The plain things are the main things - essential for salvation.

[Xeno.of.athens]

What are the essentials for salvation; are the things that are plain in scripture also the main things taught in scripture and are they essentials?

Let's go through the main things and say if they are essential too.

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

For example, is assurance of salvation essential?

 

[d taylor]

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Assurance of salvation essential. Well if you are not sure if you have believed in Jesus for God's free gift of Eternal Life salvation. Then how do you know you have believed in Jesus.

I know i have believed in Jesus for Eternal Life salvation and i know i have received Eternal Life salvation at the very moment of my belief in Jesus. Why do i know, because God said so.

 

[St_Worm2]

......is assurance of salvation essential?

Hello Xeno of Athens, while the assurance of salvation is meant as a gift and a blessing to every believer in this life as something that God clearly wants us to have & experience (and even commands us to be certain of), having such assurance is not an essential part of being saved.

1 John 5​

13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may ~know~ that you have eternal life. ​

​

2 Corinthians 13​

5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? ​

On the one hand, there will be many who will die with the assurance that they truly were believers (because of all the great and miraculous works that they believed they did in His Name, for instance) but who will, in the end, find themselves condemned (because He never knew them, nor they, Him .. cf John 17:3).

Matthew 7​

22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ​

23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ ​

Then, on the other hand, there will be those who die with little to no assurance that they were truly saved, but they will find themselves standing with the rest of the saints at the Bema Seat of Christ at the end of the age (instead of with the reprobates at the Great White Throne), nevertheless .. e.g. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

So, while assurance is valuable gift and blessing that God wants us to have, it should not be considered as something which is "essential" to our salvation.

God bless you!!

--David

 

[d taylor]

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I will also add this, a person who has believed in Jesus for eternal life and at the very moment of belief in Jesus also had assurance that they have believed and became a permanent born again child of God.

May at some point in their life lose their assurance possibly because of teachings that teach against assurance of salvation. Or they just simply fall away from belief.

They may lose their assurance they are saved, but they have not lost their Eternal Life salvation they received at the very moment they believed in Jesus.

So a believer may lose their assurance, but not the Eternal Life God gave them.

 

[St_Worm2]

For anyone who is interested, Dr. Sproul speaks of 4 different kinds of people (in regard to assurance) in this short article on the assurance of salvation.

71. THE ASSURANCE OF SALVATION

Can anyone know for sure that he is saved? For someone to declare that he is certain of his salvation may seem to be an act of unspeakable arrogance. Yet the Bible calls us to make our salvation a matter of certainty. Peter commands, “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10).

It is our duty to seek assurance of our salvation with diligence. This is not done out of idle curiosity about the state of our soul, but to enhance our growth in sanctification. Christians who remain uncertain about the state of their salvation are subject to all sorts of questions that paralyze their walk with Christ. They stumble in doubt and are vulnerable to the assaults of Satan. So we must seek to be assured of our salvation. There are four possible positions with respect to one’s assurance of salvation.

Position One: There are people who are unsaved and know that they are unsaved. These people are aware of the enmity they have in their hearts toward God and clearly want nothing to do with Christ as their Savior. They are bold to proclaim that they do not need Christ. Such people are often openly hostile to the gospel.

Position Two: There are people who are saved but do not know they are saved. These people are actually in a state of grace but are uncertain of it. Perhaps they are wrestling with sin in their lives and doubt their own salvation because of a troubled conscience. In this group are those who have not yet made certain that they are among the elect.

Position Three: There are people who are saved and know that they are saved. This is the group who are certain of their election and calling. They have a clear and sound understanding of what salvation requires and know they have met the requirements. They have believed the testimony of the Holy Spirit when He witnessed to their spirits that they are the children of God (Romans 8:16).

Position Four: There are people who are not saved but confidently believe that they are saved. These people have assurance of salvation without salvation. Their assurance is a false assurance.
Because it is possible to have a false assurance of salvation, how do we know if we are in group three or group four? To answer that we must look more closely at group four and ask how it is possible to have a false sense of assurance.

The easiest way to have a false assurance of salvation is to have a false doctrine of salvation. For example, if a person holds to a universalist view of salvation they may reason as follows:

Every person is saved.​

I am a person.​

Therefore, I am saved.​

Because their doctrine is faulty, their assurance has no firm basis.

Another way that people falsely assure themselves of salvation is by believing that they will get to heaven by trying to live a good life. Those who think they are living a good enough life to satisfy the demands of a holy God are only deluding themselves into thinking they are saved.

But what if a person has a sound doctrine of salvation? Is it still possible to have false assurance? We must answer yes. A person might think he has saving faith but not really possess it. The test for authentic assurance is twofold. On the one hand, we must examine our own hearts to see if we have true faith in Christ. We must see whether or not we have any genuine love for the biblical Christ. For we know such love for Him would be impossible without regeneration.

