Commonly Asked Questions About Salvation

1. I believe it is important to baptize babies since we are all born in sin (Psalm 51:5).

Psalm 51:5 does not say that David was born in sin. Reading the verse carefully you will see that “sin” modifies David’s mother. “In sin did my mother conceive me…” David is proclaiming that he was conceived and born into a sinful environment and thus affected all his life by that environment. Many other plain passages show that we are not born with the guilt of sin:

Ezekiel 18:20 God argues through Ezekiel that He has not punished Israel for the sins of the fathers. The person who sins will die. Further, each man’s righteousness or wickedness stays on himself and is not passed on to anyone else.

Luke 18:16 Jesus said that little children reflected the character of the kingdom of God. That could hardly be true if children were born depraved, having inherited the sins of their fathers.

Romans 7:9 Paul proclaims that he was spiritually alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and he died. Paul was born and raised under the law. Therefore the only time it could be said that Paul lived apart from the law was when he was a child and not yet accountable to the law. This was the time he was spiritually alive, and therefore could not have been born in sin. The doctrine of original sin has people starting out “dead” and then becoming alive when they come to Christ. Paul shows here that we start out “alive” and then become accountable to the law and “die.”

Exodus 20:5-6 is sometimes used to teach that God punishes the children for the sins of the fathers. However, you will notice that the text states, “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me.” It is only when the following generations continue in the sins of their fathers that God holds the children accountable. The principle is explained by Jesus in Matthew 23:34-35. Because the Jews of Jesus day were following the pattern of their fathers who killed the prophets, the Lord said that upon them would come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from Able to Zechariah. With that “visitation of sins” the Jews of Jesus’ day would lose their nation.

Consider also that if children are born in sin, then Jesus was born in sin. This is the reason the Catholic church invented the doctrine of the immaculate conception. The doctrine affirms that Mary was immaculately conceived in the womb of her mother and then lived a perfect life (never even having sexual relations with Joseph), so that Jesus would be born without inheriting sin. Of course, the Bible never tells us that Mary was sinless. In fact, only Jesus was without sin (Hebrews 4:15), and all others are found guilty (Romans 3:9-10, 23).

2. Immersion for baptism is fine, but I do not see that baptism cannot be done other ways.

The word “baptize” comes from the Greek word BAPTIZO which means “to dip” {W.E. Vine}. Our English word is a transliteration of the Greek word. If the original translators of our English Bible had translated the word, instead of simply carrying the Greek word over into English, all passages where we read “baptize” would have read “immerse” and there would have been no question as to the method of baptism.

Consider the following scriptures:

John 3:23 John the baptist baptized near Aenon because there was much water there. If anything other than immersion was authorized, why did John seek a place where there was much water?

Acts 8:35-39 When Philip baptized the eunuch, both he and the eunuch went “down into the water and he baptized him.”

Romans 6:4 and Colossians 2:12 both refer to baptism as a “burial” in likeness of Christ death, burial, and resurrection. Anything other than immersion would not picture the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

Ephesians 4:5 states that there is “one baptism” and therefore any other kind of baptism than what we see taking place in the Bible is sin.

3. John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10 and Acts 16:31 plainly tell us that all a person has to do is believe in order to be saved.

First of all, we need to understand that the Bible is not so written that we would “line up” passages against each other. Acts 2:38 states that baptism is for the remission of sins. I Peter 3:21 states that baptism saves us. These and many other passages teach us that baptism is a part of salvation. At the same time, there are many passages, such as the ones above, that teach that one must believe to be saved. Obviously these passages do not contradict. We therefore must find how these passages compliment one another.

Next, we need to note that none of the texts mentioned in the question, nor any other text in the Bible, says that “all a person has to do is believe.” The only passage in the Bible where the words “faith” and “only” are put together is James 2:24 where James says we are not saved by faith only.

Now look at each of the contexts surrounding these texts. In John 3:16 Jesus says that whoever believes should not perish but have everlasting life. But only eleven verses before (John 3:5), Jesus said that one could not enter the kingdom unless he was born of water and the Spirit. Born of water can refer to nothing else but baptism as is confirmed by Romans 6:4 and Titus 3:5. Further, in John 3:36 (NASB or ASV) states that whoever does not obey the Son will not see life. Therefore, when Jesus says to believe in 3:16, He certainly is not saying that one can believe without obeying the Lord’s commands or without being baptized. The word “believe” is used to summarize all that one does when he puts his trust in the Lord.

