Page 264 - Bible Writers Theology Original

248 ♦ Bible Writers' Theology Chapter Eight
logically leads on to the succeeding; a man is not saved unless his faith has all scriptural truth taken by all these three elements together. Certainly, no one can be saved who does not voluntarily appropriate the whole gospel of Jesus Christ. No one can get an answer from prayer if they do not embrace the scriptural pronuses of God. God looks for a wholehearted response: "My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways" (Proverbs 23:26). He also says, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;forIammeekandlowlyinheart: andyeshallfindrestuntoyoursouls. Formyyokeiseasy,andmyburdenislight"(Matthew11:28-30). Ifanyone comes to Christ and cannot deny everything, even his own life, he cannot be His disciple (Luke 14:26). The scripture frequently emphasized that man should count the cost before deciding to follow Christ (Matthew 8:19-22; Luke14:26-33; I Cor. 9:15-23; Phil. 1:19-30).
The first requirement is to believe that Jesus is the only Saviour of our soul. We must also believe that:
E
• JesusistheLord(Romans10:8-13;IIThess.2:9-17; Ephesians6:10-18) • JesusisthewordoflifeQohn1:1-14;John6:68).
® Jesus is the Alpha and Omega (Revelation 1:11).
• Jesus is the life-giving water (John 4:14).
• Jesus is the everlasting life (1 John 5:20).
• Jesus Christ has a saving name (Acts 4:12; Matthew 1:21). • JesusChrististheonlyoneGod0ude3,4).
Jesus Christ is a son, the Mighty God and the Everlasting Father (Isaiah 9:6).
• JesusChristisImmanuel,Godwithus(Isaiah7:13,14).
Faith from Hearing
On the way to salvation, faith and repentance lead the convert to regen eration by water and Holy Ghost baptism, wherein they receive sanctifica- tionandjustification. Paulsaidthat"faithcomethbyhearingandhearing bythewordofGod." Fromhisteaching,wecandeducethattheoutcomeof faith is largely dependent on the source of any hearing, right or wrong.
Scripture warns, "Take heed what ye hear", and "Take heed therefore how ye hear" (Mark 4:24; Luke 8:18). Jesus also said, "My sheep hear my voice, andIknowthemandtheyfollowme"Qohn10:27). TheBookofRevelation proclaims, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches," and "...the Spirit and the bride say come. And let him that hearethsay,come"(Revelation2:7;22:17). Therefore,thesalvationofmanis
determined primarily by what he hears.
Several crucial events in the sacred records illustrate this fact. "Because