Don Smith
Introduction
In the previous section of this exchange (TGP, Feb. 2024), God’s way of salvation was explained in part. The focus was on baptism for the remission of sins as the culminating act to put one into Christ and contact His saving blood. To leave no wiggle room for error, the plan of salvation was further explained to Mrs. Jackson as follows in this month’s publication of The Gospel Preceptor.
However, in some cases, no matter how air-tight an argument may be sealed, the determined denominationalist will resort to simply ignoring God’s word on the matter. As you read and study, notice how the plan of salvation, stated plainly, refutes the denominational errors pertaining to it.
Concerning God’s Way of Salvation (cont.)
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1The first step of the process is that we must hear the correct teaching.
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:17).
2Only the word of God as taught in truth can complete this step. 3The twisting of this word into false teaching (whether intentionally or in ignorance) will not do. 4If we have obeyed false teaching, then we have not completed this first step.
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1What we must initially hear is very important. 2Certainly we must understand that Christ was sent as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, that He died, was buried, and rose the third day, and that it is only by His blood that we can be saved. 3Moreover, we must certainly understand the plan of salvation. 4However, there is a detail that is most often overlooked in this hearing—that of the things concerning the kingdom (the church). 5The first century disciples certainly preached this prior to baptizing.
But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women (Acts 8:12).
6This is what preaching Christ is (see v. 5).
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1The main focus of preaching these things concerning the church (kingdom) is how the church is to correctly worship God. 2We see that the disciples of Acts 2 continued in the acts of worship just after being baptized (Acts 2:41-42), so they apparently were taught those things prior to being baptized (see v. 40, where Peter “testified” with many other words before they were baptized; Paul also “testified” concerning the kingdom, Acts 28:23). 3The wisdom of God can be seen in this, for He destroyed men under the law of Moses for worshipping outside of His authority (Lev. 10:1-2; cf. Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:6-11). 4By this we know He is very serious about the specifics of how He would have men worship Him. 5Under the law of Christ, we can’t even enter the kingdom without knowing how to worship Him properly, for we must hear the correct teaching concerning it. 6Worship is the active part of our relationship towards Him. 7He tells us that we only have access to Him through “the faith” (Eph. 3:12, KJV), which is the system of faith that Christ has laid down for us to obey (as explained in the section on “law,” [TGP, Nov. 2023, pgs. 24-27]). 8Part of that system teaches to serve, or worship, God acceptably (Heb. 12:28-29; 13:15), offering up acceptable sacrifices (1 Pet. 2:5). 9This implies that there is unacceptable worship, and we already know God hates every false way (Ps. 119:104). 10Therefore, it is not left up to man to choose their own way of worshipping God. 11We must follow the pattern of His word without addition or subtraction.
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1The five methods of worship that the New Testament authorizes are
1) Prayer (1 Thess. 5:17)
2) Singing (Eph. 5:19)
3) Preach/teach/study (2 Tim. 4:2)
4) Contribution into the church treasury (1 Cor. 16:1-2)
5) Communion (1 Cor. 11:23-29)
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1There are no other acts of worship than these that are authorized by the New Testament. 2To go beyond this is to go beyond that which is written. 3A few specifics concerning these that men commonly violate are,
1) Prayer is only to be offered to the Father; we have no authorization to pray to Jesus, the Holy Ghost, Mary, angels, saints, etc. (John 16:23).
2) Singing is to be only vocal; mechanical instruments are not to be used in singing (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).
3) Preaching to mixed assemblies of both men and women is only to be done by men; women are not authorized to preach to mixed assemblies, nor any other leadership position over men (1 Cor. 14:34-35; 1 Tim. 2:11-14). (Men and women just have different roles in the church, and women have an essential role in teaching other women and children and other capacities).
4) Contribution into the church treasury and communion are to be done on every first day of the week, and only on the first day of the week; there is no authorization to “pass the plate” in the middle of the week, nor any other day of the week except Sunday, and there is no authorization to only take the communion monthly, quarterly, or annually, etc. but must be taken every Sunday (1 Cor. 16:1-2; Acts 20:6-7). (I’ll be explaining more concerning the communion in another letter).
4Remember that worship is a very serious issue that God has never had tolerance for error in. 5Therefore, as the evidence has shown, these are the things concerning the kingdom that were taught to the disciples before being baptized (most likely minus the caution against the specific errors of men which had come about centuries later). 6This is a part of preaching Christ. 7Hearing Christ preached is the first step.
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1The second step of the process of salvation is to believe the correct teaching when we have heard it. 2We must believe that Christ is the Son of God (John 8:24), that He died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead (Rom. 10:9), that His blood will cleanse us from all sin (1 John 1:7) upon our obedience (Heb. 5:9) and believe the system of faith He gave us (John 12:48; Acts 8:12). 3Belief is pretty straight forward. 4If we do not believe in what He told us, we have rejected Him.