Ask yourself this question: If John 3:16 is saying that a person only needs to believe to be saved, does that mean we can be saved without repentance? Certainly not. Luke 13:3 says that is we do not repent we shall perish. Well, if John 3:16 is saying that a person only needs to believe, does that mean we can be saved without confessing the Lord? Certainly not. Matthew 10:32-33 states that we must confess Him if we are to be saved. In the same manner, when Jesus says that we must believe in John 3:16, does that mean we do not have to baptized to be saved. Certainly not. Acts 2:38 and many other passages command baptism for salvation. The point is clear. There is no one who really believes that all a person must do is believe (that is, just mentally assent to Jesus being the Son of God). The question is, what commands will you exclude from your service to God and still say you are believing? We are not believers if we omit anything God has commanded of us.

Consider Romans 10:9-10. If your father left you a 16 page will giving you instructions concerning his estate, would you read only the tenth page, lines nine and ten, which told you to put your trust in him concerning all his instructions, and then think you knew all that he required of you? Romans 6:3-4 states that baptism is into Christ and into His death. If baptism get us into Christ and into His death, how can we be saved without it? That would mean we could be saved without Christ and without His death.

Acts 16:31 records Paul telling the Philippian jailor that to be saved he must believe with all of his house. But verse 32 continues by telling us that Paul then spoke to him the word of the Lord. Verse 33 tells us that the jailor was immediately baptized. Then, after being baptized, verse 34 tells us that jailor rejoiced “having believed.” When one reads the whole context, this passage teaches exactly what we have been saying: belief only does not save. Further, the jailor was not considered a believer until after he was baptized.

4. If we are saved by baptism that would mean we are saved by works, and we know that we are not saved by works (Ephesians 2:8-9).

There is no doubt that the Bible clearly tells us that we are not saved by our own works. And yet, there are other passages that state that there are works that we are saved by (James 2:24). The question is, what kind of works are we saved by and what kind of works are we not saved by? Romans 4:1-4 and Ephesians 2:8-9 are referring to works that we would do in order to earn our salvation or to in some way deserve our salvation. That is, is there some way that we can be “good enough” to be saved? No! On the other hand, James 2:14-24 explains that we are justified (saved) by works that are simply obedience to the Lord’s commands. Abraham was justified when he obeyed. When we simply obey the Lord’s commands while putting our trust in Him for our forgiveness, we are not being saved by our works, but by trusting in His way or works for our salvation.

Titus 3:5 states that we are not saved by our own works but we are saved by “the washing of regeneration.” Again, this specifically refers to baptism as part of our salvation but not part of “our own works” that we are not saved by. Colossians 2:11-12 also tells us that we are saved by grace and not by the work of men’s hands, but then identifies baptism as the means by which the Lord cuts off our sins. Baptism is not our work, it is the Lord’s work that we simply submit to so that He will cleanse us of our sins.

5. I was saved when I believed. Baptism is only an “outward sign” that my sins are already forgiven. That is what Peter meant in Acts 2:38.

There is nowhere in the scriptures where baptism is described as an “outward sign” or a public acknowledgement of salvation already attained. The word “for” in the phrase “for remission of sins” comes from the Greek word EIS and means “for the purpose of.” This is exactly the same phrase Jesus used in Matthew 26:28 when He said that His blood was shed “for the remission of sins.” Jesus did not shed His blood because sins have already been remitted or as an outward sign that sins had been remitted. His blood was shed so that sins could be remitted just as we are to be baptized so that our sins can be remitted. As Romans 6:3 points out, we are baptized into His death. Thus baptism is for the remission of sins because it is the point which we are connected to the blood of Christ.

Consider also Acts 19:1-5 where Paul commands twelve men to be baptized again because they had an incorrect faith when they were baptized the first time. If baptism is just an outward sign, there is no reason for the rebaptism. They had already done the outward sign.

