When I was in college I bought a New Testament that would fit in my back pocket. I wanted to have a Bible with me wherever I was in case an opportunity came up where it would be handy to have one. I have carried this New Testament in my back pocket for the last nine years.
Naturally, after years of regular use, this Bible slowly began to wear out. Recently it reached the point where pages were falling out. It was time to replace it. After searching the internet and receiving suggestions from others, I found an acceptable replacement. After receiving it, one of the first things I did was tear out a couple of pages.
That may sound strange. I replaced my old Bible because pages were falling out. When I got the new Bible, I tore some pages out. But the trouble with losing the pages out of my old Bible is that those pages contained Scripture, the inspired word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). In the new Bible, I did not take out any pages that contained divine revelation.
The two pages I removed from the new Bible were the last pages – ones that had been added by the publisher. They contained hand-picked verses that were used to try to show that one can be saved by faith alone. Following the verses was a copy of the “sinner’s prayer” that one could say to allegedly receive salvation. The final page contained an area where one could sign and date it, indicating the day on which they were saved by following the instructions in the back of the book.
The problem with these pages was that they were not at all what the New Testament teaches about what one must do to be saved. They conveniently ignored passages that mentioned baptism even though Peter said, “Baptism now saves you” (1 Peter 3:21). They cited Colossians 2:13 that talks about the forgiveness that is available in Christ, but passed over verse 12 that describes baptism as being an act of faith. They took Paul’s words – “whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13) – as “proof” that the “sinner’s prayer” is the method we use to receive salvation, even though the Scriptures teach that baptism – not prayer – is how we “call on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).
It is simply dishonest for people who ought to know better to continue to teach that one can be saved by faith alone. James wrote, “A man is justified by works and not by faith alone” (James 2:24). It is sad that so many people are willing to believe the lies that others spread about the Bible.
Salvation is open to all (Titus 2:11), but we must do what the Bible teaches in order to be saved. With all the misleading and erroneous teachings about salvation that abound among the denominations, it is important that we continue to emphasize what God requires. Yes, we must believe to be saved (John 3:16; 8:24); but that is not all. That belief must lead us to repent of our sins (Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 17:30), confess our faith in Christ (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized for the remission of our sins (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16).
Let us be content with what the Scriptures teach and not be led astray by man’s commentary about it.
