Act 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

"Repeat after me: 'I accept the Lord Jesus as my personal Saviour.' Now you have made it, now you are saved." This type of thinking implies that "you only need to believe and you will be saved." However, with this type of doctrine there is a great problem. In the Bible, there is an exact sequence of works and events which always took place when someone became a believer. Let us take a closer look at this course of action which took place. Faith requires works. There are several steps which the Christians of the first Church took when they became "believers".

These steps are found in the Book of Acts. This book has a very important place in the Bible. It comes after the gospels and is before the epistles to the churches. Much too often, "churches" skip over this book and set up their own statues and dogmas. Then they continue on by referring to the epistles to the churches, which are written to the saints, and are actually not addressed to those who are not obedient to the plan of salvation as preached in the Book of Acts.

Make sure that when you become a "believer" that you undertake the following steps: Believe in the redemption work of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary, repent and turn away from your sins, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and receive the Holy Spirit which God will give to you. (read Acts 2:38) Follow Jesus, live holy, and stay faithful until the end. Continue to be a living member in the body of Christ, the church of the living God. The grace of God will bring you to your goal. Your reward will be great! ra

Additional verses to study:
John 3:3-21; Mark 16:15-20; Acts, chapters 2;8;10;19; Romans 6:3-8; Galatians 3:27