6. Holy Spirit baptism is what saves. That is evident by the example of Cornelius and his household (Acts 10:44-46).

Cornelius and his house were the first Gentile converts in a day when Jews believed that Gentiles were unclean and without a right to salvation by the gospel. A careful reading of Acts 10 &11 will show that Cornelius and his house did not receive the Holy Spirit in order to be saved. As Peter outlines in Acts 11:1-18, there were four miraculous events that led up to the Jews allowing these Gentiles to receive the gospel. First, Cornelius received a vision instructing him to send for Peter who would tell him words by which he and his house would be saved. In fact, Peter quotes the angel in 11:14 as saying, “he will tell you words by which you and your house will be saved.” If Cornelius was to be saved by the intervention of the Holy Spirit, Peter nor his words were needed. The second miraculous event was a vision to Peter instructing him to no longer consider unclean anything God had cleansed. The third event was the Spirit telling Peter go with the Gentile messengers from Cornelius and doubt nothing. The fourth event was the Holy Spirit falling on Cornelius and his household. With this, Peter said, “Who was I that I could withstand God?” (11:17). He then commanded them to be baptized in water. Now what WORDS did Peter tell Cornelius by which he was saved? It is the same as all the other conversions in Acts: belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and baptism for the remission of sins. The Holy Spirit falling upon the Gentiles was done only to prove to Peter and the other Jews that the Gentiles were to be accepted equally with the Jews.

To further confirm this, consider Acts 15:8-11. In referring to the salvation of Cornelius, Peter says that the Holy Spirit was given them in order to “make no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.” You will notice that they were saved by faith just like everyone else, but the Holy Spirit was given so that there would no longer be a distinction made between Jew and Gentile.

7. Water baptism was taught only by the 12 apostles to the Jews as a sign of their repentance. When Paul came, he brought in a dispensation of grace (Ephesians 3:2). Thus, Paul never mentions water baptism, but salvation by Holy Spirit baptism.

This statement implies that the twelve apostles believed and taught something different than Paul. This is simply not what we find in Acts 15:7-12 where Paul and Peter were on the same side when it came to teaching the church in Jerusalem about salvation. Galatians 2:6-10 further shows that Peter and Paul were in complete agreement concerning the gospel they were preaching. Certainly Paul would not have tolerated Peter preaching anything different in light of Galatians 1:8 in which he said that a person would be accursed who preached a different gospel.

Did Paul preach water baptism? Certainly. Ephesians 5:26 refers to the church being cleansed by the “washing of water by the word.” Titus 3:5 tells us that salvation is not by works but by the “washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” Thus, salvation comes through baptism and the renewing that comes by obedience to the saving words revealed by Spirit in the scriptures. Hebrews 10:22 tell us that we draw near to God in faith, our hearts sprinkled from and evil conscience, and “our bodies washed with pure water.” Remember, Paul taught that there was one baptism (Ephesians 4:5). Therefore, when we see in these passages that he taught water baptism, that is the baptism he is referring to in all the other passages in which he refers to baptism (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12; I Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27; etc.)

8. Being baptized a second time feels like it would be wrong, like denying my initial turn to the Lord.

Acts 19:1-5 is a perfect example of a person being baptized a second time after being baptized incorrectly the first time. These twelve men had in all sincerity turned to the Lord, but had been taught things about baptism that were not true. The baptism taught by John the Baptist and practiced by Jesus and His disciples was by immersion but had the design of signaling repentance and a belief on Him who would come after. Once Christ died on the cross, this baptism was no longer valid. These twelve men had been baptized by an invalid baptism and therefore needed to be baptized “in the name of Jesus” (by the authority of Jesus). When we are not baptized according to the teaching of Jesus, but instead followed some man-made doctrine, we must also turn and follow the Lord correctly. If we are truly sincere in turning to the Lord, as these twelve men were, we will be happy to learn the way of the Lord more accurately and obey Him.