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1The third (and most difficult) step is repentance (Luke 13:3). 2Repentance is not prayer but a change of mind which leads to a change of life (Matt. 21:28-29). 3Godly sorrow prompts repentance (2 Cor. 7:9-10). 4The sorrow itself is not repentance but is part of the process. 5The difference between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow is godly sorrow is having sorrow for breaking God’s law. 6Worldly sorrow, however, is being sorry for any other reason than the fact of sinning against God, such as being sorry for breaking man’s law due to the consequences from man. 7In order to work repentance, godly sorrow must be coupled with action. 8The mental process may be hard, but the action is just as difficult (strait)(cf. Matt. 7:13-14). 9It is a requirement to change our entire lives – both morally and doctrinally. 10It requires us to abhor all sin, which includes doctrinal error and false teachings (Rom. 12:9). 11Since faith only comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17) and whatsoever is not of faith is sin (Rom. 14:23), then anything outside of the authorization of the word of God is what we must abhor and cease to do. 12Moreover, since the pattern of all good works is contained in the scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and “to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17), then we must do all we can to do that which is authorized (cleave to that which is good [Rom. 12:9]). 13Simply put, we must cease to conform to all outside the word and transform to do all within (Rom. 12:1-2). 14This is repentance.
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1The fourth step is the good confession. 2This is not a confession of sins. 3This is the confession that Christ is the Son of God (Rom. 10:9-10). 4This confession must be made vocally, in the presence of people (Matt. 10:32). 5Without this confession, we cannot be saved.
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1Fifth, we must be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:16; John 3:5; Acts 22:16; Rom. 6:3-6; Gal. 3:27; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet. 3:21). 2The reason we get baptized must be “for the remission of sins.” 3This is God’s purpose, and if we don’t get baptized for this purpose, our baptism is not of God but of men.
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1Sixth, we must live faithful unto death (Rev. 2:10). 2So the entirety of the plan of salvation is outlined as follows:
1) Hear the correct teaching (Rom. 10:17)
2) Believe it (Acts 8:12)
3) Repent (Luke 13:3)
4) Confess Jesus as the Son of God (Rom. 10:8-10)
5) Be baptized (Acts 2:38)
6) Live faithfully unto death (Rev. 2:10)
3The book of Acts is full of examples of this being carried out. 4Where certain steps are not explicitly mentioned in some examples, we know they are implied, as we cannot make it to heaven with any one of these omitted, according to God. 5This is how we obey the gospel (2 Thess. 1:7-9). 6We do this to be saved, to have access to God in order to worship Him acceptably, to have the only acceptable relationship with Him (Eph. 3:12; Heb. 12:28-29; 13:15; 1 Pet. 2:5).
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1I would now like to address a couple of common errors and a couple of your questions/suggestions. 2The first error deals with prayer. 3If you have been taught to pray to God for the forgiveness of sins as an alien sinner (one who has not yet obeyed the gospel/been saved), then you have been taught another gospel (Gal. 1:6-9; 2 Cor. 11:3-4). 4To pray for forgiveness is backwards to the plan of salvation. 5Prayer is worship, and we only have access to worship God after we have been baptized under the correct teaching. 6Once we have obtained access through this obedience to the faith (Rom. 1:5), God has then granted us the privilege to pray for forgiveness when we sin—but not before that initial obedience.
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1Some refer to 1 John 1:9 to teach people to pray to God in order to be saved. 2However, they have missed the spiritual position of those to whom John wrote. 3You see, their sins had already been forgiven (1 John 2:12)—they had already obeyed the gospel. 4John was writing to Christians, not to those who had not been saved yet. 5He was telling Christians to pray to God when they sin. 6An example of this is seen in Simon, who had bewitched the Samaritans (Acts 8:9-11). 7Simon, as an alien sinner, believed Philip’s preaching and was baptized (Acts 8:13)—he was saved; he was a Christian (Mark 16:16). 8He even continued with Philip for some significant period (Acts 8:13). 9When the apostles came to give the miraculous indwelling of the Holy Spirit to some of the Samaritans, Simon saw this. 10As a babe in Christ, he fell back into his old ways and desires and tried to buy this gift from the apostles (Acts 8:18-21)—he sinned as a Christian. 11As a Christian, in order to have forgiveness, he is not told to be rebaptized; he had already heard the correct teaching and had been baptized. 12Instead, he is told to repent and pray for forgiveness, just as John had instructed the Christians he wrote to. 13No one is ever told to pray for forgiveness before being baptized into Christ. 14The sinner’s prayer is a man-made doctrine that is non-existent in the Bible.
