchen table, I would just have you get a sheet of paper and write these notes down as we go. As nearly as possible, we will conduct this study the same way.
We are going to wind up with five columns, left to right, each with its own heading. Four of the columns will have scripture references at its head, and the first of these we will simply denote Matt. 28:18-20. There the text reads: “Go ye therefore and teach all 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” (Matt. 28:18-20).
Let’s look for the things Jesus said to do in this passage. Part of what He commanded was for the apostles to do, and part was what He told them to command that others do. The first things He commanded was “Go,” but, since He says that in all three accounts, we are going to skip that one, on the same basis that if we take a recipe book, we know we are going to have to go to the kitchen to use the recipe book. So, yes, we are going to have to go to the sinner to teach him and convert him. The next thing Jesus says to do is “Teach.” So let’s list this command under our heading:
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The next thing Jesus says is “baptizing them.” So let’s list it next.
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The next thing Jesus commanded was “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded.” Obviously this was a teaching to follow baptism. So there was a teaching that preceded baptism, and a teaching that followed baptism. Now our list reads:
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In Mark’s account of the Great Commission, the record says, “And He said unto them, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned.” Just as in Matthew’s account, Jesus says, “Go,” but after this, what is the first thing He commands? Preach the gospel.
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What is left for us to do? Must we reject all the accounts? I think that it is plain that what we must do is to combine the information in these three accounts to find out what the Lord would have us to do. We are therefore ready for our fourth column, and for it we will use the heading “Combination.” We will enclose each item from the accounts in brackets as we place it in the combination account. This way, we will be sure we have included everything.
As we look at all three accounts, what do we put down for number one in our combination account? That’s pretty easy. Preach or teach is first in all three columns. We will therefore list it number one in our combination account.
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To find the answer to this question let’s go to the second chapter of the book of Acts. We are now going to dispense with the three columns of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but we will leave our combination column. To it we are going to add another column the heading of which will be Acts 2.
As we begin our analysis of Acts 2, we see the Holy Spirit come upon the apostles, and we see them speaking in tongues as miraculous evidence of their inspiration. Notice the words beginning in verse 14: “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and spake forth unto them, saying, ‘Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words.” Peter continues to speak, quoting from the prophet Joel, and proceeding to proclaim Jesus as the Christ. Now what would you call what Peter was doing here? He was preaching, wasn’t he? We will therefore place preaching on our list under “Acts 2.”
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I think that the explanation of this matter is simple. Bible confession is not a matter of “repeat after me these words.” The confession is a necessary, natural part of the conversion process, one which Jesus knew would necessarily have to happen to carry out the other commands He gave. We cannot baptize a non-believer. How do we know one is a believer? The story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch illustrates (Acts 8:26-40). Philip preached unto the Eunuch Jesus (8:35). In the course of this teaching, the Eunuch came to the conclusion that he needed to be baptized and asked, “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?” (8:36). Philip answered, “If thou believest with all thine heart thou mayest” (8:37). The Eunuch then confessed his faith. Philip did not say, “If thou confessest.” He said, “If thou believest,” and the Eunuch showed that he did believe by confessing it.
What we have studied is not the Plan of Salvation. The plan of salvation takes the entire Bible to tell, and it is the greatest story ever told, a story that no lifetime on earth is long enough to comprehend and to appreciate fully. It is a story of planning, of patience, of judgment, of love, of grace, of sacrifice and suffering, of redemption and deliverance from our worst enemy. It is the story of promises and of hope. No, what we have studied are the conditions of salvation.
My friend, you may have been confused before. That is understandable, but when you see how clearly the conditions of salvation are set forth by Jesus, surely there can be no doubt that the information we have presented is right. I hope that you will promptly render the “obedience of faith” for which the gospel was preached (Rom. 1:5; 16:26).