9. If I fall away after I am baptized, do I need to be baptized again?

Acts 8:13-24 is a perfect example of a person being baptized and then subsequently falling away. Simon the sorcerer had turned to the Lord after seeing the miracles performed by Philip and believing the gospel. However, Simon then offered the apostles money that he might receive the power to confer spiritual gifts as he saw them do. Peter rebuked Simon, telling him that his heart was not right with God and that he was poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. What should Simon do? Should he be rebaptized? No. Peter told him to “Repent and pray…” This is essentially the same principle presented by John in I John 1:6-10. John states that even Christians sin. Even a person who is “walking in the light” has sin, else the blood of Jesus would not need to cleanse him. In fact, if a Christian said that he did not have sin, he would be a liar. What is the remedy? John says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins…”

Therefore, rebaptism is only necessary when one’s baptism was not for the right reason or with an incorrect understanding. Acts 8:12 gives two prerequisites for baptism: believing the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. To be baptized correctly we must accept the authority of Jesus and believe the things concerning the kingdom.

10. I knew I was saved when I prayed and felt Jesus come into my heart (Revelation 3:20).

Revelation 3:20 is a passage written to the Christians at Laodicea who had fallen away from the proper service to the Lord. They were lukewarm in their spiritual zeal and had turned to materialism. They needed to bring the Lord back into their life and make Him their number one priority. Therefore, to treat this passage as a commandment for those who are not Christians is an abuse of the context. There is no place in the Bible that tells a person who is not a Christian to ask Jesus into their heart. Neither is there a passage that would teach that a person would “feel” Jesus coming into their heart. Salvation is not something “felt” by any physical or mental perception. Salvation is realized when one does what the Lord says to do in order to be saved, and then rejoices that the scriptures have revealed to him that he is saved (Acts 16:30-34).

11. God wouldn’t condemn a person who was sincere but just didn’t know any better!

As a matter of fact, the Lord has repeatedly warned that we must not find ourselves in a position of being “sincerely ignorant” of what we must do to be saved. Paul pointed this out concerning the Jews in Romans 10:1-3. In verse one he claims that they are not saved. In verses two and three he commends their motivation (“they have a zeal for God”), but identifies their problem (“but not according to knowledge”). Here were a people very zealous for God, but since they were ignorant of God’s way of bringing them to righteousness, they were lost.

Jesus warned in John 16:2 that there were those who would kill Christians thinking they were offering God service. Just as Saul of Tarsus, they were sincerely serving God, but murderers nonetheless.

Jesus also warned in Matthew 7:21-23 that on the day of Judgment there would be those who would complain about being left out because they had done “many mighty works” in His name. But Jesus said that His reply will be that He never knew them because they worked “lawlessness.” We cannot serve God sincerely and at the same time not obey His laws.

We need to also point out, however, that this is not to imply that one must be perfectly doctrinally correct in order to be saved. There is no doubt we must understand and do exactly what the Lord says if we will be saved. But when we first come to the Lord by being baptized for the forgiveness of our sins, there are many things that we will not have an accurate understanding of. For example, the Jews who came to Christ on the day of Pentecost, did not yet understand that Gentiles could be saved without circumcision. The Corinthians obviously had a number of things that they did not understand correctly and needed Paul’s instruction. We are required to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18). We will certainly not have perfect understanding of all things, but we must grow and we must constantly correct those things that are amiss in our lives. If we put forth diligence by searching the scriptures daily (II Timothy 2:15; Acts 17:11), we will not find ourselves ignorant of those things the Lord requires of us. The things He requires of us are not difficult, they are not far off, but “in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it” (Deuteronomy 30:11-14).

12. I can’t believe that God would let so many people be lost!

II Peter 3:9 tells us that God is not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance. Certainly the Lord would like everyone to be saved. He made us so that we would live with Him eternally. However, Christ is the “author of eternal salvation to all them that obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9). In Luke 13:23 Jesus was asked, “Are there few who are saved?” His reply was that one needed to “strive” to enter the narrow gate because many would “seek” to enter and not be able. In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus stated plainly that “many” go in the broad gate and are lost while “few” find the strait and narrow gate and are saved. God does not want anyone to be lost, but He will not compromise His standards of righteousness and save people in spite of their disobedience to Him.

13. What about my mother/father? They died without doing these things and if what you say is true, they are lost!

We must not allow ourselves to become the Judge, especially over those who are already in the hands of the Lord. It is our duty to teach the Lord’s will, to apply it in our own lives, and to help others in the understanding of the Lord’s will. We are not the Judge (James 4:11-12) and therefore we will leave the judgment of your mother and father to the Lord. Be assured that no one will be lost who does not deserve to be there. God is righteous and we can trust Him to be a fair judge.

