Salvation

Someone asked me if I could address the relationship between salvation and baptism in Scripture, because they have a friend who believes that you cannot be saved unless you are baptized.

Scripture is clear that alcoholism is a sin, and that like all sin, it is a form of idolatry. As you so painfully know, its effects are devastating and heartbreaking, both for the person addicted and for their family. However, we also know that alcoholism is certainly not an unforgiveable sin.

My friend Bruce Ware is an accomplished theologian and a professor of Christian Theology at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Here he answers some vital questions about whether Christ, and faith in Him, really is the only way to be saved. 

The problem of how we could possibly be reconciled with a God who hates evil is the greatest problem of history. Before we can see God in Heaven, something must radically change. This calls for no less than the greatest solution ever devised. 

Sometimes people who grow up in the church don’t stop to contemplate both the simplicity and the radical call of the gospel, perhaps because they’ve been surrounded by the message from day one. 

In this audio clip, Randy answers a question about salvation. 

God’s greatest gift is Himself. We not only need salvation—we need the Savior, and He has a name: Jesus (which means “God saves”).

It’s counterproductive to try to eliminate guilt feelings without dealing with guilt’s cause. Only by denying reality can you avoid guilt feelings. You need a permanent solution to your guilt problem, a solution based on reality, not pretense.

If you want to get somewhere, guesswork is a poor strategy. The goal of getting to Heaven is worthy of greater advanced planning than we’d give to any other journey.