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1The second error is “faith only” salvation. 2If you have been taught that you are saved by one of the many faces of “faith only” (or rather, “baptism excluded”) salvation, you have been taught another gospel (Gal. 1:6-9; 2 Cor. 11:3-4). 3The Bible nowhere states we are saved by faith only, but James says the opposite (James 2:24). 4The common passages used to support the idea of “faith only” salvation are missing other parts of the plan of salvation, such as hearing, repentance, or confession. 5Obviously, we have to “hear” in order to believe, and most “faith only” advocates will not leave out the fact that we must repent or confess. 6So, how do they get hearing, repentance, or confession into those passages that only have statements concerning belief? 7They understand that these things are implied where they are not explicitly stated. 8However, they absolutely refuse to accept that baptism, as a part of the plan of salvation, is also implied in these texts (Matt. 13:14-15). 9They’ll refer to these passages and say that it doesn’t say anything about baptism, while the whole time inferring the fact that hearing, repentance, and confession are there. 10This comes down to one of two things: either they don’t realize what they are doing (ignorance), or they realize it and are just being dishonest. 11With as much as the New Testament says concerning baptism and the essentiality of it, a person must be taught to turn a blind eye to such passages in order to hold to “faith only” salvation. 12This is false teaching, and the way Satan works (2 Cor. 4:3-4). 13We are certainly not saved by “faith only.”
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1Okay, you mentioned the thief on the cross and stated that he made it to heaven without baptism (TGP, Aug. 2023, pg. 19, paragraph 9, sentences 4-5). 2First, we don’t know whether he was baptized or not. 3Most likely he was, since there went out unto John “Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan…” (Matt. 3:5-6). 4However, this is not even an issue pertaining to our subject, for the thief died under the law of Moses, before the law of Christ (and hence, the baptism of Christ) was applicable to him. 5The baptism of Christ represents His death, burial, and resurrection. 6The thief could not have been obedient to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ through baptism before it happened. 7The thief’s situation on the cross is not an issue that can be rightly presented in the light of whether we are saved in obedience to baptism or not.
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1You also asked, “Why did Paul say the Lord did not send him to baptize but to preach the gospel?” (TGP, Aug. 2023, pg. 19, paragraph 9, sentence 6). 2The passage you’re referring to is 1 Corinthians 1:17. 3Please think about this for a moment. 4If Paul’s statement here negates the necessity to baptize, then he would be contradicting the Lord’s commission wherein He sent the disciples to baptize (Matt. 28:19). 5Would Paul be preaching another gospel (Gal. 1:6-9)? 6Certainly not. 7He also would be contradicting himself because he did baptize some of the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:14-16), and he set forth the necessity of baptism in his writings and preaching as I thoroughly explained [in TGP, Feb. 2024, pages 17-20]. 8We know Paul did not contradict himself, the Lord, or any of the other disciples on this subject. 9The context reveals what Paul was saying by this statement. 10The Corinthians were dividing over the names of men (1 Cor. 1:10-13). 11Paul was thankful that he only personally baptized a few of them, lest they should erroneously say he had baptized in his own name (v. 14-16). 12In light of this situation, Paul reveals the fact that the Lord did not mandate him to personally baptize every single one of the Corinthians himself (v. 17), and this he is glad he did not do. 13This is all that is meant by Paul’s statement. 14Many of the totality of the Corinthians in the city of Corinth were baptized (saved) (Acts 18:8); Paul baptized a few of these.
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1In conclusion of this reply to your response to the manuscript, “Have Miracles Ceased?”, it is my hope that through this your knowledge has expanded in understanding 1) the various law systems of God; 2) the purposes of the miracles, the extent of their possession by men, and their duration; 3) the essentiality and exclusiveness of the church; and 4) the plan of salvation. 2Please know that the writings I write are not just to share beliefs, but they are written with a magnitude of weight in seriousness far above anything else I do, in order to guide any who will hear into the absolute, objective truth of God’s will. 3In a card you recently sent, you stated that you plan on great growth this year. 4I encourage you in this and hope I have sparked the beginning of this in attempting to adequately do that which is my duty to do (Luke 17:10). 5If you have read and studied the scriptures I’ve cited and quoted in light of their various subjects, I have no doubt that you will. 6I also, again, encourage you to do a thorough study of the manuscript and the subject detailed therein. 7I apologize this took so long to complete and send to you, but I felt each topic warranted, and even obligated, thorough explanation for proper understanding. 8I await your response. 9If you have any other questions, or questions arise as you study, write them down and please ask. 10This is how we grow. 11Thank you for the card. 12Please take care.
In Christ,
Don
Conclusion
Though this concludes the very lengthy and detailed reply to Mrs. Jackson’s letter, there is yet one last response from her to analyze. It is a sad condition of the heart when a person rejects the plain teaching of the Bible for a clearly false and man-made doctrine. However, this is the case with the vast majority of those beguiled into believing denominational teaching. In the next installment, we will begin to look into just how far a person will go when they are confronted with the truth, as this reply has done. May we ever continue the good fight of the faith, even in the face of such denial and opposition.
