Page 275 - Bible Writers Theology Original

Soteriology • Salvation ♦ 259 ten in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning
[Christ]" (Luke 24:44).
The risen Christ, before His ascension, reminded, "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things" (Luke 24:46-48; cf. Acts 1:1-4). Jesus Christ Himself, who revealed the mystery of the second birth to Nicodemus, commanded, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and.is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned . (Mark 16:15-16). This is a part of the saving transaction; the part to which man must submit himself, and obey in faith to allow the second birth to happen.
Man by nature is a sinful creature, a child of wrath, condemned to eternal death (Ephesians 2:1-4; Romans 3:23), until God reconciles us with Himself, throughthedeathofHisSon. Thepenaltyofsinisspiritual,physical,and eternal death. (See Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:12-14; Romans 6:23.) If a man is to be saved, he must be bom again according to the word of God. Jesus Christ declared, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he canno enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, an
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit", flohn 3:5-6). Paul rewapara e
between the earthly and the heavenly: "The first man Adam was inade aliv ing soul...The first man is of the earth, earthy...As is the earthy, such are they alsothatareearthy...wehavebornetheimageoftheearthy.. (ICorinthians
15:45-49). Pauladds,"ThesecondmanistheLordfromheaven...weshall
also bear the image of the heavenly". Paul, just as Jesus did, declares this
I say, brethren, thft flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nei- ther doth corruption inherit incorruption" (I Corinthians 15.50).
Therefore, the sinful flesh, with the penalty of eternal death attached to it (Genesis 2:17), must be removed by faith in baptism in order for man to enterthekingdomofGod. This,Jesusexplained,iseffectedbythenewbirth of water and spirit Paul elaborates, "Know ye not, that so many of us as
were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized unto his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life" (Romans 6:3-4).
Paul taught that baptism is a burial with Christ for the Bible says "buried with Him in baptism" and "not with them": for there are no three saviors to be buried with (Colossians 2:12). It is the burial of the old man, with its penaltyofsin. Therecordofpastsinandthedominionofsinwillremain