However, we are not dead, and we will be judged by the words of Jesus (John 12:48). Therefore, regardless of whether our parents are saved or lost, we must be obedient to the Lord. Regardless of where our parents end up eternally, they would encourage us to do the right thing. In Luke 16:27-31 Jesus told of a rich man who died and was in torment. Did he want his family to come and be with him? No. He asked that Lazarus be sent back from the grave to warn them. Even if our parents are lost, they would want us to be saved by doing the right things instead of following them in the wrong things.

14. Surely God will save good moral people!

If God is going to save a person because he has lived a good moral life, then the plan of salvation is nullified and there is no need for the grace of God. If the principle of being saved by a moral life is true, then salvation is based upon works, not grace and forgiveness. Such an idea suggests that God will look at a person’s life and decide their eternal reward based on whether they have been more good than bad. Why then did Jesus die on the cross? Man could have been saved without Jesus simply by living a good life. The problem is that no matter how good a person is, he still has sin, and sin must be forgiven if a person expects to be saved. Forgiveness is not based simply on a good moral life, but upon complete trust in Jesus Christ and obedience to His commands.

Cornelius (Acts 10:1-6; 11:14) is an excellent example of a person who was as good and moral as one could be and yet lost. Acts 10:2 states that he was “devout and one who feared god will all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.” How could one be more good and moral than that? And yet, 10:6 states that he was to seek Simon who would tell him what he must do. Acts 11:14 states that Simon would tell him words by which he and all his house would be saved. Cornelius was lost even though he was a good moral person. His only hope was to come to Christ and be baptized for the forgiveness of his sins (Acts 10:48).

15. Why are there so many different interpretations of the Bible? It seems that everyone thinks they are right.

There are a number of reasons why men are not always in agreement over what the Bible says. Some misinterpretations are the result of honest mistakes, while others are the result of dishonesty:

(a) Some follow the beliefs and traditions of their parents, friends, or preachers instead of pursuing an unbiased investigation of the scriptures for themselves (Mark 7:6-9). This practice has resulted in the widespread errors of Catholicism and denominationalism.

(b) Some do not understand the scriptures properly because they want to follow certain personal desires that have preeminence in their lives (II Peter 3:3-4). There may be a sin that they do not want to give up and therefore they have a strong desire to see the scriptures in such a way as to justify themselves. Or, they may even want to justify the sin of a family member or dear friend and therefore not honestly seek the truth.

(c) Some are so untaught and unlearned in the scriptures that it is difficult for them to consider the context of a given passage and to fit it in with everything ese God has said on the subject (II Peter 3:16). They therefore twist the scriptures to their own destruction.

(d) Some simply do not listen to God’s word very carefully. They consider
the Lord’s teaching very superficially and do not strive to understand (Matthew 13:13-15).

(e) Some, either honestly or dishonestly, do not consider every passage that may have a bearing on the understanding of a particular subject. Jesus corrected Satan on this principle when He said, “Again it is written” (Matthew 4:6-7).

In order for us to avoid these errors we must love the truth (II Thessalonians 2:10-11) so that we are not deceived. The wise man in Proverbs 23:23 states, “Buy the truth and sell it not.” The Lord has revealed His message in such a way that it can be understood (Ephesians 3:3-4). But we must be honest (Ephesians 5:17).

16. Can we really expect to understand the Bible alike?

Apparently Jesus not only believed it was possible for us to understand the Bible alike, He both prayed that we would (John 17:17-23), and commanded that we should (I Corinthians 1:10). The means by which we are to obtain this unity is given in (Ephesians 4:11-16). The apostles and prophets (through their inspired words), along with the evangelists, pastors and teachers are to equip saints to do the work of ministry and the edifying of the body of Christ till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, no longer tossed by every wind of doctrine, but speaking the truth in love, with the whole body joined and knit together.

Remember that the Lord promised us that we would be judged by His words (John 12:48). Therefore, there is an absolute standard by which we will be judged. That standard will not be different for each person depending on how they understood the scriptures.

