1. “By grace you have been saved through faith” (Eph. 2:8).
We are saved by God’s grace through faith. Even though God has grace, it is not possible for us to be saved if we do not have faith. God’s grace prepared salvation for us, but our faith obtains what God prepared and accomplished for us. God’s grace gives us salvation, and our faith receives God’s gift. If God’s grace was prepared but not obtained through our faith and if God’s grace was given but not received through our faith, God’s salvation could not come to us. In order to obtain God’s salvation, we must use our faith to receive it. Faith is the way we obtain God’s salvation.
2. “Your faith has saved you” (Luke 7:50).
Although the Lord’s grace comes to save us, our faith causes the Lord’s grace to come upon us and to be efficacious in us. Therefore, subjectively speaking, our faith saves us.
3. “Salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16).
Despite the fact that God desires all men to be saved, His salvation can only save those who believe. Faith is the way that man causes God’s salvation to reach him.
4. “Believe and be saved” (Luke 8:12).
Faith is the way required for salvation. Once a person believes, he is saved.
5. “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31).
There is no way to receive God’s salvation except through faith. There is no other path to the Lord’s salvation except faith. Once a person believes, he is saved.
1. “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13; see also Acts 2:21).
When a person believes in the Lord, he spontaneously calls on the Lord (Rom. 10:14). Although we cannot see the Lord, we can call on His name. The Lord’s name is the Lord Himself. Therefore, to call on the Lord’s name is to call on the Lord Himself. This is the reason that those who call upon the name of the Lord are saved.
1. “With the mouth there is confession unto salvation” (Rom. 10:10).
If a person believes in the Lord, he must confess the Lord. To believe is to believe in one’s heart that Jesus is the Savior, and to confess is to confess with the mouth that Jesus is Lord. Faith is in one’s heart before God, while confession is with one’s mouth before others. Before God, we are saved as soon as we believe in our heart, but we must confess with our mouth before others to show that we have believed and are saved. If we believe in our heart but do not confess with our mouth, we will have a problem before both God and man. If we want a thorough salvation before both God and man, we must believe with our heart and confess with our mouth.
1. “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16).
This passage does not say, “He who believes shall be saved.” It says, “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved.” Faith is related to salvation, and baptism is related to salvation. Believing is inward; it involves a person’s exercise of faith to receive the Lord’s salvation. Baptism is outward; it involves a person’s acknowledgment of receiving the Lord’s salvation. Believing and being baptized are one complete step for receiving the Lord’s full salvation. If one merely believes without being baptized, he has taken only half a step toward the Lord’s full salvation. There are many elements to the Lord’s salvation; some are received by faith, and some are obtained through baptism. If we merely believe without being baptized, we can receive only part of the Lord’s full salvation. If we want to receive God’s full salvation, we must believe and be baptized.
2. “Which water, as the antitype, also now saves you, that is, baptism...through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 3:21).
Noah and his household of eight entered the ark and were saved from the destruction of the flood. Inside the ark they also passed through the flood and were saved by the flood from the corrupt generation that rebelled against God. Similarly, we have entered into Christ through faith and have escaped the judgment of God’s wrath. However, we also need to pass through baptism and be saved by baptism from our crooked and perverted generation. Just as the flood enabled the members of Noah’s household in the ark to be separated from the old world and to enter into a new world, so also baptism enables us who are in Christ by faith to be separated from the old creation and to enter into a new realm. In order to be saved from the corrupted world, we must be baptized. This aspect of the Lord’s salvation cannot be received by believing; we need to believe and be baptized in order to obtain it.
Faith, calling, confessing, and baptism are four interconnected matters constituting the complete way to receive the Lord’s salvation. They are one complete step to receive the Lord’s salvation. If we have these four matters, we are fully saved.