What are the requirements for salvation (2024)

Whatare the "requirements" for salvation?

The Question:

I'm confused about therequirements for salvation. Some say you must be baptized in water, some say youmust be baptized in the Holy Spirit. How can I be sure I've done all thesecorrectly since I have doubts?

The Answer:

Theonly "requirement" for salvation is found in Romans 10:9-13:

That if youconfess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heartthat God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For it is withyour heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth thatyou confess and are saved.As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trustsin him will never be put to shame."For there is no difference betweenJew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call onhim, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

If you'vealready done this ... that's all you have to do to be saved. Now water baptismis an act of obedience to Jesus' lordship and an outward sign of your inwardsalvation. It is not REQUIRED, else the thief on the cross could not have beensaved, right? But it's a good thing to do as a testimony!!!

The Baptism ofthe Holy Spirit is also not required for salvation. We have the Holy Spirit orthe Spirit of Christ *in a measure* when we are born again - that's what being"born of the Spirit" means - the Holy Spirit is the one who does thework of salvation in our hearts: recreates us spiritually, adopts us into thefamily of God, cleanses us of sin (sanctification), declares us "notguilty" (justification), gives us eternal life, and makes us joint heirswith Christ and much, much more! It's a "package deal" - you get itall when you are saved.

The Baptism ofthe Holy Spirit comes as we fully surrender to the Holy Spirit and allow Him tofill us completely. It is not required, but it sure is helpful! And it is notbasically something that WE do, but that Jesus does for us as we yield to Him.Remember what John the Baptist said about Jesus?

Luke 3:16 Johnanswered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than Iwill come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptizeyou with the Holy Spirit and with fire."

After Hisresurrection, Jesus told the disciples this:

Acts 1:4-5 On oneoccasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do notleave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heardme speak about.For John baptized with [or in] water, but in a few days youwill be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

So I wouldn'tsay that there is necessarily a right or wrong way to be Baptized in the HolySpirit, simply yield to Jesus daily and ask Him to fill you with His Spiritconstantly.

You said:"The time of the baptism I may have doubted and was struggling withbelieving... but does that mean I didn't do it correctly? I know I've beentold by some religious people that if you don't think you've done it right, ordoubt a single bit, then you haven't done it. But is this true?"

If weonly pleased God when we are TOTALLY without doubt or struggles, I don't thinkanyone would make it! Like the father of the demon possessed boy, we often cry, "LordI believe, help thou my unbelief!" God ispleased with our efforts and will bless us as we try to do it right. It's morehonest to say, "God I have doubts and fears, please help me doubt my doubtsand fear my fears and grow in faith in you", than be prideful and act likeyou've got it all together. NONE OF US DO!!!!

The verse,which these people have taken out of context, is this one:

Romans 14:23 Butthe man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not fromfaith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

The wholecontext of Romans 14 is talking about disputable matters: such as what you caneat or can't eat, whether to drink wine or not, what day to worship on, whatfestivals to keep and so on. The FIRST statement Paul makes is:

Romans 14:1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.

That littlefirst word is SO important: ACCEPT. By the very fact that these people havebrought judgment and condemnation upon your heart shows they are disobedient tothe whole passage, so that shows they don't understand what they are quoting.

Basically, weare each to examine these disputable matters for our own selves, and may come todifferent conclusions! That is why your 7th Day Adventist friend is persuaded toworship on Saturday, why another may be persuaded to worship on Sunday, but whyI am persuaded to worship EVERY DAY. Who is right? We all are!!! Because we haveexamined our beliefs by the Word and do what we do to honor the Lord. Now thismakes some people very uncomfortable... that someone can honor the Lord just asmuch, and bejust as Biblically correct, by worshipping on Saturday orSunday or any day or every day... and all be right!!! This takes away our pride.See? The focus is on honoring the Lord, not on being proud because we've got itRIGHT!!!

Read the wholechapter of Romans 14 and you'll see the emphasis is on

1. Honoring the Lord
2. Accepting our brothers and sisters in the faith
3. Not causing someone else to stumble

What verse 23is talking about ... is this. To do something "from faith" or "offaith" is to do it or not do it for theRIGHT motives ... to be fullypersuaded in our own minds ... to do it to honor the Lord ... not to be filledwith pride or be judgmental of others who might come to DIFFERENT conclusions.Now this is not talking about doing something that the Bible says for sure issin, such as adultery, or murder or theft. It's talking about those"gray" areas that are neither good nor bad in themselves, it dependson our attitude.

Suppose youdecide to worship the Lord on Saturday, you do it out of pride and you condemnanyone who worships on another day. Are you acting "from faith"? NO!Suppose someonemakes you feel condemned for eating pork, and you refrainfrom eating it, not because you are convinced that you should, but because theymake you feel guilty. Are you refraining from pork "from faith"? NO!You are trying to please some person, not the Lord.

Now doubtcomes to us for several reasons. Usually it is from lack of understanding.Sometimes it comes from trying to please people. Sometimes it comes from gettingtoo many opinions and therefore being confused. Sometimes it comes from lack ofself-esteem - feeling that you don't "measure up", that God won't acton your behalf because of something you have done or haven't done. As we gobefore God and ask for His guidance, He'll reveal to us the root of our doubtsand show us how to over come them.

I really don'tbelieve people who say they've never doubted God... when you read the Bible, itis chock full of people who overcame doubts and fears to do God's will. In fact,God delights in choosing the weak things of the world through which to displayHis strength.

2 Corinthians12:9-10But he [Jesus] said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all themore gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.Thatis why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, inpersecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians13:4 For to be sure, he [Jesus] was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God'spower. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him toserve you.

I Corinthians1:26-29 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of youwere wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noblebirth.But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; Godchose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.He chose the lowlythings of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--tonullify the things that are,so that no one may boast before him.

1 Corinthians2:3-5 [Paul Speaking] I came to you in weakness and fear, and with muchtrembling.My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasivewords, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,so that your faithmight not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

So wecome back to the original question ... was I Baptized in the Spirit correctly ornot? Jesus said in Acts 1:8: "But you willreceive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses inJerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The point ofbeing Baptized in the Holy Spirit is to receive POWER: power from God towitness, power from God to overcome our weaknesses, power to understand God'sWord ... to increase our faith ... to obtain victory over sin ... NOT to havesome spiritual experience that you can boast about!!!

Jesus comparedthe Baptism in the Holy Spirit to a fountain of living waters springing upinside and flowing out of us ... it is a continual flow of God's love, grace andpower... yield to the Holy Spirit and let Him work through you ... depend on Himto teach you and help you... and don't worry about what people think! :)

Lastly, youcan rely on God to keep you saved!

I Corinthians 1:8He[God] WILL keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless onthe day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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