We believe that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin birth which was a fulfillment to Old Testament prophecy concerning the Messiah (Isaiah 9:6). He was both fully God and fully man which is referred to as the dual-nature of Christ. As part of His humanity, He hungered, thirsted, endured pain, and was tempted to sin, along with every other thing that makes us human, yet He did not sin! As God, He had all authority over sickness, sin, death, and nature! Due to the fact that He never sinned, He qualified to be our substitute for sin (Hebrews 9:22). Because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), we are deserving of death. Fortunately it was God's plan since Adam & Even's fall in the Garden of Eden that He manifest Himself in flesh and pay the penalty of sin that we owed (see What We Believe Concerning God). On the hill of Calvary, Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price for our sin by allowing Himself to be crucified. The story doesn't end there however; in fact, it had just begun! After three days having been buried in a borrowed tomb, Jesus Christ rose from the dead as He prophesied that He would (John 2:19) and He was seen by hundreds of people over a forty day period. Finally, Jesus ascended into Heaven after giving His disciples specific instructions that they were to follow. It is our obedience to these instructions that will ultimately decide whether we spend an eternity with Jesus, or an eternity separated from His love in torment. So what were these specific instructions?

Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the promise that He would send to them. On the Day of Pentecost, there were 120 disciples praying in unity in the upper room at Jerusalem when the Holy Ghost fell upon them and they all spoke in tongues as the Spirit gave utterance (Acts 1 & 2). After receiving the Holy Ghost (the promise Jesus had given), the Apostle Peter told the repentant believers what they needed to do in order to receive salvation:

"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."
Acts 2:38-39 KJV

Notice that Peter did not tell them that this was the way to join a church (this concept still had not surfaced). This was specifically the method all of the disciples recognized as the "plan of salvation". Even though the disciples did disagree in a few areas, there was no disagreement among them in this regard.

Baptism and the infilling of the Holy Ghost as evidenced by speaking in other tongues are just as much a part of the plan of salvation as repentance. Jesus told us,

"...Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
John 3:5 KJV

Peter's message on the Day of Pentecost was a fulfillment of Jesus' Great Commission:

"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..."
Matthew 28:19-20 KJV

Peter knew that the fulfillment of this commandment constituted baptism in the name of Jesus because the name of Jesus was the revealed name of God; a name which Jesus had received through inheritance from God (Hebrews 1:4) and is in fact the only name under heaven given among men that we can be saved by (Acts 4:12). Everything that a Christian does is to be done in the name of Jesus (Colossians 3:17).

The way in which we identify with Jesus Christ's death, burial, and resurrection is to repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. When we repent, we die to our sinful nature (Romans 6:6-8). When we are baptized in Jesus' name in full immersion in water, we identify with Jesus Christ's burial (Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:12). And when we receive the Holy Ghost (which is the Spirit of God) with evidence of tongues, we receive the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead at His resurrection (Romans 8:11).

For just a few more of the numerous verses linking baptism to salvation, see:

Mark 16:16
Luke 24:47
Acts 2:41
Acts 8:12-13, 16, 36, & 38
Acts 9:18
Acts 10:47-48
Romans 6:3
Galatians 3:27
Ephesians 4:5

The Bible does not teach baptism in the titles of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This practice did not start until the 4th century some time after the Council of Nicaea formulated and ratified the doctrine of the Trinity; this is not a biblical doctrine consistent with Biblical teaching (see What We Believe Concerning God). Nor does the Bible support a sprinkling method of baptism. The Greek word for baptism (baptizo) indicates full immersion in water and this is confirmed by every account of baptism recorded in scripture. Additionally, the Bible does not support infant baptism as there are no accounts of infant baptism in the early Christian church. The reason for this is that baptism is for remission of sins and while infants are born into sin, they do not engage in sin until they have an understanding of what it means to sin according to James 4:17.

For a person who has been baptized in some other way than in the name of Jesus, we strongly teach the need for re-baptism in the name of Jesus Christ just as the Apostle Paul instructed John the Baptist's disciples in Acts 19:1-6.

The teaching known as "once saved, always saved", "eternal salvation", or "eternal security" is contrary to the entire teaching of the Bible (see Galatians 6:1, Luke 9:62, Hebrews 2:1-3, Hebrews 3:12-15, Hebrews 6:1-6, etc.)

Speaking in other tongues is the initial evidence of having received the baptism of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:4, Acts 10:44-46, Acts 19:6, 1 Corinthians 14:18, 21-22 & 39) . It is not the only sign; the fruit of the Spirit will also become evident (Galatians 5:22). Some teach that speaking in tongues ended with the apostles, citing 1 Corinthians 13:8 but if that were true then we would also have to assume that knowledge has also ceased, but that is illogical, just as it is to say that tongues have ceased. Paul taught plainly that there is a difference between speaking in tongues for self-edification between man and God on a personal level (the evidence of having received the Holy Ghost) and having the gift of tongues and tongues interpretation to edify the church body (1 Corinthians 12-14). In either case, Paul encourages the church not to forbid members from speaking in tongues (1 Corinthians 14:39). We are welcomed to seek after the gift of tongues and tongues interpretation but all Christians will speak in tongues after receiving the Holy Ghost as the Spirit gives utterance. Lastly on this subject, we are not to seek after tongues; we are, however, to seek after the infilling of the Holy Ghost (the promise) and tongues is a natural by-product of this infilling. The 120 disciples that first received the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost were not seeking after the gift of tongues and tongues interpretation; they did not know what the promise would entail, but they spoke in tongues just the same!

The Bible is clear that we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). The Lord has extended His grace to us through his atoning work at Calvary and we are saved by His blood to be sure. It is the faith of the believer that leads him to obedience to the gospel message (Romans 1:5, Romans 16:26). The Bible is also clear that faith alone is dead (James 2:14 & 17), but faith unto obedience to the gospel message brings salvation. Belief in God by itself is not enough (James 2:19), but true belief rather, is obedience to the gospel message. If simply believing in Jesus and praying a prayer of repentance were enough then the Bible would be contradictory in many areas already discussed, but the Bible is not contradictory (see What We Believe Concerning the Bible). We must take all scriptures that pertain to salvation and realize that for the Word of God to stand true, they all must be true and therefore, they all need to be fulfilled in order for a person to receive biblical salvation.

The basics of repentance, baptism in the name of Jesus, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in other tongues is just the beginning of the road to salvation. One of the most important scriptures regarding salvation happened when Jesus said:

"...but he that endureth to the end shall be saved."
Matthew 10:22

Clearly, a Christian needs to walk in the faith until the day when the Lord returns for His church or until the Lord calls him home. We must make every effort to walk worthy of the calling of Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:10). But just what does it mean to live a Christian life? (see What We Believe Concerning Christian Living).

What We Believe Concerning...

• Salvation


• God


• The Bible


• Eternity


• Christian Living


• Worship

*NOTE: While this is a good introductory lesson on salvation, it is not intended to be a complete Bible study. If you have questions concerning this material, or are interested in a more complete Bible study, click here.