Second, we must examine the fruit of our faith. We do not need perfect fruit to have assurance, but there must be some evidence of the fruit of obedience for our profession of faith to be credible. If no fruit is present, then no faith is present. Where saving faith is found, fruit of that faith is also found.

Finally, we seek our assurance from the Word of God through which the Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirit that we are His children.

Summary
1. It is our duty to diligently pursue assurance of salvation.
2. Assurance of salvation enhances our sanctification.
3. There are four possible groups or positions regarding assurance:
(a) Those who are unsaved and know they are unsaved
(b) Those who are saved but don’t have assurance that they are are saved
(c) Those who are saved and know they are saved
(d) Those who are unsaved but believe they are saved
4. False assurance is primarily based on a false doctrine of salvation.
5. To gain authentic assurance we must search our own hearts and examine the fruit of our faith.
6. Full assurance comes from the Word of God coupled with the testimony of the Holy Spirit.

Biblical passages for reflection:
Matthew 7:21-23
John 3:1-21
Romans 8:15-17
2 Corinthians 1:12
1 John 2:3-6
1 John 5:13

~Sproul, R. C. (1992). Essential truths of the Christian faith. Tyndale House.

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

Is baptism necessary for salvation if baptism is available and the person to be baptised may be safely baptised?

 

[d taylor]

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Water baptism is not

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

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Water baptism is not

Scripture teaches that there is one baptism, so it is either water or it is not baptism, under normal circumstances.

 

[d taylor]

Scripture teaches that there is one baptism, so it is either water or it is not baptism, under normal circumstances.

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That is not true, that scripture teaches there is only one baptism. What is true is Paul writes there is only one baptism - implying that is in Christ name, which is the Christian baptism.

 

[St_Worm2]

Is baptism necessary for salvation?

Good question, and quite a controversial one within the whole of the Christian church.

I'll comment on the necessity of baptism later, but for now, here's another question that (oddly) seems like it needs to be asked, is faith necessary for salvation?

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

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That is not true that scripture teaches there is only one baptism. What is true is Paul writes there is only one baptism - implying that is in Christ name, which is the Christian baptism.

Baptism is one in the same sense in which the faith is one and God is one.

Ephesians 4:4-7 NASB There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; (5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism, (6) one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (7) But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

 

[d taylor]

Baptism is one in the same sense in which the faith is one and God is one.

Ephesians 4:4-7 NASB There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; (5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism, (6) one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (7) But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

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The faith is one in the sense that a person's faith is in Jesus. There is no other object to have faith in. Just as there no other name to be baptized in and Christianity is the faith of this name.

But there is the baptism of The Holy Spirit that now happens at the very moment of faith in Jesus. Which has not always been the case. Then there is water baptism that happens after the baptism of The Holy Spirit at the moment of belief. The water baptism may happen a day , a week or even a month or longer after belief in Jesus,

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

But there is the baptism of The Holy Spirit that now happens at the very moment of faith in Jesus.

Such is not the case; there is a baptism by(with/in/through) the Spirit mentioned in First Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 NASB (12) For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. (13) For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.​

The baptism by the Spirit is water baptism because it is the Holy Spirit who effects the regeneration of the baptised person.

 

[d taylor]

Such is not the case; there is a baptism by(with/in/through) the Spirit mentioned in First Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 NASB (12) For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. (13) For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.​

The baptism by the Spirit is water baptism because it is the Holy Spirit who effects the regeneration of the baptised person.

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No before Cornelius was water baptized he received The Holy Spirit

While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.

Then Peter answered, “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

No before Cornelius was water baptized he received The Holy Spirit

What do you think that means?

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

Remember how man , by YHVH, made out of dust,
lived
WHEN YHVH breathed into his nostrils ?
The Breath of YHVH gives life.

Is that what Cornelius' reception of the Holy Spirit followed by baptism means?

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

The Jews, disciples of Jesus, Apostles of the Gospel, in the first century were more aware of the breath of YHVH, and the Ruach HaKodesh, than anyone on earth today, I think.

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I do not think so, in the days immediately after the resurrection of Jesus few knew that there was a Holy Spirit.

So, are you saying that is it essential for salvation to know that the Holy Spirit is received by a Christian at some time?

 

[Xeno.of.athens]

up is down, down is up,

Even Adam and Chavah knew YHVH IS SPIRIT, and we must be holy because YHVH IS HOLY.
This was known by YHVH'S chosen people for thousands of years and Yeshua taught His disciples rightly; truth.
YHVH created all things simple.
It was man that made/makes changes - distractions - complications.

I'll pass on the Hebrew vocabulary, it isn't really apropos the topic anyway.

 

[d taylor]

What do you think that means?

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It mean that Cornelius received The Holy Spirit at the moment of their belief in Jesus.