Our old sinful life cannot save us, but only condemns us, which is why our only hope of salvation is to be saved by God’s mercy and grace. This is precisely the point in Titus 3:4-7 which says we cannot be saved “by works of righteousness which we have done” but rather we must be “justified by grace.” God revealed a simple process or procedure in order for us to receive salvation by His grace. To be born again, to become a Christian, to be saved, or to receive forgiveness of sins, we must submit to Christ by obeying the following steps in obedience to His gospel.
- Hear the Gospel. The gospel is “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 10:13-17; 1:16-17; 1 Pet. 1:22-25).
- Believe the Gospel. To truly believe on Christ means to believe His word or teaching (John 3:16; 12:47-50; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 16:30-34).
- Repentance of sins. The soul must be convicted by the gospel to turn away from the love of sin and to prepare to make all changes in life commanded by God (Acts 2:37-38; 3:19-21; 17:30-31; Luke 13:1-5).
- Confession of faith in Christ. We must confess Christ Himself as our creed, meaning we confess Him to be the Son of God and commit ourselves to follow or obey Him in all things (Matt. 16:16; Acts 8:35-37; Rom. 10:8-10).
- Baptism under Christ’s authority. In order to submit to Christ so as to receive forgiveness of past sins through Him, we must submit in obedience to the gospel command of water baptism. By taking this step, we become disciples of Christ (Matt. 28:18-20). By taking this step, we are saved from all the sins of our past life (Mark 16:15-16). By taking this step, we are forgiven of all sins and they are forever washed away by the power of the blood of Christ (Acts 2:37-38; 22:16). By taking this step, we put on Christ (Gal. 3:27). By taking this step, we identify with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, qualifying us to “walk in newness of life” as “a new creature” (Rom. 6:3-4; 2 Cor. 5:17) When we thus identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, we embrace the gospel of Christ as the power of God unto salvation!
We could never offer to God the works of our own life to earn this salvation because our works include our sins, but we can surely receive it by submitting to God’s offer of mercy and grace. He offers this salvation freely but only on His own terms and conditions, not on terms set by any man or ecclesiastical organization.
After taking these steps revealed in God’s offer of His grace, we will be added to the church of Christ and be born into the kingdom of God which He purchased with His own blood, where He is the Redeemer and Savior (Acts 2:41; 47; 20:28; Rom. 16:16; Col. 1:12-14; Eph. 5:23, 26). Then and only then can we claim that we are saved by God’s grace, love and mercy, being born again of the word of God by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy spirit (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 5:6-9; John 3:16; 1 Pet. 1:23,25; Titus 3:4-7).
Bro. Cyrus Gesulga is a native minister of the Church of Christ in the Philippines.