Above lies the Plan of Salvation. One must Hear the Word of God, Belive what they have heard, Repent (a change of mind), Confess (Jesus as Lord and Savior), and Seal their salvation through baptism (to bury, to submerge, to overwhelm).
Bro. Emmanuel White, "When worship is Not Enough", Acts 8.
It is an absolute blessing to review the manuscript that we have following the Works (Acts) of the early church which began in Jeruselem, and is yet standing here in the year 2021. And if the earth is still here in 4021, guess what, the church will still be standing, and alive, and active! It follows so beautifully God's promise that, "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (the church), Matt. 16. We learn by example. Acts holds the blueprint for the church Jesus built. I love to hear ministers preach the sermon on the text in Acts 8 becuase it is full of a variety of lessons. Hear, believe, repent, confess, and be baptized sounds similar to a song, yet these simple steps are the steps to salvation. I love the example here of this very wealthy Ethiopian who "HUMBLY" says, "How can I understand God's Word, except some man should guide me?" It is not normal for wealthy self-sufficient people to ask for help, yet the Ethiopian shows that yes, he's rich, yet "poor in Spirit." The Ethiopian in the text, and again all throughout Acts--Heard the Word, Believed, Repent, Confessed, and was baptized. All of these steps are all here in this Acts 8 text. I love how Bro White brought out the truths that just because we worship does not necessarily mean that we comprehend what we have experienced, Nor as we read Scripture does not necessarily mean that we "understood" what we read. Bro White stated that he has on more than one occasion recieved the accolade of reading through the entire Bible in a year, yet reading is not the same as understanding. Like the Ethiopian, we need someone to guide us. Lastly, I KNOW that I am saved and that I am a member of the church that Jesus built because I did the same thing the Ethiopian did in order to be saved and go away rejoicing! The message has been the same yesterday, today, and forever, One must HEAR, BELIEVE, REPENT, CONFESS, & BE BAPTIZED!
Press below to SHARE post to your media profile