Wednesday, September 27, 2017

PLAN OF SALVATION

What Must I Do To Be Saved?
“Ye must be born again...”

Almost all denominations and religions agree you have to be born again.  The problem is they disagree on how you are to be born again.  According to the Bible there is only one way to be born again and that is the same way Peter and the apostles were born again on the day of Pentecost. 

In the scriptures below Jesus appointed Peter to set the foundation for His church.   Jesus said “upon this rock (Peter) will I build my church”.

(John 1:40-42 KJV)  One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

(Matthew 16:17-19 KJV)  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar–jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Keep in mind that God's church is built upon the teachings of Peter and the apostles. 

In the next scripture Jesus told Nicodemus if we are not born again of the water (which is baptism of water for remission of sins) and spirit (which is the baptism of the Holy Ghost) we can not enter into heaven!

(John 3:3-5 KJV)  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Jesus commanded his apostles to go forth and teach  to all nations.

(Matthew 28:16-20 KJV)  Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.,, And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

(Mark 16:15-16 KJV)  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

The next set of scriptures state that right before Jesus was taken up into heaven he told the apostles where to go and wait for the Holy Ghost.

(Luke 24:44-53 KJV) And he said unto them,  These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

(Acts 1:2, 4-9 KJV)  Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

When Jesus spoke unto the disciples it tells us in Luke 24:45 that he opened their understanding that they may understand the scriptures.  Immediately following Jesus’ resurrection they did just as He told them.  Not once in the scriptures were any of them confused about what they were to do.

(Acts 2:1-8, 12 KJV)  And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilæans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

(Acts 2:14-16 KJV)  But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judæa, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

(Acts 2:37-39 KJV)  Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

Notice: The apostles did not baptized in the titles (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). Jesus told them to baptize in the name (singular). What is the name of the Father, the name of the Son, the name of the Holy Ghost? Jesus! Read the scriptures for yourself, throughout the New Testament the apostles baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ every single time.

When the people standing about asked Peter “men and brethren, what shall we do?”  What did Peter tell them?  What he told them to do still applies to us today.

The Holy Ghost experience was not just for the apostles and their day but is also for us in this day and hour.  Peter said the promise is unto us and our children and to all…  In order to get to heaven YOU MUST repent, be baptized in JESUS Name, and receive the HOLY GHOST!

Read Acts 10 (whole chapter).  In this chapter we learn that Cornelius was a very devout God fearing man that paid alms and prayed ALWAYS, but still God sent an angel to tell him to send for a man (Peter) to tell him how he and his house could be saved.  They were all baptized in Jesus Name and receive the Holy Ghost and spake with tongues. It is not enough to just be a good person YOU must repent, be baptized in Jesus Name and receive the Holy Ghost!

In Acts 19 we find that Paul ran across some of John's disciples and they also were baptized and received the Holy Ghost!  Yes John the Baptist's disciples! If the way you were baptized does not matter then why did Paul find it necessary to rebaptize John’s disciples?  He baptized them in Jesus’ Name and they all received the Holy Ghost and spake with tongues.

(Acts 19:1-6 KJV)  And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.

In Galatians the apostle Paul warned us about others coming to preach something other than what he or the other apostles taught.

(Galatians 1:6-9 KJV)  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

(To learn more about the gospel of Christ ask me about our Bible study “Which is True Gospel?”)

According to scripture you must repent, be baptized in Jesus name, and be filled with the Holy Ghost to enter into Heaven!  The scripture above tells us if any man tells you any different or preaches any other gospel let him be accursed!

So remember, if you have already repented and turned from sin, that’s not the final step, YOU MUST be baptized in Jesus’ Name, and receive the Holy Ghost.

I offer private in home Bible studies.  If you would like someone to study the Bible with or someone to pray with, please feel free to contact me anytime.


Kim Howard   (318) 450-2148   
Email: kimlovesjesus@icloud.com

www.womanofgodinlouisiana.blogspot.com

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