Where In The Bible Will I Find:

Only Those Obedient To God's Word Will Be Saved?

Reading material found almost anywhere, radio and television blaring out with many different ways of salvation and many preaching from the pulpit are spelling out their own ideas of salvation without even one hint of what the Word of God says on how one receives salvation. "Once saved, always saved," is a common doctrine today. It is argued that if a person is truly saved, possessing the true Spirit of God, he cannot and will not fall away. This is a false doctrine and is simply not true.

The Bible lists some two thousand warnings to Christians on the possibility of falling from grace. One simply cannot FALL from grace unless he was once IN grace. It is possible, and it is common, for people to be truly saved, fall from grace, restored, and again, fall and he eternally lost. We are warned not to turn away after being saved. "Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if you will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Where I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God" (Heb. 3:7-12).

Jesus plainly tells us that "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is heaven" (Matt. 7:21). There, salvation is something that is not handed to man on a silver platter without any obedience from man. God has offered salvation to every one on earth, even sending His Son to die on the cross for all man kind, but not every one will accept and obey Him.

For Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: be he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16), but most religious teachers reject this and will teach that one can be saved without baptism. There is a gospel plan, or form of doctrine that must he believed and obeyed before one is saved. The apostle Paul says, “...ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness" (Rom. 6:17-18).

Over a dozen examples of conversion to the church of Christ are recorded in the book of Acts and there we will find that hearing, believing, repenting, confessing and baptism in water is either stated or intimated, but in EVERY case BAPTISM was the last act of obedience that put them IN Christ (Gal. 3:27). Then living a faithful Christian life ensured them a crown of life (Rev. 2:10). Salvation is not without obedience to His Word on our part.