Furthermore, to believe that the Bible cannot be understood alike, is to believe that it cannot be understood in the way it was originally intended. Such a belief indicts God with the inability to reveal His message in a way that His own creation could understand it and be unified in obeying it. We would not so indict any other book! Is the Department of Motor Vehicles able to write a manual that drivers can understand and by which we can be unified in our observance of traffic laws? Who would deny it? So also God can write a Bible that men can understand and obey alike.

17. How did all these denominations get started and how were they able to deceive so many people?

We can read about the beginnings of “denominationalism” in the Bible. There have always been those who would leave the truth and carry away disciples after them forming new sects based on their own peculiar beliefs. Paul warned the Ephesian elders of this very thing (Acts 20:29-30). The Corinthians had the beginnings of such sectarian practices and Paul needed to rebuke them for it (I Corinthians 1:12-13). In II Thessalonians 2, Paul warned that there would be a great falling away in which men would not love the truth but turn to lawlessness. And the apostle John said in I John 2:18 that there were already many antichrists in the world. If such division and apostasy took place in the first century when the apostles were alive, we should not be surprised that it also happens today.

A brief history of how our present day denominations came into existence may also be helpful. When the apostle John wrote his epistles in 90 AD, there was an apostasy taking place by a group known as the Gnostics. By 150 AD this group had won over many disciples. As local churches attempted to defeat their errors, they also made some critical mistakes. They found that if one of their elders had some connection with one of the apostles they could wield more authority. Therefore, if they had an elder who had been a disciple of the apostle John, or even a disciple of one of John’s disciples, they could keep more of their members in the faith. This man would only need to proclaim that gnosticism was wrong for people to believe him and avoid error. The problem was that in so doing a precedent had been set for people to put more trust in a man than in the word of God. Soon, these special elders became known as bishops. By 325 these bishops came together in the first Nicean Council and formed the Nicean Creed. While there was nothing in this creed that was objectionable, the creed again set the precedent for something other than the scriptures as the final authority. Many councils and creeds followed until 606 when the first Pope was elected. During the Dark Ages there were times when the Catholic Church even tried to destroy the Bible in order to maintain their own authority. By 1000 AD it is estimated that only one out of every 10,000 people could read or write. This resulted in a strong reliance on the Catholic church for the reading and interpretation of the scriptures. By 1517 when Martin Luther triggered the Protestant Reformation Movement, men were quite accustomed to putting the confidence in the more educated for their own spiritual destiny. As the Protestant Movement flourished, more creeds were written. Schools were erected for the purpose of training the preachers for these denominations. As a result, to this day the average person questions their own ability to understand the scriptures without the help of a “theologian.” However, when men and women have decided to read the scriptures for themselves, rejecting biases, and using the scripture as their final authority, the result has been a return to the pure Christianity of the first century. This should be our only appeal.

18. Do you believe that the “Church Of Christ” is the only church going to heaven?

It is very important to answer this question carefully since what the Bible means by the phrase “church of Christ” is not what the querist means when he uses the same phrase. In the New Testament, the word “church” comes from the Greek (EKKLESIA), meaning “the called out.” The church of Christ is the “called out of Christ”. The phrase simply refers to those whom Christ has saved. The phrase is used concerning all whom Christ has saved throughout the world (Compare Ephesians 1:22-23 with Ephesians 5:23). The phrase is also used concerning individual local groups of Christians who identify themselves with Christ (Romans 16:16). These local groups certainly do not make up all who are saved.

On the other hand, the person asking this question is not thinking of the phrase “Church of Christ” in the same way the Bible speaks of it. They are thinking of a “Church of Christ” denomination. While it may be argued that a Church of Christ denomination exists, those who are Christians and want to follow only the scriptures, will not be affiliated with such a group. Therefore, our immediate answer to this question should be “No.” No, we do not believe that only those in a Church of Christ denomination will be saved. What we do believe is that only those who follow Christ alone and keep His commandments are a part of His church, His called out body. It is only these people who will be saved (Matthew 7:13-14; 21-27). The question before us is not which church is going to be saved, but what must we do in order to be saved and thereby be a part of the Lord’s church. The Lord will save His church (Ephesians 5:23), those who have obeyed Him and been added by Him to His body (Acts 2:47).